Franklin (CV 13) - Naval Cruise Book

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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

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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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CHAPTER TWO . . . I never worked harder in my life, nor met more people. Guys who were only names on the pay list two months ago were now my buddies. On rope- yarn Sundays we would play acey-ducey on the f0cs'l or swap lies as we caulked-of in our bunks. But other times, it was drill, drill, drill . . . KW e knew every bulkhead and rivet on that big pig-iron barge like we knew the kitchen linoleum back home THE MISSION: To seek out and to destroy the enemy, where ever he may be. THE MEANS: Those swarms of dive- bombers and torpedo planes and rocket-firing fighters which will soar from her decks. THE METHOD: 'fKeep 'em flying. Comdr. D. L. Day, Executive Ojicer until Sept. 24th, 1944 97 HIP Fon NEARLY THREE WEEKS Big Ben lay majestically beneath the huge cranes at Pier Two in the Norfolk Navy Yard while her innermost being seethed and churned. In the mind of her Captain there was a master plan, under Comdr. Day and the firm, devoted Department Heads, it came into be- ing. From lists of names on the Watch, Quarter, and Sta- tion Bills, the divisions were born--each division with its Lieutenant, with his ujgsi' and ensigns, his petty officers, each division with its Port and Starboard Watch. Men came to know their own important assignments, the faces and names of their shipmates. Each came to know his battle station and his place in fire drill, abandon-ship drill, collision drill, torpedo defense, flight quarters. He had to become familiar with the meaning of bugle calls, the boat- swain's pipe, and to accustom himself to the orders that flew through the ship over the metallic vocal chords of the Msquawkboxesf' The men not only began to know their own duties, but also to realize the importance of their own divisions and, in turn, to understand how the function of each division must mesh to perfection with that of every other division if Big Ben was to become the fighting ship which every man wanted her to be. A ' Into the master plan would fit the Engineering Depart- ment, under Comdr. F. C. Agens, ex-Bunker-Hill f'Chiefi', with its MM or machinery division that lived with, tended, and loved the mighty engines, with its GLA division to groom and pamper the many auxiliaries necessary that those engines might rung its MB division, keepers of the four giant firerooms with their boilers, the HE division to tend the river of electricity from its throbbing source in the huge main generators down to the last rivulet entering some re- mote light. All so that Big Ben might come up to 23 knots and into the wind, and the captain could give the word Commence Launchingw, and those Helldivers and Avengers could roar down her deck and into the sky. Or so that she might steam swiftly through the stormiest waters with her