Franklin (CV 13) - Naval Cruise Book

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U111'l'111't1'.1l11h1'!1l ont -1l 1-11111111-sioll. lttiltlllif only ilu' Iwo ,lllltt llllliltltllllx and the .1ll1'1 Vllgfklllt' ltbtllll op1'r11lix1'. l.t. X1!1. l ns. llltlxtl, lns lI.1xl11,NI.1.In1ns1 l,llNltQll.Qlll1llllt'll lllguk Cane 111111 vonld not lmna on 1nn1'h l11n3:1-r, Sllltjlet' was EHUNSLIIQ i11lole1'11l1l1- :ind only il llillltllilll ol' 1'1's1'111' l1l't'lllllt'l'N neu' 11x.1il.1l1le. llaylvr and lfnsign, ol the lllll4'l' 1 . . . 111111111 time lttlllg lu ltlttl Kx5klQlllKl l'1111l1's l111' llllt 1111111 I11-Inu, l ns. l11ek1'1'l1:11l l11'1'n sent lo ilu-1l1n-.l 111---k l11Lls1'1'l'lt1lll the extent ot daiiiage to the llflllllxtli l.l. Xrlx 1-ollapst-tl and inu- Vltlltlali- tnate set-oiul vlass Noll look Vlltllitlt' of the forward plant. kitlltldlll Celnes. inhvrnietl ol' the tlt'SllL'l't1lt' plight ol' the men ltelow, Ul'tl0l'lttl the lhroltles set at eight knots and the engine rooin ailvainlolied. when they 1-011111 no longer he Itttittlttttl. hut the tirerooins never received the order. lihe smoke tortured. agonized crews 1-limlned the ladders and so1nel1ow fought their way forward. The last word on the tirerooin speaker was: Will someone with a breather repott to forward engine room. Trapped . . Lt. li. li. White and Lt. liostain made their way forward and rescued Xott and the three remaining engineers in the Ii01'Xx3l'tl enginerooni. Baker. maehinist's mate second class, set the after engine room controls at eight knots. lint water tenders Barry and Reese. in charge of the after . 1 . . , , 1 l11'1'1'o11111s, elnl not lm-alum Ihosv hrs-ea Inul I11 ln' lf5Iltlt'tl at all 1'-vsls. .lllI1'Y bl2ly1'll nnlil ilu- end., their ship listing heavily, all t'1llllIIllllIlf'.llllbllt- out and s11u1kel1lo1'ki11g vision, keeping their t'l't'XtS at their posts 11nlil 9:30, wlivn the hoilers lost lt-1-1l water sn1'tion and lllt'l't' was no further need to remain. llllIl'lI. and only then. 1li1l they fight their way upward. lharry and his nu-n. Hllltlllyn Codle-ski. fllill' l'l21l'lUPl'. .limmy tlollnni. M'Slltll'lyM Wilson, and 'l'inyM llials, came out on the hangar deck and were foreecl to leap over the side. lleese and his crew, Don lllellae, 'Vl'e11dy Doll, HHl1f'lCu l,llIt'lillt'I', and Jim Harris, made their way forward. Cunner Stoops made a painstaking effort to flood the main magazines. Hundreds of tons of explosives, in the bowels of the ship, must he covered with water. He Carefully turned the valves but-though this was not learned until long after - the water mains were ruptured and the ammunition remained dry. When the flliller cleared the side with Admiral Davison and his staff at ahout t1:3tl, the Santa Fee was signalled to come alongside. Captain Harold C. Fitz, a brave commander, asked only one question l'Are your magazines flooded? Back Came the answer from Captain Cehres: Ml have or- dered them llooded and helieve they arefi 51111111 Fe Came . , - U f-'ff 1 V . , s ' ' 1 1 -1 1 -' ' 1 P111 1111111 1111 ilu' l1'f f1l11'1'1s'f 1. ,,,.1,,., ,',,1,.,,1, U l1,,!l11!11111. flfflllffllll 11111111g11111,v,111l1111111.sl1r.s111111111 111l1f11111 lo I1 111111 nf f s 1 no 1.1

