Franklin (CV 13) - Naval Cruise Book

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kiwi a f0llflillt' patrol can hare a lively emlirig. This Hell- dzirer is hvrzded for frouble. .4 zving is srm1sl1ea'. us he Crash- ws into after gun ruolznf. Pfffff and grand foray into souvenir-land, with unhelievalile nylons. Chanel Number Five from l rz1m:e, alligator skin hugs. Sui-s wrist watches. all manner of impressive gifts for that girl ltdfli home-Wand all the other loot ai sailor loves. Thr- little task group stood north on Hay lfith. with the- Pommand in liig lien. Daily llighr operations. daily pound- ing away at target lvalloons. daily drills hy every depart- ment and dixision -filllfl an ominous lar-k of dt-tails mu-h day in Ulladif, I'r1--- Xexxsu alvout thf- avtual operations in the lj2:If'iiIf'. xxlwiwl 'liask l'iUl'f'f' l ifty-1-iglit was poised some- ulierf-. rffaflx lor lfattlf: rlihr-rw had he-f-n no major operation -imp Xlarfh. 'HW Xlarshalls xwre 5I'f'lllif'1 hloofly 'liaraua .ind linix-.vtok uf-rv history. Xliifwxflllllfif- mr-in vontiinirtl the lf rflflntlws- mopping-up in Nut Georgia. New Guinea. tht- rolornon-A gUTfl4 Altf'l ' there- was li -till-poxwrlul .liiIH1lll'Hf' NAU.. Vkhf-o would il fomr- out 'ind light' tould nr- Us-t tlwrv- lu !Ytf 'l thf- thru-I? Vlihf- men of lily ll:-ri talks-rl mon' 1 ... A l,.l..... . M IH'Hu,4 . . .,.... v-..: V, 4 x . . I l, 1 .-e3gvqj :'i',.i:. ,.. ., -L x -Q Q .. . I .. I .lust Ull!'1lily out oli Sun I,l1':1!lI,HIl May ltith, :willy rooms xterm- ulvrtml. 'llha' fkriny Air l oi'f-v, vlmrgt-fl with proterting San Dim-gois xulnt-ralilt' warplants, haul lm-n informed that a giant i't'llt'Illy-i 1-urriel' with l'Sf'Ul'lllItlx warships, was slipping nortlmtml to throw a suicidal hlow at the-se previous in- stullations. Mitt-In-ll hoinhers, Flying Forts, long range recwonnais- sam-e liilierators. were searching through the fog oll' the lfalifornia coast for ai carrier with the numlier Tliirteen in huge ligures on her flight deck. They were still SCf2iI'Cll- ing the next day. with Big Ben only 100 miles off San Fernando Island. Clouds. rain squalls. favored the raid- ersg llig lien lurked in the middle of the lilaekest squall. Then a lucky Mitchell. speeding through the overcast, had a Contact on his radar screen. Like a pencil line, his course ., -..gJ Q gunner are shaken hu! not badly hurt. Fin' a'1'dl1,t start, this time. Hu! hoses are ready as fhglzt deck crews szmrrn ahoul plane. L ef-if ,I+ ' 'e ' f Y li 1 : : :' I -53 4 -I' vs- C 1 : 1 - 5- -1 tr 7 1: , 'l 'r 1 , I I .v.-wu-,..- -.ff-v

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Chief Boatswains Mate Bog Gregg Qcenzerj with two of his assistant policemen . . . Gregg used to walk 15 miles a day on Big Ben, in his Chief Master at Arms post liberty in more than a month. Not even wartime censorship can defeat the intuition of a Navy wife or sweetheart, there were many happy reunions on shore that evening which might mystify Naval Intelligence. Monday, April 19th, Big Ben moved to the huge drydock at Portsmouth. Urgent voyage repairs must bemade, acres of bottom must be scraped clean of barnacles, even on so young a ship. Final supplies were taken aboard-for the next destination was no doubt the Pacific Ocean and Admiral W. F. uBull,' Halsey's Third Fleet. Every man would have four days' leave before sailing, those not on leave must work double time. For three days and nights the duty sections labored heroically to clean and paint the bottom. After two days, barter with the sup- ply department extra rations were promised for the men on the third night. There was many a sardonic jest when this extra ration turned out to be a solitary candy bar per man. But in high spirits, though weary, the herculean task was finished in record time and the drydock flooded By May 4th all yard work was done but those words are woefully inadequate to describe what went on aboard and ashore before the last leave party returned and the last freight car on the dock had been relieved of its burden Aboard for just one example the catapult had been re moved from the hangar deck to the flight deck, a colossal task in itself, ashore, one lad was stretching his four day leave into thirty because he had met a young lady school teacher and had been in constant attendance in the First Grade of a Norfolk public school A sense of finality hung over these last days The spring weather made even the drab streets of Portsmouth attractive In the warm evening air the lads went ashore in gay little groups, to lose themselves in heedless crowds The war was real grim, and near, men thou ht of the distant Pacific and wondered when, if ever they would see another State side The warrant officers honored Captain Shoemaker at a party which was to bid farewell to the States and to Norfolk, which has been described by an Army Wag as the perfect Port of Embarkation-no matter what the destina- tion, it is a pleasure to go, if Norfolk can be left behind. New faces were aboard Big Ben before she departed. Tall Lt. Walter Kreamer became Communications Officer, reliev- ing Lt. Comdr. Mather. Ens. Stanley S. Graham, possessor and uninhibited user of a foghorn voice which earned him the name of uSteamship, leaped the rail in these final moments. Much to the sincere regret of all hands of the Engineering Department, as well as a host of others, Comdr. Agens turned his Chief Engineerls post over to his aide, Lt. Comdr. Greene, bid everyone a perfunctory good-bye, and disappeared over the side before anyone could see the tears in his eyes. Chief Boatswain's Mate HAnthony Wayne was called to shore duty and Chief Bob Gregg became head Master-at-Arms. Gregg, jovial but eflicient, was known in a week as 'fthe only friendly Master-at-Arms in the United States Navy, a man with only one vice-Copenhagen Snuff. Big Ben, fueled to capacity, stood out through the channel on the morning of May 5th, to be joined by three new destroyers, the Twiggs, Leary, and Cushing. A year later, locked in mortal combat with suicidal ,lap planes off Oki- nawa, the Twiggs would go down in glory, guns blazing. Off Cape Henry, Franklin and her escorts turned into the wind. Air Group Thirteen landed aboard, to take up per- manent residence, or as permanent as such hazardous resi- dence can be in time of war. With all watches set, air pa- trols in the sky, Task Group 12.1 steamed southward through the mists, toward Panama. May 11th, 100 miles from the approaches to the Panama Canal, the Thirteenth Air Group, in all its roaring, low- fiying splendor, hurled itself in mock assault on the great Waterway to test the Army's defensive strength, and as a spectacular announcement that Big Ben was on her way to the war. Half the crew went on shore leave in Cristobal, then by evening of the next day she had squeezed through the westernmost lock and was berthed in Balboa. One day here, with liberty in Panama City. was one It fomdr Thomas 1 frffm USN l'7l.,IIltfV'1ll., 0 r llnv 1944 fo july 1945 flfllllg flflllfllf' 0 Cer to lllm 1946 1 1 1' D 11 . 'K . h ' ' 1 . - . . . . D. , , 7 D . ' n 7 . . 1 Spring. , V N77 w -I , I . 1. ,. . - -. .1 ', tt, if -K0 MCP, F I 1 n 1 V lv. , 1 V .,1. . F1 t. I I . 1 1.. , 4. fl r h, ... .

