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USS Franklin (CV-13) facts for kids

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USS Franklin (CV-13) in the Elizabeth River, off Norfolk, Virginia (USA), 21 February 1944 (80-G-224596).jpg
USS Franklin underway in 1944
Quick facts for kids
History
United States
Name Franklin
Namesake USS Franklin (1775), named for Benjamin Franklin
Builder Newport News Shipbuilding
Laid down 7 December 1942
Launched 14 October 1943
Commissioned 31 January 1944
Decommissioned 17 February 1947
Reclassified
  • CVA-13, 13 October 1952
  • CVS-13, 13 August 1953
  • AVT-8, 8 May 1959
Stricken 1 October 1964
Identification
  • Callsign: NFBM
  • ICS November.svgICS Foxtrot.svgICS Bravo.svgICS Mike.svg
  • Hull number: CV-13
Honors and
awards		 See Awards
Fate Scrapped, 27 July 1966
General characteristics
Class and type Essex-class aircraft carrier
Displacement
Length
  • 820 feet (249.9 m) (waterline)
  • 872 feet (265.8 m) (o/a)
Beam 93 ft (28.3 m) (waterline)
Draft 34 ft 2 in (10.41 m) (full load)
Installed power
Propulsion 4 × shafts; 4 × geared steam turbines
Speed 33 knots (61 km/h; 38 mph)
Range 14,100 nmi (26,100 km; 16,200 mi) at 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph)
Complement 2,600 officers and enlisted men
Armament
  • 4 × twin, 4 × single 5 in (127 mm) DP guns
  • 8 × quadruple 40 mm (1.6 in) AA guns
  • 46 × single 20 mm (0.8 in) AA guns
Armor
  • Waterline belt: 2.5–4 in (64–102 mm)
  • Deck: 1.5 in (38 mm)
  • Hangar deck: 2.5 in (64 mm)
  • Bulkheads: 4 in (102 mm)
Aircraft carried 91–103 aircraft

USS Franklin (CV/CVA/CVS-13, AVT-8), nicknamed "Big Ben," was one of 24 Essex-class aircraft carriers built during World War II for the United States Navy, and the fifth US Navy ship to bear the name. Commissioned in January 1944, she served in several campaigns in the Pacific War, earning four battle stars. She was badly damaged by a Japanese air attack in March 1945, with the loss of over 800 of her crew, becoming the most heavily damaged United States aircraft carrier to survive the war. Movie footage of the actual attack was included in the 1949 film Task Force starring Gary Cooper.

After the attack, she returned to the U.S. mainland for repairs, missing the rest of the war; she was decommissioned in 1947. The complement of Franklin suffered 924 killed in action during the war, the worst for any surviving U.S. warship and second only to that of USS Arizona. While in reserve, she was reclassified as an attack carrier (CVA), then an antisubmarine carrier (CVS), and finally an aircraft transport (AVT), but was never modernized and never saw active service again. Franklin and Bunker Hill (damaged by two kamikazes) were the only Essex-class carriers not to see active service as aircraft carriers after World War II. Franklin was sold for scrap in 1966.

Gallery

  • USS Franklin (CV-13) in January 1945, after repairs.

    Franklin in January 1945

  • F4U-1D of VF-5 on USS Franklin (CV-13) 1945

    F4U-1D of VF-5 on Franklin in 1945

  • 19 March 1945 Photo 14 from War Damage Report No. 56

    Franklin's bridge on 19 March 1945

  • Joseph T. O'Callahan gives last rites to an injured crewman aboard USS Franklin (CV-13), 19 March 1945

    Joseph T. O'Callahan gives last rites to an injured crewman aboard Franklin on 19 March 1945

  • Bow of USS Franklin (CV-13) in April 1945

    Bow of the badly damaged Franklin in April 1945

  • USS Franklin (CV-13) and USS Marblehead (CL-12) off NY 1945

    Franklin and Marblehead off New York in 1945

  • USS Franklin (CV-13) under repair at the Brooklyn Navy Yard in 1945

    Franklin under repair at the Brooklyn Navy Yard in 1945

  • USS Franklin (CV-13) laid up in the early 1960s

    Franklin laid up in the early 1960s

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: USS Franklin (CV-13) para niños

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