be modified for superheat. It proved possible for Bath to build their two FY38 ships, Gleaves and Niblack, to the new design. Gleaves was completed prior to Livermore and had a lower hull number, thus the class name is more correctly the Benson-Gleaves class. The only external difference between the Benson and Gleaves classes was the shape of the stacks; the Bensons' were flat-sided and the Gleaveses' were round. After the Fall of France in 1940, and before the outcome of the looming Battle of Britain was certain, a rapid expansion of the Navy was envisioned. As not all facilities were equipped to produce the new s or because of other concerns, an additional 72 "repeat" Benson- and Gleaves-class ships were ordered in FY41. 24 repeat Bensons were built by several Bethlehem yards, while an additional 48 repeat Gleaveses were built by various other builders. These were initially called the Bristol class after , a repeat Gleaves and the first of these to be completed, although the machinery of the repeat Bensons was different from the repeat Gleaveses. The repeat ships were ordered with reduced torpedo and gun armament and increased anti-submarine and light anti-aircraft armament. In some references the Benson and Gleaves classes are combined as the Benson class. The Budget for the United States Government (as published) for fiscal year 41, starting on 1 July 1940 called for 8 destroyers to be built, and they were originally contemplated to be DD-445 ... DD-452, i.e. Fletchers. In June 1940, 8 Gleaves were ordered instead. Design The Benson class was designed as an improved version of the with two stacks and a new "echeloned" machinery arrangement that featured alternating boiler and engine rooms, designed to give the ships a better chance at surviving torpedo damage. Loss of one compartment, or even two adjacent compartments, would no longer disable the entire propulsion system. They also introduced quintuple torpedo tube mounts. Their scantlings, or framing dimensions, were increased to carry the weight of the new machinery. This increased the ships' displacement by about sixty tons, to 1620 tons standard displacement. Engineering The Bensons were all completed with "M"-type boilers, steam (references vary) superheated to , single-reduction gearing, and no cruising turbines. The main steam turbines were designed and built by Bethlehem Steel. Armament The class was completed with four or five dual purpose guns (anti-surface and anti-aircraft (AA)), controlled by a Mark