USS BENNINGTON
COMMANDING OFFICERS
Captain David B. Young
From 1952 November 13 to 1953 August 20
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- From 13 November 1952 to 20 August 1953
- Commanding Officer USS Bennington CV-20 - Capt. David B. Young
- From 20 September 1953 to 30 June 1955
- Commanding Officer (Changed to Commander 13 October 1948)
China Lake Naval Ordnance Test Station - Capt. David B. Young
Captain Young Takes Command of BENNINGTON
Captain David B. Young, of St. Louis, Missouri, assumed command of the
USS BENNINGTON on 13 November 1952 at the re-commissioning ceremonies
at the New York Naval Shipyard, Brooklyn, New York.
Captain Young came to BENNINGTON from Washington, D.C. where he
served as Naval Aide to the Secretary of the Navy.
Captain Young’s career as a Naval officer was a distinguished one.
The BENNINGTON was to be the second aircraft carrier under his command.
A veteran of “flat-top” operations, he commanded the USS TAKANIS BAY (CVE-89) in 1945 and 1946.
He was active in the development of guided missiles and in atomic weapons research and planning,
being attached to the Special Weapons Division, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, Washington
and the Armed Forces Special Weapons Project, Sandia Base, Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Born in St. Louis, Missouri on 8 May 1903, Captain Young was graduated
from Soldan High School, St. Louis, and then he attended Washington University
prior to his appointment to the Naval Academy in 1923.
He was commissioned upon graduation from the academy on 2 June 1927.
His first assignment to active duty was aboard the battleships West Virginia and Arkansas, respectively.
After a tour of duty aboard the destroyer LITCHFIELD in 1933, he reported for
flight training at the Naval Air Station, Pensacola, Florida.
In March of 1934 he received his coveted “wings” and joined Scouting Squadron NINE,
attached to the USS NORTHAMPTON. In 1935 he began a three- year course in post-graduate
instruction in Aviation Ordnance Engineering.
Upon completion of the course he reported aboard the USS LEXINGTON for duty with Fighting Squadron TWO.
When World War II began, he was on duty in the Development Division of the Bureau of Aeronautics in Washington.
In 1943 he became the Executive Officer of the USS PRINCE WILLIAM (CVE-31) and a year later he
joined the staff of Commander Roi Island, Kwajalein Atoll, as Chief Staff Officer.
After his return to the United States in the summer of 1943 he was assigned to the
Aviation Ordnance Section, Research and Development Division, Bureau of Ordnance, as Officer-In-Charge.
He remained there until August of 1945, at which time he assumed command of the carrier USS TAKANIS BAY.
From February 1946 to June 1947, he served in the Guided Missiles Section, Special
Weapons Division, in Washington. Following his tour of duty in Washington, he
joined the staff of Commander First Task Fleet as Plans and Operations Officer.
In October of 1948 he reported as Naval Deputy, Armed Forces, Special Services Project, Albuquerque, New Mexico.
There he participated in the development and operational application of atomic weapons.
He returned to the Navy Department in May of 1951, serving as Naval Aide to the
Secretary of the Navy until ordered to the USS BENNINGTON.
NOTE:
Ted Storb, a “former” BENNINGTON crewmember provided the
material above.
It was re-typed for all to see and read.
Joseph L. Pires
USS BENNINGTON HISTORIAN
“former” SK-3
Supply Department
S-1 Division
(1965-1969)
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