USS Franklin CV-13 War Damage Report

USS Franklin CV-13 War Damage Report PDF Author: U. S. Navy Department Staff
Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
ISBN: 9781494496678
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
USS Franklin CV-13 ...also known as the ship that would not die. 1-1This is a long report. An effort has been made to present a comprehensive summation of the many design and damage control problems which were disclosed or emphasized by the war experiences of Franklin. In addition, various pertinent war experiences of other large carriers have been considered in this report. 1-2The damage sustained by Franklin as a result of the actions of 13 and 15 October 1944 was superficial and is included in this report only for the purpose of rendering her damage history complete. The major damage sustained in each of the actions of 30 October 1944 and 19 March 1945 demonstrates the effectiveness of bomb hits when received by aircraft carriers during the extremely vulnerable period just prior to and during periods of launching strikes. The damage sustained on 30 October is a reasonably good example of what may be expected from a suicide plane crash and subsequent fire on a carrier having a full complement of planes on board which are gassed but not armed except for small caliber ammunition. Similarly, the damage sustained on 19 March may be considered as about the maximum to be expected from fires and detonations of large numbers of bombs and rockets on the flight and hangar decks when a carrier having heavily armed, fully fueled planes aboard is hit by one or more bombs properly placed. 1-3The latter two cases of damage to Franklin illustrate thoroughly the ability of modern U.S. aircraft carriers to survive extensive damage from plane crashes, fire and heavy bombs. The basic design and construction of this class of carrier, which was developed prior to World War II and therefore without the benefit of war experience, is favorably reflected in the manner in which Franklin absorbed heavy damage. Materiel alterations and improvements in damage control organization and technique during the war further increased the ability of this class carrier to minimize potentially severe damage. At the same time many lessons have been obtained from the experiences of Franklin and other cases of war damage and results of this knowledge have been and will be incorporated in existing ships where feasible and in future design and construction. 1-4This report is based on the references, inspections of Franklin upon her return to this country, and informal interviews with various officers attached to Franklin by representatives of this Bureau.

USS Franklin CV-13 War Damage Report

USS Franklin CV-13 War Damage Report PDF Author: U. S. Navy Department Staff
Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
ISBN: 9781494496678
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Get Book Here

Book Description
USS Franklin CV-13 ...also known as the ship that would not die. 1-1This is a long report. An effort has been made to present a comprehensive summation of the many design and damage control problems which were disclosed or emphasized by the war experiences of Franklin. In addition, various pertinent war experiences of other large carriers have been considered in this report. 1-2The damage sustained by Franklin as a result of the actions of 13 and 15 October 1944 was superficial and is included in this report only for the purpose of rendering her damage history complete. The major damage sustained in each of the actions of 30 October 1944 and 19 March 1945 demonstrates the effectiveness of bomb hits when received by aircraft carriers during the extremely vulnerable period just prior to and during periods of launching strikes. The damage sustained on 30 October is a reasonably good example of what may be expected from a suicide plane crash and subsequent fire on a carrier having a full complement of planes on board which are gassed but not armed except for small caliber ammunition. Similarly, the damage sustained on 19 March may be considered as about the maximum to be expected from fires and detonations of large numbers of bombs and rockets on the flight and hangar decks when a carrier having heavily armed, fully fueled planes aboard is hit by one or more bombs properly placed. 1-3The latter two cases of damage to Franklin illustrate thoroughly the ability of modern U.S. aircraft carriers to survive extensive damage from plane crashes, fire and heavy bombs. The basic design and construction of this class of carrier, which was developed prior to World War II and therefore without the benefit of war experience, is favorably reflected in the manner in which Franklin absorbed heavy damage. Materiel alterations and improvements in damage control organization and technique during the war further increased the ability of this class carrier to minimize potentially severe damage. At the same time many lessons have been obtained from the experiences of Franklin and other cases of war damage and results of this knowledge have been and will be incorporated in existing ships where feasible and in future design and construction. 1-4This report is based on the references, inspections of Franklin upon her return to this country, and informal interviews with various officers attached to Franklin by representatives of this Bureau.

