• History & Specifications
• Photos
• Record of Wartime Cruises
• Information About Specific Crossings
• Units Transported

Launched 10 July 1944 under a Maritime Commission contract as Marine Lion and transferred to the Navy 31 July 1944; converted to a hospital ship by Todd-Erie Basin Shipyard, Inc., Brooklyn, N. Y.; and commissioned 12 May 1945.

1945 -

Benevolence departed for the Pacific 17 June and arrived at Eniwetok Atoll, Marshall Islands, 27 July. There she received sick and wounded brought back from the 3rd Fleet operations against the Japanese home islands. Departing Eniwetok 2 August, she joined the 3rd Fleet on the 20th for its last strikes against Japan. Benevolence anchored off Yoko suka, Japan, 29 August to begin processing liberated Allied prisoners of war.

1945 - 1947

She remained in Japanese waters until 27 November 1945 and then carried wounded back to the United States. She arrived at San Francisco 12 December. Between December 1945 and 15 February 1946 she made three round trips between San Francisco and Pearl Harbor returning wounded servicemen to the United States. Following an overhaul which lasted until 1 April 1946, she joined JTF 1 for Operation "Crossroads". Departing San Francisco 27 April, she arrived at Bikini Atoll 22 May. Benevolence remained in the area through the atomic bomb tests and then returned to San Francisco, arriving 8 September. She sailed from San Francisco 27 September for Tsingtao, China, where she lay between 14 October 1946 and 3 March 1947 receiving and transferring patients. She returned to San Francisco 18 March 1947. Upon her return she commenced inactivation and was placed out of commission in reserve 13 September 1947, attached to the San Francisco Reserve Group.

On 25 August 1950 while returning from sea trials, prior to her assignment to the Military Sea Transportation Service, Benevolence collided with the freighter Mary Luckenback and sank off San Francisco.