Franklin (CV 13) - Naval Cruise Book

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i I l l 'liylji both ol which ucic now nntlci hcatx y an atttaick lroni . . , . . . . , , I the ,lripiincsc llnrtt liter-t s planes in lllls in-tion thi- light l t'ill'I'lt't' Jl7lii'1tt'f4'-'I was lost. l Xdniiral ltatsex had det-idctl tpiickly. llc was hurrying the 5 task groups ot' his ilihird lflect norlliwttrd to engage this new I . . . 1 llircrit, lcaxing the sewn old luittlcsliips with their escorting l t'i'nist-is and destroyers. along with Xdniirul lxinkaidis baby 2 gldytops, to protect the shipping in lmyte hull. So in the exeuing ot' ilctolwr 21th, Fl'llIlli'1IiIl and her coni- rades were speeding northward. past the escort t'a1'1'ier'sc1'1iis- ing So miles olli the cntrgnicc to l.ey'te Gull.. for tt l'l'llLlL'ZYUllS with the other groups. During the night two more new battle- ships joined her screenh enow boasting the super-battle- wagons South Ilttlfofu. qllulrolrnz. and llHtISllll1gf0I1. y 'lihat night the search planes kept contact with the Jap carrier task force until 3:30 L1.Il1. An hour before dawn the E bugles called battle stationsg the laps were somewhere to the north. about l00 miles away. Hall' an hour later a sixteen- plane combat air patrol was launched: at 6:30 twelve bomb- ers and eight torpedo planes took the sky to lly northward. Thr-5 lunl orders to circle at a distance of 50 rniles from llig llcn while awaiting word from the seurcli planes which were now combing the oct-ati. Mc-anwliilc, at second dr-r-kloatl ol laonilmt-rs and fighters was arnicd. :Xt 7:30 the Japanese lflt-vt was siglin-tt. 130 miles cast ol l l'11l1lrl1'l1'.s circling lionilicrs. 'llliere were lonr carriers, thc Zuilfulfu, lflzilusc, Zuilm, and Cfziyodu. Two hattleships with tlight decks, the llyugu. and lsv, steamed with them, sur- rounded by a dozen cruisers and destroyers. The orders were llashed out for attack. Hellcats from another air group hur- ried to the scene to cover Big Ben's airmen as they hurtled in. Seventeen enemy hghters were in the air over their car- riers and they fought desperately to save them. An Avenger piloted by Ens. Thomas P. Brooks, Ir., of Concord, Mass., with aircrewman Harold J. Shane, of York, Pa., and Francis J. Ploger, of Grand Rapids. Mich., spun down to the sea in a fatal water landing. But the bombers bored in. A few min- utes before 8:0O, Comdr. Kibbe's voice on the radio said: We are going down on a big carrier. Looks like itls trying to turn into the wind to launch. The voices on the radio -x .sl . .. . ..r.-ff i I I i i l 1 l l l 'i i i 'i 2 i I l if lo' !ll!lfllII'Sl' Ylffrfl l lw'l. llllilll'f lll'Ill'l' nir ullurk. fltfUll'S up fluff . . . The f'llfI'I'l' r In Ilia' left is lmrrf liil

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San Bernardino. There were at least live battleships, nine cruisers, and a dozen destroyers. Immediately, at l.:30 p.m. a heavy deckload-twelve bombers, ten torpedo planes and ten Hellcats-warmed with rockets and bombs, sped off to at- tack. ltlrom l-11.000 feet the Franklin. planes sighted the en- emy. moving in two groups about eight miles apart. south 'of Sibuyan Island. The northeast group, in compact forma- tion, was steaming westward at top speed. The southern group of ten or twelve warships, was milling in circles as though under air attack. Comdr. Richard Kibbe, who had recently become Air Group Thirteen's commander, directed the attack at the bat- tleships of the northern group. In the face of a heavy flak barrage thrown up by the enemy, who was firing even his sixteen-inch guns, Big Benis warplanes thundered down. The battleship Musashi, hit by two heavy bombs, staggered out of line, smoking. After many hits later during that day, the Musashi sank. The battleship Yamato, also hit, twisted and turned to dodge the armor piercing missiles. Two cruisers were hard hit and one was left dead in the water. A light cruiser, struck by a single torpedo, dropped by Lt. ljgy I-1, Q. Ransom, exploded violently and sank in seconds. That was one of the luckiest hits of the war. Lt. Ransom, under a hail of fire, was dodging in on a lap battlewagon when he dropped his fish. A light cruiser, whipping along at 30 knots, ran in between and took it squarely. A magazine mugt have exploded because it sank almost instantly. Of the 32 attacking planes, two were shot down and four teen damaged. lfns. Robert Freligh and his gunner, Sam Plonsky, were later reported safe in the hands of friendly Filipinos, after the crash of their shell-torn bomber. Lt. Cjgj Marshall D. Barnett, lad from dusty Texas, and a poet of stature, was lost in action with his gunner. Leonard Pick ens, of New Concord, Ohio. Their Helldiver went doun near the Japanese fleet. Vllhile this attack was in progress reports arrived of 3 powerful enemy carrier force, the Japanese Third Fleet, moving southward from 200 miles east of Cape Escarpado, on the north tip of Luzon. Franlslinfs group was passing Leyte Gulf, standing north to join Task Groups 38.2 and . ma A, . 15554. of J . , lap super-battleship Yamofo, firing all glLIlS, twists wilrlly to escape.

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