Saving Big Ben

Saving Big Ben PDF Author: John Satterfield
Publisher: Naval Institute Press
ISBN: 1612514022
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 210

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Book Description
Father Joe O’Callahan, S.J. was the unlikeliest war hero. A bespectacled math professor from Holy Cross, he became the U.S. Navy’s first Jesuit chaplain in World War II and served in combat operations in the Atlantic and Pacific theaters. Father O’Callahan was on the aircraft carrier Franklin, known as “Big Ben”, in the Okinawa campaign in early 1945 when massive explosions and fire from a kamikaze bomb attack nearly destroyed his ship. Hundreds of sailors died within moments of the attack, and the Franklin, lay dead in the water, drifting toward Japan just 60 miles distant. As flames consumed the carrier, the chaplain organized and led fire-fighting crews and prevented a potentially fatal explosion while ministering to injured, dying and terrified sailors. Father O’Callahan’s deeds were instrumental in saving the Franklin, and he stayed with the ship on its voyage under power to New York Harbor. The carrier’s captain called him “the bravest man I ever saw,” and Father Joe became the first American military chaplain to receive the Medal of Honor, the nation’s highest decoration for valor. But the price of glory was high for Father O’Callahan. He suffered a stroke after returning to Holy Cross and spent the rest of his life enduring incapacitating pain. Through it all, the priest displayed the same leadership and strength derived from unwavering faith that enabled him to help save his ship and comrades. The book incorporates primary sources, interviews with Franklin survivors and O’Callahan family members and other materials never before published, including documentation of the Navy’s review of Father O’Callahan’s recommendation of the Medal of Honor and the process leading to the priest’s receipt of the decoration.

I Was Chaplain on the Franklin

I Was Chaplain on the Franklin PDF Author: Joseph O'Callahan
Publisher: Naval Institute Press
ISBN: 168247478X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 115

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Book Description
On the morning of March 19, 1945, about fifty miles off the coast of Japan, the aircraft carrier USS Franklin was bombed by Japanese aircraft. Two heavy bombs penetrated the hangar deck killing everyone inside. The planes on the flight deck were knocked into the air, their whirling propellers smashing gas tanks which spilled 17,000 gallons of gasoline. Fires raged from stem to stern on three decks. For four interminable hours, explosions rocked the Franklin. All communications, fire mains and power were gone. Into the thick of the choking smoke and fury came a hero with a white cross on his helmet. "Padre" to the Catholic, "Rabbi Joe" to the Jewish boys, Chaplain O'Callahan was "Father" to everyone on board. Father O'Callahan tells of his own experiences, recapturing the perilous and heroic drama of the Franklin. He leads you through blazing decks to observe gallant engineers and pharmacists, doctors and stewards man the battle stations. He recalls moments of his own inspired leadership. He describes a host of dramatic episodes on a stricken ship that refused to sink. When the Franklin finally limped into Pearl Harbor, it was the most damaged ship ever to reach port. Its casualty list was the highest in Navy history--432 dead and over 1,000 wounded. "Big Ben" was bombed, battered, bruised and bent, but like the spirit of the men on board, she was not broken. For his conspicuous gallantry above and beyond the call of duty, Father O'Callahan received the only Congressional Medal of Honor ever awarded a navy chaplain. His inspiring account of the Franklin’s travail is more than a story of heroism, war, and men. It is a powerful and unforgettable story of faith.

Alpha

Alpha PDF Author: David Philipps
Publisher: Crown
ISBN: 0593238400
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 481

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Book Description
An “infuriating, fast-paced” (The Washington Post) account of the Navy SEALs of Alpha platoon, the startling accusations against their chief, Eddie Gallagher, and the courtroom battle that exposed the dark underbelly of America’s special forces—from a Pulitzer Prize–winning reporter WINNER OF THE COLORADO BOOK AWARD • “Nearly impossible to put down.”—Jon Krakauer, New York Times bestselling author of Where Men Win Glory and Into the Wild In this “brilliantly written” (The New York Times Book Review) and startling account, Pulitzer Prize–winning New York Times correspondent David Philipps reveals a powerful moral crucible, one that would define the American military during the years of combat that became known as “the forever war.” When the Navy SEALs of Alpha platoon returned from their 2017 deployment to Iraq, a group of them reported their chief, Eddie Gallagher, for war crimes, alleging that he’d stabbed a prisoner in cold blood and taken lethal sniper shots at unarmed civilians. The story of Alpha’s war, both in Iraq and in the shocking trial that followed the men’s accusations, would complicate the SEALs’ post-9/11 hero narrative, turning brothers-in-arms against one another and bringing into stark relief the choice that elite soldiers face between loyalty to their unit and to their country. One of the great stories written about American special forces, Alpha is by turns a battlefield drama, a courtroom thriller, and a compelling examination of how soldiers define themselves and live with the decisions in the heat of combat.

