Franklin (CV 13) - Naval Cruise Book

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4 1- 4+ C hd P-9 L4 E ... N ,Z ci 9-1 N42 NP . , E? , t-J NU to 3 i-4 iv UQ 5 U 5' cn CIO C3 u.nv f'P E e O M VN ED o cn P1 U2 . E CI r-' CL G L . H UQ Z5 rn u 3 L 1 cn - . , UQ 2 2 0 t A P-3 R N E, L , 0 . .- ' , D . CU ' U '11 E ' 13' . 11' 'u- H. . Q - N : PP 'S 64' - G F L - . I U K 2 :I r--1 . ' x . , FE' - N' O cr u 0 ll? ' in N . C - U F' 53 . ' N . D, ns U U I 1 4 X. X. -Q nf 5 H J E s... Q 0 UQ , 5 Q.. - Yi!! IZSEGA. l za V A I 19 u f P. ll ia, ur .N I 1. r 4 a 1 . At Newport the crew had been steadily increasin . Fvery day brouffht 11ew arrivals from naval traininf stations all over the nation bome veterans were among these fresh arrivals, enough to provide a healthy leaveninff of ex- perience for the two thousand, five hundred and forty- four men which the top chiefs of the Navy had set down as needed for the crew of Bi' Ben. ported to.Newport News, Virginia and boarded their ship, already the nickname, B' Ben' had come to stay. lt had simply dropped down out of thin air, no one will ever know the name of the casual genius who first used it All Essex class carriers are named either for famous ships or famous battles, so the Bunker Hill the Intrepid the Hornet. The Fl'ClfZf'fl.fL, fifth ship of her name in the Navy, was named after an eight-gun sloop of the American Revo- lution which had serxed her country bravely and with distinction. But that franklin had been named for the il- lustrious Benjamin Franklin-therefore the nickname, ready-made, both respectful and affectionate I On the morning of January 31st, towed by tugs, she entered the Norfolk Navy Yard, Portsmouth, Virginia. That afternoon she was placed in commission with impressive fanfare and under the official gaze of many dignitaries. The crew was drawn up on the flight deck-the Marine Guard was at attention-Big Ben's officers faced the plat- form which had been erected for the ceremony. The pilots of Air Group Thirteen, Big Ben's own fliers, were pres- ent. Hear Admiral Felix Gygax, commandant of the Fifth Naval District, and Artemus l. Gates assistant secretary of the Nruy were notabh, amonv the several hunt re uests. ln the wan sunshine of a winter afternoon with a chill- inff brceve after the martial music of the band no man who was there will exer forffet the brawe. solemn words of the Secretary: and won many battles and have left a record of sea-w'orthi- ness and xaliance which rise up before her as a challenffe. She will meet that challenffef As Secretary Gates spoke every person on that windswept flight deck remembered that far away on distant battle- fronts, American boys were fighting and dying. This mivhty carrier would reinforce them. This crew more boy: would soon be fighting beside them. ln the end throuvh all the misery of war, America would triumph . . A wave of emotion swept the gatherinff as Captain Shoemaker arose to accept command. Mr. Secretary and Honored Guests: uWe have followed the final stages of construction of this great ship, and know from personal observation that in a material sense she is as nearly perfect as possible. Today our Fmnklin becomes a unit of our Navy, and we are charged with the large responsibility of training our- selves to have complete knowledge of all the potentialities of our ship, to the end that she will soon be ready to take her place in the line of battle. uThis is no easy task. The ship's company and the air fdlllllflfjf 31, 79-Mg Big HUIIQS crew llSSl'Il1fIff'ff for l'UIIllI1I-SSI-Ullfll ff Ff'l't'lI10lI rw ,ll

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annals ot the 1'll'Ul1hll!l but in history itsi-lt. .N strongly- built, determined man: lwl:u'lv-liaired. iu axiation greens. his words were brief but packed with punch as hc ad- dressed his men on ai bitter-cold day: Gentleiucn. l have been ordered by the lthireau to be the tirst tiounnzinding Ufticet' of thi- U.S.S. l ra.11li'l1f1z, CV Xuniber Thirteen. NX e will put the l'll'lIll,lx'lI.Il in commission and bring her to the tiring line faster than any carrier in history. Six mouths from now you will have seen what your tirst lap looks like. Thirteen is rny lucky ILUIILIIGF. Good huntingli' lt was more than a promise, for it was il fact. The going was rugged at Newport but there were bright spots as well. The first day at quarters Comdr. Day intro- duced Saxie Dowell, famous orchestra leader who was to lead Frarzklzns band. The band, whose leader had composed Three Little Fishes, Playmate and other popular songs. was popular with the ship from the start. Most members were well-known musicians in their own right: Jumbo, the massive master of the tuba . . . 4'RedH James, the boy who did things with menis hearts when he bore down on his tromboneg Dean Kinkaid, arranger for Dorsey. The first selection that Saxie and his men played was one of his own composition, 4'Big Ben the Flat-top. There may have been significance in the manner in which the words and music reveal the spirit that animated the crew of the Franklin and of every other carrier in the fighting months to come. Every man had to take swimming practice, contradicting the old and false legend that sailors are the poorest swim- -mga.. , wav if y , , nn-nun o im-rs in the world, these swimming lessons saved many a life in the lempestuous days which were ahead. liirc-fighting instruction was given-e-eanother lesson which came into use on Big lien. Gun crews studied their weapons and learned how to use them by actual firing practice. lfngineers studied the maze of valves, pipes, intricate wir- ing systems-elogether with the machinery and auxiliaries -e-that were the nerves, the muscles and almost the brains of the ship. Heads of Air, Gunnery, Engineering, Communications, Damage Control, Navigation, Medical, and Supply Depart- ments-the whole works-sweated constantly over perfect- ing the million-on-one details which must be Hgured down to the proverbial gnatis eyebrow before a major warship is ready to fight, or even put to sea. KBig Ben the Flat-top, mistress of .sea and sky . . . With every ounce of strength weill help our fighting aces fly: As from her decks those motors roar and rocket out to sea, We'll give a mighty heartfelt cheer for those wings of Victory? Officers, men-even the men behind the bass drum and the clarinet-were already instilled with the knowledge that a carrieris function was to get Navy fliers in action, to get them to the spots on the ocean wastes where they could do the most damage to the enemy, and, with every ounce of energy and sacrifice, to bring them back if human effort and endurance could manage it. Srrriv llouirel l nm! the rnen on Big lien knew they hurl the best band in the Navy

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'ff' l i 25 ' af.: fs. 0111314111-Il, Slzoenzfzlrer prepares to aecept COIIIITIIIIIII, us SL'CfI?fll7'y Cafes IIIZLZIFPSSPS Big Bemis crew and guests group together Compose the most complex combat team in the worlrl. Knowing this, we in the Franklin highly resolve that the trust reposecl in us shall prove to have been well justi tied. antl that our Ship will join the Fleet ready in all 1 f M respects to strike hard, again and again, until the enemies of this great nation shall have been beaten to their knees. The watch was set and Carrier Number Thirteen, United Stairs Ship Ffllllrlillill-iilglg Ben the Flat-topn-was well on her way to the wars. IM ,f f f W fn, f 2- . f V iiii V 5 N vt X , ,X .7 f f ., f f . 'H lo . ,D 23 ' I 1 A u Y 223 SZ E. 4 5 I .... .ii A H6 'WE 91 l'fH ' FIS? ii g. fi 5 L 1