USS Franklin

President Truman awards Lt. (j.g.) Donald Gary the Medal of Honor

When Shipmates Earned the Medal of Honor Together: Rare Moments in WWII Naval History

March 25, 2026
Plaque donated by Captain Gary Schnurrpusch, USN (Ret.), on display at The Museum of the Pacific War. Both Gary and...
Lt. (j.g.) Donald Gary / Lt. Cmdr Joseph T. O'Callahan / Medal of Honor / USS Franklin
USS Franklin nearly obscured by smoke and flames after 19 March attack US Navy photo 80-G-49131

USS Franklin March 14-24 1945 Deck Logs

March 19, 2026
19 March 1945 deck log of USS FRANKLIN showing cruising disposition and ship's status. National Archives Box 3665 P118-A1. Author...
19 march / Air Group 5 / US Navy / USS Franklin
US Navy Carrier USS Franklin on fire 19 March 1945. Dense smoke rises from fires aft of the ship's island.

Disobedient USS Franklin Sailor Put on Bread and Water

March 9, 2026
USS Franklin Deck Log excerpt for 9 March 1945 for the hours of 12 PM to 4 PM stating that...
USS Franklin
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

Admiral William Halsey Displeased With USS Franklin’s Readiness

March 6, 2026
Admiral William Halsey, Third Fleet commander, finds the setting of Material Condition ABLE on USS Franklin to be "unacceptable and...
Admiral William Halsey / Captain James Shoemaker / Kamikaze attack / Leadership / Material Readiness / October 1944 / USS Franklin
USS Franklin Deck Log for the afternoon and evening of 16 February 1945. It mentions the deaths of two pilots in a training exercise.

For US Naval Aviators, Non-Combat Deaths Outnumbered Those in Combat

February 16, 2026
A Curtiss SB2C-3 "Hell-diver" bomber takes a "wave-off" while attempting to land in March 1945. Landing signal officer's platform is...
Air Group 5 / US Navy / USS Franklin
“EU Pixelated” by Creative Commons was cropped from an image generated using Artificial Intelligence (AI) by the DALL-E 2 AI platform with the text prompt “pixel art of computer code streaming across an EU flag.” CC dedicates any rights it holds to the image to the public domain.

AI—Artificial Intelligence or Actual Ignorance?

December 9, 2025
Picture of World War II Essex-class carrier generated by AI. Count the mistakes. AI still has a long way to...
Artificial Intelligence / Lt. (j.g.) Donald Gary / Research / US Navy / USS Franklin
A group of US Navy officers including women who are WAVES attend the commissioning of the USS Franklin, 14 October 1943. The picture shows a vew of the ship's bow, wrapped in bunting taken from a lower angle so the bow looms overhead.

Websites Essential to Researching U.S. Navy Ships and Crews

October 14, 2025
The USS Franklin (CV-13) is floated out of her building dock immediately after christening, at the Newport News Shipbuilding and...
US Navy / USS Franklin
USS Franklin listing after being attacked on March 19k 1945

Courage Under Fire: Dr. Samuel Sherman’s Heroism Aboard the USS Franklin

July 10, 2025
Several days ago, I read an oral history that filled in some missing blanks for me. In 1993, Dr. Samuel...
19 march / Air Group 5 / USS Franklin
USS Franklin In New York Harbor April 1945 80-G-K-4760

May 1944 and May 1945 Were Notable Months For USS Franklin CV-13

May 20, 2025
Caption: USS FRANKLIN (CV-13) arrives at New York Navy Yard for repair of battle damage, circa 28 April 1945. Photographed...
Anniversaries / Essex-class aircraft carriers / US Navy / USS Franklin
The cruiser, USS Birmingham, is shown with damage to her starboard hull caused when USS Princeton's magazine exploded while Birmingham was 50 feet away.

US Cruiser Captains Courageous

May 4, 2025
The USS Franklin is shown with a heavy list after being attacked on 19 March 1945. US Navy photo taken...
Battle of Leyte Gulf / Kamikaze attack / Leadership / October 1944 / US Navy / USS Birmingham / USS Franklin / USS Santa Fe / USS Wilkes-Barre

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