USS Benham (DD-49) - World War I

World War I

After the United States entered World War I on 6 April 1917, Benham was one of the first group of destroyers chosen for anti-submarine duty in European waters. She departed Tompkinsville, New York on 17 May and arrived in Queenstown, Ireland on 24 May. Four days later, the destroyer began the first of many tours of duty at sea hunting U-boats and shepherding convoys to their destinations.

Her first encounter with U-boats came on 13 July when she was apparently attacked by two submarines. They launched a total of three torpedoes at Benham, but she and her convoy evaded them. The destroyer then drove them away with a depth charge attack. On 30 July, while she was on her way to Queenstown, the destroyer spied the wake of another torpedo some 1,500 yd (1,400 m) from her. Immediately, she charged to the attack with guns and depth charges. Later, her crew sighted air bubbles and oil on the surface. The British Admiralty commended her for probable damage to a German U-boat. The destroyer continued her patrols out of Queenstown until June 1918 when she moved to Brest, France, her base of operations through the end of the war.

At some point in her European wartime service, Benham was rammed by the British Azalea-class sloop HMS Zinnia. The event is not mentioned in the Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships; the extent of the damage to both ships is unknown. A photograph from the U.S. Navy's Naval History & Heritage Command website shows a nearly sunken Benham moored between two ships.