USS Benham

The USS Benham (DD-397) was the first ship built, and the namesake, for an entire class of destroyers. The USS Benham was built in New Jersey and launched in April 1938.

In The Hesperus Prophecy, she is assigned to track the SS Valencia, losing the rogue vessel for weeks before regaining contact, then arriving at the debris field after the SS Valencia sank. The USS Benham discovers Declan’s lifeboat and her crew administers the life-saving penicillin.

After rescuing Declan, the USS Benham is assigned to the Pacific Fleet, escorting an aircraft carrier to Midway during the Pearl Harbor attack. The USS Benham fought in several engagements before getting torpedoed by a Japanese destroyer and sunk in 1942.