(BDE-74: dp. 1,400; l. 306’; b. 37’; dr. 9’5” (mean); s. 23.5 k.; cpl. 200; a. 3 3”, 8 20mm., 1 dcp. (hh.), 4 dcp., 2 dct.; cl. Buckley)
John Bentley entered the Royal Navy in 1720. Between 1744 and 1761 he commanded a series of ships and took part in the decisive victory at Quiberon Bay in 1759 while commanding ship of the line Warspite. He died in 1772 as a vice admiral.
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The unnamed destroyer escort DE-74 was laid down on 26 April 1943 at Hingham, Mass., by the Bethlehem Hingham Shipyard; named Ebert (q.v.) on 27 May 1943; allocated to the United Kingdom under lend lease on 10 June 1943; renamed Bentley by the Royal Navy; assigned the pennant number K.465; launched on 17 July 1943; and delivered to the Royal Navy on 14 October 1943.
During World War II, Bentley earned her “battle honors” in the Atlantic theater and participated in the invasion of Normandy in June 1944. Bentley was decommissioned by the Royal Navy at the New York Naval Shipyard and returned to the United States Navy on 5 November 1945. Her name was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 15 December 1945, and she was sold to Mr. John J. Witte of Staten Island, N.Y., on 17 June 1947 for scrapping.
Robert J. Cressman
8 February 2006