Danger's Hour

Danger's Hour PDF Author: Maxwell Taylor Kennedy
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 0743260813
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 530

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Book Description
Drawing on years of research and firsthand interviews with both American and Japanese survivors, Maxwell Taylor Kennedy draws a gripping portrait of men bravely serving their countries in war and the advent of a terrifying new weapon, suicide bombing, that nearly halted the most powerful nation in the world. In the closing months of World War II, Americans found themselves facing a new weapon: kamikazes--the first men to use airplanes as suicide weapons. By the beginning of 1945, facing imminent invasion, Japan turned to its most idealistic young men and demanded of them the greatest sacrifice. On May 11, 1945, days after Germany's surrender, the USS Bunker Hill--with thousands of crewmen and the most sophisticated naval technology available--was 70 miles off the coast of Okinawa when pilot Kiyoshi Ogawa flew his plane into the ship, killing 393 Americans in the worst suicide attack against America until September 11.--From publisher description.

Fire on the Flight Deck

Fire on the Flight Deck PDF Author: Darren Sapp
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780692326541
Category : Aircraft carriers
Languages : en
Pages : 336

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Book Description
An American supercarrier flight deck is considered by many to be one of the most dangerous places on earth. Multi-million dollar aircraft launching, landing, and taxiing in the space of a few football fields, all orchestrated by a control tower and flight deck crew whose average age is nineteen. Brian Donley survived boot camp and completed aircraft firefighter training to serve as a yellow shirt on the flight deck of the USS William Halsey. Would his training, will, and courage equip him for the most challenging day of his life? (from the book back cover)

Naval Accidents, 1945-1988

Naval Accidents, 1945-1988 PDF Author: William M. Arkin
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Marine accidents
Languages : en
Pages : 110

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Book Description


Trial by Fire

Trial by Fire PDF Author: P. T. Deutermann
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
ISBN: 1250273056
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 320

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Book Description
Based on a true story—P. T. Deutermann's Trial by Fire is a dramatic WWII novel of attack, survival, and triumph on board an aircraft carrier in the Pacific. It's March 1945 and the war in the Pacific is approaching its apocalyptic climax. The largest wartime armada ever assembled, Task Force 58, is closing in on Okinawa; once taken, it will finally put American B-29 bombers in comfortable range of the home islands of Japan—and victory. At the heart of the fleet are 14 Essex-class aircraft carriers, including the USS Franklin, known as "Big Ben"—a 27,000-ton behemoth, home to 3,600 crewmen and 100 aircraft. Just after dawn, while crewmen prepare for battle, a single Japanese Yokosuka D4Y bomber breaks through the clouds and drops a 500-pound semi-armor piercing bomb on Big Ben. The bomb rips through the wooden flight deck before exploding on the hangar deck, amidst two dozen fully fueled and armed fighter-bombers. The resulting explosion engulfs both the hangar deck and all the planes spotted on the flight deck. Bombs cook off and rockets howl in all directions, both on the flight deck and down in the hangar bays. Hundreds of men are forced to leap into the sea to escape the rivers of burning aviation gasoline, leaving the captain with only one third of his crew, of whom there are more dead, wounded and trapped men left onboard than able-bodied sailors. Trial By Fire is the gripping novelization of how, against all odds, the sailors of the Franklin were able to save their ship, after 3 agonizing days of battling the flames that ultimately claimed the lives of 832 men and injured 300 more. Readers will be astounded and humbled by the heroic actions of a few extraordinarily brave sailors in the face of unending catastrophe.

Congressional Record

Congressional Record PDF Author: United States. Congress
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 1324

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Book Description


Inferno

Inferno PDF Author: Joseph A. Springer
Publisher: Zenith Press
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 376

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Book Description
The harrowing tale, in the survivors' words, of the saving of the USS Franklin after she was dive-bombed off Okinawa in 1945.