The new destroyers were planned as an improved Sims class with an échelon arrangement of the propulsion unit. Based on the experience with previous classes, it was decided to rearrange all torpedo tubes along the centerline, reduce their number to two, and replace the quadruple-tube torpedo launchers with quintuple-tube launchers. During World War II, USS Benson escorted convoys in the Atlantic and Mediterranean, and she supported landings in Sicily and Italy. Later, she accompanied aircraft carriers in the Pacific. Over the course of the war, she was awarded four battle stars.