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Close Encounter
From Jim Brusa: 1956
Close Encounter
We would spend countless hours replenishing at sea and one day was connected to the Ashtabula, supply ship. On the other side was one of our plane guards, a small can. I was looking out a porthole in our film processing compartment which was very close to where a steel cable was attached to carry the fuel lines. Our two ships were getting closer and closer to each other, until we sideswiped the supply ship with a crunch. At that point, the Bennington slowly pulled away stretching the fuel lines and cables until they broke and spewed the side of the ship with oil. The cable that was attached near the porthole I was looking out of, broke on the supply ship side. If it had parted on the Bennington side I might have lost my head. The damage to the supply ship was extensive. The poor #3 elevator struck the catwalk on the supply ship and bent it downward. I don't know what other damage there was, but it was another adventure aboard the 20.
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