Warbird Information Exchange

March 19, 1945

While preparing for airstrikes against the Japanese mainland off Kyushu, a lone Japanese aircraft broke through the anti-aircraft screen and dropped two 550 pound bombs on the USS Franklin (CV-13). The resulting conflaguration nearly destroyed the ship. Through the bravery and sacrifice of her crew, the ship was saved, enduring the worst shipboard fire in Navy history and still remain afloat.

Depending on your source, 724 to 772 men lost their lives that day on the Franklin. They, as well as the men that saved her, including the crews of the USS Santa Fe (CL-60), USS Pittsburgh (CA-72) and USS Hickox (DD-673) that assisted Franklin in her time of need should never be forgotten.

from his grandson....food for thought

The Franklin was so badly damaged it was decommissioned and scrapped.
There was talk of courtmartialing the Capt for not calling away abandon ship.
The thought being many lives were lost fighting to save a wreck of a ship that otherwise could have been saved.

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Don't touch my junk!!

Just curious, but did the Japanese pilot survive?

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Kevin McCartney

Actually, Jack, that is not correct about the Franklin not being repaired. The Franklin was, in fact, rebuilt. When decommissioned after repairs/rebuilding it was considered the most pristine of the Essex class carriers in existence. It later donated the forward portion of its flight deck to the Valley Forge, which was damaged in a hurricane in 1959.

The pilot that dropped the bombs on the Franklin did not get away. He was downed by the CAG (IIRC) from the Franklin.

It is interesting to note though, that of the Essex class carriers that actually saw service in World War II, only Franklin and Bunker Hill were not modified. Maybe the Navy thought it was bad karma? There were plans for Bunker Hill to get the SCB-125 (Hurricane Bow, angled deck), but they never materialized. Later Essex class carriers, such as Valley Forge, were also left in original configuration, but Valley Forge did not see service in World War II.

The bigger problem that still bothers some of the vets, like my uncle in particular, was the captain's attitude afterwards. My great uncle, along with other men, was in an area of the ship where they had very little choice but to jump, or be burned or asphyxiated. My great uncle had no communications available, did not know what was going on elsewhere in the ship, and judging the conditions around him, jumped, after cutting loose a number of nearby life rafts that undoubtedly helped save the lives of men who were already overboard below him. Later on, the captain refused to take back on board ANY of the sailors who had jumped into the water. Now I understand that the order to abandon ship was not given, but some of the guys who jumped would likely have died if they didn't. Most of my uncle's friends on board the ship did not survive. I'm grateful he did.

Ryan

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Aerial Photographer with Red Wing Aerial Photography currently based at KRBD and tailwheel CFI.
Websites: Texas Tailwheel Flight Training, DoolittleRaid.com and Lbirds.com.

The horse is prepared against the day of battle: but safety is of the LORD. - Prov. 21:31 - Train, Practice, Trust.

wow, the Captain sounds like a real 'pip'

Obviously his rationale for not taking the men on board were that they abandoned their posts.., but obviously that was not always the case.

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S.

He considered them deserters which was a tad extreme especially since he was almost courtmartialed for not abandoning ship.

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Don't touch my junk!!

From what I've read, he even want to court martial men who were blown overboard through no fault of their own. Between the time the ship cleared the Kyushu coast and made it to Ulithi, the court martial talk was swept under the rug.

Most of the personal accounts I've read from the ship's crew had a negative opinion of Capt. Gehres. On the other hand, Father O'Callahan, who was with the ship only a short time before the attack, was almost universally liked by the crew.

One of the aspects I did not know about until recently was that one of the squadrons embarked on Franklin on that fateful day was none other than VMF-214 -- the Black Sheep. I wonder how many of the "originals" from the South Pacific campaigns were on ship. I do know the casualties among the air groups were dreadful.