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age Control was abandoned. llollincr located an escape trunk which led up to the third deck and helped the men through it, to join the fire-lighting parties forward. lfilCt.'ll'li'l2.llliH male Zeller went up through the hatches. carefully closing each of them behind himwan invaluable service. because it ki-pt tire from the main magazines. located below. Groups of men like Shiplitter lfirst tllass llurd fought fire amidships until their rescue breathers were exhausted. then made their way to the side of the hangar deck and dropped into the water. Hurd had been in the after mess hall when the bombs hit. He broke out a fire hose and wet three hun- dred rockets. rendering them harmless. Then, with rescue breather. he collected and led at least sixty men back to the fantail. Wihen he went back to look for others he found himself trapped by new explosions aft, forcing him to locate an- other escape route. This time he was forced to the hangar deck. where he leaped over the side. For hve hours he floated in the cold water on a raft with Chief Tony Hungaro, sea- man Dennis Kolek, and shipfitter Kirkman, before being picked up by the carrier Hornet of another task group. Many a man like Burd did his valiant deed before he was overwhelmed in the elemental forces of the catastrophe. or was lion-eil ouri' tin' A-iflf-. 'lhii ninnbr-1 ol lil-rote will timer bi- known. With a group on Ihr' liantail, fir-ntry. cliiel boatsmairiis mate. ki-pt all hands lighting lirff until a sf-rif-s of xiolfrnt fr-X. plosionsof'Cl1l'l'er,l.'llliev put Iilf1jafAl4+-i.-- on the wonnrtfgrl ann lowered thein in the water before dropping in tlierri.-f-l'.'es. SCHUIEUI lied Skelton. a gunner, and his buddy were standing side by side. An explosion blew his buddy to liiis and catapulted Skelton into the water. Homer f.ecil. stand- ing in his unlaced shoes, was blown completely out of them and into the sea. Lt. Fitzgerald. assistant engineering oflicer. and dozens of men in separate groups, made their way tr, the safety of the fantail, only to be forced off. Qhief petty ollicers Austin, Sheppard, Gregg, Battickeg seaman liusso. private Kane, barber Antanasoff . . . their number will never be known. Yeoman Brown and Cavello leaped into the wa- ter together. Cavello, who could not swim. had no life jacket. His comrade, Brown, gave him his. Brown was not rescued. And Gunnery sergeant Truax, who, with a handful of Kla- rines, had manned the guns on the fantail to the last, handed his life jacket to a young seaman who could not swim. The sergeant was missing in action. Now. at I-l:f'lU. amid destruction and confusion. Xumber rv-.N :inlet Xx fl -9 f1'PllHfy' ll'0lLIll'fl.'f1 mfuz. is lowered fo destroyer 1'lliCfiTO.1T from fflllfftllif . . . ffzwrvi' TIIHII on this sfufrou rms jorwfl off ship by flnnrws nm! f'.l'llIUSI.UIIS

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gan' Wonndea' are evacuated to Santa Fe alongside and held a course hfty feet away, all hoses pour- ing water on Frankl1'n's flaming decks. A trolley was swiftly rigged and Comdr. Hale, with Major Elliot of the Marines, Father O'Callahan, men of the hospital corps, and volun- teers, commenced the difficult task of moving the wounded to the cruiser. Lower and lower Franklin listed into the water. Father 0lCallahan, a man of dauntless courage and supreme faith, gave extreme unction to the dying on the flaming Hight deck, calmly unheeding the explosions and confusion. At 9:30, as steam ceased to How from the boilers, the great screws were stilted and Big Ben lost steering control. 50 miles from Japan, the nearest any American surface warship had approached the islands thus far during the war. the Franklin lay dead in the water. The Santa Fe, unable to hold her position, backed away rapidly, snapping the lines that held her. Already Comdr. Taylor was hurrying forward to assemble the equipment and lay out the lines for a tow by the cruiser Pzttsbztrgh, an incredibly dilhcult task amid the confusion on the crowded forecastle. Wlieri Big Ben lay on a steady heading, drifting with the current, Santa Fc came in again boldly, with magnificent seamanship. Captain Fitz slammed his cruiser into actual contact with the gallery deck of the Fralzklin, now close to the water, as the stricken carrier listed heavily. He held the Santa Fe there by the force of her engines, using the for- ward gun turrets as fenders against the overhanging decks. Comdr. Hale had orders from the captain to evacuate the wounded, the men of the Air Group, and highly trained personnel from any department who would not be needed to save the ship. Destroyers plodded through the icy water. picking up men on rafts, or swimming. The chill March air made exposure an ordeal. Men on the ship were soaked to the skin from tending fire hoses, and shivered under blankets while they rested. What a precarious situation this wasl The little group ot warships was almost immobile, the cruiser Pznsburgfz stop- ped, busy with her boats over the side passing a messenger line to the Ffflvllfflliflg the cruiser Santa. Fc alongside the blaz- ing Franklin. However the five destroyers of Division 101-. the Hunt, Hickoaf, Marslzal. illiller, and Tirzgey steamed slow - ly in a circle around the heavy ships, picking up survivors as they went, ready to defend the group. Enemy planes were again approaching the formation and there were alarms. but as yet no attacks. Ut-ing within less than 100 miles of major Japanese air bases, it was considered but a matter of time until enemy bombers would return. The Ffllllkllill- had one