Paraíba, ex-USS Bennett, commissioning ceremony, 1959.
CT Pará (D27)
CT Paraíba (D28)
CT Paraná (D29)
CT Pernambuco (D30)
CT Piauí (D31)
CT Santa Catarina (D32)
CT Maranhão (D33)
In 1959, Bennett and six other
Fletchers were sold to Brazil, which renamed them for states as shown in the table. (“CT” indicates “contratorpedeiro”—Portugese for “anti-torpedo boat”—nomenclature established by the first “torpedo boat destroyers” at the beginning of the 20th century).
The image above shows the ceremony in which Bennett was commissioned in the Brazilian Navy. The ensign is—for a few more minutes—American but the name and crew are Brazilian. En route home, Paraíba encountered a severe storm, took on water aft and arrived down by the stern—inspiring immediate respect for the strength of the ship’s construction.
Bennett served in the Brazilian Navy until 1978, when she was sunk as a target.
