US Navy

Arial photo of a line of US Essex-class carrriers moored parallel to each other in Ulithi Atoll. USS Wasp (CV-18), USS Yorktown (CV-10), USS Hornet (CV-12), USS Hancock (CV-19) and USS Ticonderoga (CV-14). Official U.S. Navy Photograph 80-G-294131

Aircraft Carrier: An RKO-Pathé Documentary

This Is America, a series of documentary shorts, released Aircraft Carrier, in April 19441Richard Meran Barsam, "This is America:" 1942-1951,...
Captain Leslie Gehres in his Patrol Wing Four headquarters. Photo US Navy

Was Captain Leslie Gehres, USN, Ill-Treated?

Commodore Leslie Gehres, after being awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for his service in Alaska, before commanding the USS Franklin...
USS Franklin In New York Harbor April 1945 80-G-K-4760

Navy Day Does Without USS Franklin

If you ever wonder how to respond to an ill-conceived request from a superior in your organization without stepping on...
Two carriers burning after separate kamikaze strikes. USS Franklin (CV-13), at right, and USS Belleau Wood (CVL-24) afire after being hit by Japanese kamikaze suicide planes, while operating off the Philippines on 30 October 1944. Photographed from USS Brush (DD-745). US Navy 80-G-326798

USS Franklin Has A Busy October

Air Group-13 Hellcats, Avengers, and Helldivers prepare to strike the Japanese in the Philippines in October 1944. USS Franklin, part...
Plaque honoring USS Franklin displayed at Museum of the Pacific War. Photo by Glenn Ross

“Those Who Cannot Remember History Are Doomed To Repeat It”—G. Santayana

USS Franklin is listing after being attacked on March 19, 1945. Photo taken from USS Santa Fe. Source US Navy Why...
A Grumman F6F-3 Hellcat fighter makes condensation rings as it awaits the take-off flag aboard USS Yorktown (CV-10), 20 November 1943. The plane is from Fighting Squadron Five (VF-5). Yorktown was then hitting targets in the Marshall Islands to cover the landings in the Gilberts. VF-5 would serve onboard Franklin in 1945. By that time, flying Corsairs.

USS Franklin Supports Peleliu Invasion, September 1944

The view of Peleliu shows how much of the island is dominated by the airstrip. Landing beaches were to the...
(DD-674) Coming alongside USS Tarawa (CVS-40) to refuel at sea, 25 April 1959. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives. Catalog #: USN 1046540

USS HUNT Action Report-Aiding USS Franklin

Page 1 of USS HUNT Action Report for March 1945. US National Archives via Fold3.com In my research into the...
USS Franklin nearly obscured by smoke and flames after 19 March attack US Navy photo 80-G-49131

Farrell L. Kluttz Narrated An Enjoyable Oral History

There are times when research is tedious. There are other times when it is enjoyable. I have just finished reading...
Admiral Mitscher's one page endorsement of Task Group 58.2's action report of 4 July 1944. In it, he endorses three of four of the recommendations.

How Action Reports Helped The US Navy Defeat The Japanese

First page of the Task Group 58.2 Action Report covering the attacks on Iwo Jima, Haha Jima, and nearby shipping...
A crowed deck of planes, pilots, and crews of Air Group 13 in October 1944. The first nine are Hellcat fighters, the ones in the back are Helldivers and Avengers. Franklin would be struck by a Kamikaze on 30 October 1944.

USS Franklin Draws Its First Blood–July 4, 1944

Air Group-13 Hellcats, Avengers, and Helldivers prepare to strike the Japanese in the Philippines in October 1944. On 30 June...