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The Hellcats cut the Mitchell down 50 miles from Big Ben, but now an ominous warning of many swiftly approaching planes came from Into the wind came Task Group I2 1 Destroyers closed 1n a tight circle that their powerful AA batteries might better defend the carrier Dozens of Hellcat fighters were racing off to battle the Army bombers Dozens of carrier bombeis roared into the sky and arrowed for the prime targets in the San Diego area Soon came the swirl of mock battle as Grummans tore into Flying Forts But some of the Mitchells and Forts slipped through the fighter screen, twisting and turning to dodge imaginary AA then levelling off for their bomb runs Every gun in the task group had them covered 1t had seemed very real uiet returned however, and Big Ben finally rested at the San Diego Naval Air Station Air Group Thirteen had already landed ashore, mechanics, ordnancemen, plane cap tains, and others hurried to the planes to take up their un ending tasks Two days were consumed in urgent repairs after the I0 000m1le run from Norfolk Fuel and supplies were rc plenished half the crew were given shore leave, with pref erence going to men whose homes were on the West Coast Three days were needed for operations at sea in which Rear Admiral Sherman Commander of Fleet Aircraft, would pronounce upon the readiness of Big Ben and Air Group Thirteen for battle After all tests Admiral Sherman was satisfied, back in San Diego things begun to hum 'warn Two thousand passengers, lnevltahle complement of a car ner anywhere except in action brought themselves and their baggage aboard Tons of supplies were loaded Days were busy but there was shore leave 1n the evenings Franlclirfs crew saw also another side of war prepara- tions. Each morning, long chains of landing craft, LCT, LCI's, LClVI,s, and others, loaded to the gunwales with troops, would pass down the channel for drills on the coast. Late in the day they would return, a tired, sweating bunch of soldiers-the men Big Ben would later cover and assist with fighters, dive bombers and torpedo planes. Shore leave expired at midnight May 3lst At dawn next day, with the Twrggs Leary Cushmg, and cruiser Denver Big Ben edged into the channel and stood westward with her passengers, 500 tons of urgent cargo her 90 airplane and a crew of nearly 3 000 men She was headed for a fast voyage to Pearl Harbor, at 23 knots, without air patrol She entered the winding channel to Ford Island on June 5th Here, at Pearl Harbor th11ty months after their demol 1t1on, men saw the wrecks of what had once been the battle ships Arzaona and Oklahoma They saw also the speedy repairs which had been made to the base since December 7th 1941 they saw the formidable defenses which had been constructed Army planes wheeled ceaselesslv oxerhead there were bristling rows of anti aircraft batteries and radar stations which felt their way through the skies with magic rays from their weird antennas This was a Pearl Harbor for men to remember, just as that other Pearl Harbor is one that the world will not forget On December ith, 19-lil this had been the lNaxy s front line post in the Pacific Now Pearl Harbor was a staffing base, 3 000 miles from the nearest ,lap in arms bw Ben and America had traveled a long w ay but the hardest Journew still lay ahead Here the passenoexs debaiked to go their xartou ways aftei a four day trip which would haxe taken muah longer by even the fastest transport then plowinc the Pauht lhe planes of All Croup Thirteen had been llown to Puuneme hut the next moinme the Franklin ind her destroy er escort put to sea to ICIIG'-ll the lheis in night ldlldllll the most delicate open mon wluch carrier personnel must mas t Ilwo tiny iows of heht on her fhght detk usxhle only from astcrn were there to guide in the planes coordination CIC. , , - , . . . . 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