May 1944 and May 1945 Were Notable Months For USS Franklin CV-13
May was notable in 1944 and 1945 for the crew of USS Franklin (CV-13). In 1944, she was preparing for war. Twelve months later, she was moored in the Brooklyn Navy Yard, the most heavily damaged carrier to survive World War II. Let’s discuss 1945 first.
May 1945
Newspapers and radio headlined news of the attack on USS Franklin on May 18, 1945. Up until then, the damage done to the ship was a closely guarded secret. But that morning, many Americans woke to banner headlines and large pictures of the damaged ship. She arrived at the Brooklyn Navy Yard on April 28, but her crew was forbidden to tell even their family members what happened until the Navy released the news.
Two years ago, I wrote a blog post titled “Heroism,” A Common Theme In News Reports of the USS Franklin Attack. It describes the news coverage in greater detail.
May 1944
A year earlier, in May, Big Ben, as her crew called her, arrived in San Diego on the 19th. According to her cruise book, Big Ben: The Flat Top, three days earlier, while en route there, she had participated in a mock attack by US Army bombers. The carrier’s crew received additional training in anti-aircraft and maneuvering while under air attack, and the bombers received training on how to attack a carrier.
While in San Diego, she was refueled and replenished, and minor repairs were made to machinery that had broken in transit. Half the crew was given liberty, with preference given to those with families on the West Coast.
She would also spend three days in readiness testing, remaining in San Diego until June 1, when Franklin sailed for Pearl Harbor and then to the Pacific Theater’s war zone. In addition to nearly 3000 crew members and her air squadron, Big Ben ferried more than 2000 military and civilian passengers who would disembark at Pearl Harbor.
She would see combat for the first time on July 4, just over a month later.
Did you arrive here via a search engine? I am the author of the forthcoming book Heroes By The Hundreds: The Story of the USS Franklin (CV-13). In addition to writing about the bravery of the crews that saved her, I will discuss the lessons we can learn in leadership and decision-making, and the changes the US Navy made because of those lessons.
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-Glenn
