Franklin (CV 13) - Naval Cruise Book

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A Jap merchantman at Manila takes one on its fantail disable the flight deck and prevent the scheduled strikes from leaving, ordered a water landing ahead of a screening destroyer. The answer came back: Right arm wounded. Hatch fouled. Will not be able to open cockpit cover. Comdr. Taylor spoke quickly to the Admiral. It ' s sui- cide, sir, for that boy to land out there. I ' ll take the respon- sibility for the flight deck. Even as Admiral Davison assen ted, the cool voice on the radio spoke: Enough gas for this circle only. Can you give me a green flag? Franklin ' s engines churned full speed, and a forty knot gale swept the deck as the captain held her into the wind. The green flag went up. Every man on the ship watched with bated breath for they knew the danger of that landing to ship and plane. Fire-fighting crews, first aid men, damage control boys stood by. The men on the barriers were tense at their posts. Down glided the Hellcat in a beautiful approach. The tail- hook caught a wire and the plane slid along on its belly to rest gently against the first barrier. Lt. Johnson, with two Jap planes to his credit, emerged shaken but ready to fly again tiie next day. But that was the day, another of heavy air action over Manila, that Lt. Eric Magnussen, of Vir- ginia, Minnesota, probably the oldest combat pilot in the Navy, was missing in action. Maggie, after shooting two Zekes down that day, headed his damaged Hellcat for Big Ben but was never seen again. Now, while the flattops pounded the Japanese bases in the Philippines, and the tempo increased to the fury of pre- invasion assault, the mighty fleet of transports, battleships, escort carriers, all the Seventh Fleet, drew near Leyte. The historic moment arrived, on October 21st, 1944, as the troops of the Sixth Army poured ashore and the colors of America arose once more over the island where freedom had been crushed for three long years. A ]iromise had been redeemed. Task Group 38.4 withdrew to refuel on October 22nd. leaving the Luzon post to another force. This message from President Roosevelt to Admiral Halsey was received: The country has followed ivith pride the magnificent sweep of your fleet into enemy ivaters, in addition to the gallant fighting of your fliers. We appreciate the en- durance and super seamanship of your forces . . . To the officers and men of all services who have carried the fight to the enemy — Well Done. Between October 9th and October 20th the task group had flown 1677 sorties over enemy targets, shot down 182 enemy aircraft, destroyed 197 on the ground, probably destroyed 87. It had lost twenty-three aircraft in combat ; seventeen pilots and eleven aircrewmen were missing in action. It had sunk 37 Japanese vessels larger than one thousand tons and badly damaged 38 others. Of these totals Big Ben ' s Air Group Thirteen had taken its full share.

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big sliip heavily to port and the second bomb went off on the starboard side, close aboard, throwing a column of water over the ship and shaking tlie decks. The third bomb missed the port side twenty feet and before its concussion had subsided the fourth hit the corner of the deck-edge elevator, hurling hot steel and shrapnel in all directions. One Oscar was shot down by Big Ben ' s battery as he pulled out of his dive v. bile the other went into a dogfight with the patrol. Shrapnel huni ihc hil Imc ihimigli the gallery deck, the island structure, and the niasl. Sigtialinan James Hogers, at his station on the flag bridge, was killed. Lt. (jgl Harmon K. lluilson. of the bonibcr squadron, and seaman William Taylor were moitally wounded. Five other men were seri- ously hurt and later died; twenty-seven were injured. Under the direction of Comdr. Smith. Medical Department Head, the casualties were given first aid and the more seri- ously wounded were rushed to the sick bay. Aided by Drs. Fuelling and Fox and by Titus . Vober. Torneby. Mitchell. Mason, of the Medical Staff, all performed [prodigiously that day. At least two men would have died had the surgeon ' s efforts been too little or too late. George Smith, radarman third class, at his battle station, a hundred feet from the hit. had been struck with a piece of shrapnel that tore through the half-inch steel bulkhead before completely piercing his side. Dr. Fox. without hesitation, working through the rag- ged hole in the man s side, removed several feet of riddled intestines, joined the ends which the damaged section had bridged, cleaned and stitched the wound. Vt ithin two weeks George Smith was back on watch, jiroud of his Purple Heart. Ll. Hoy. a torpedo plane pilot, struck in the temple and in the spine with shrapnel, lay dying on his cot in the quiet room that night. Three large blood clots were forming on his brain, beneath the shattered bone. Dr. Fox. who de- claimed knowledge of anything from the neck up. watched the agonized man for five hours when he could take time from the dozens of wounded in the nearby sick bay. Then, when it seemed as though Ll. Hoy had breathed his last. Dr. Fox reached a decision. Into the ships operating room the pilot was wheeled by anxious pharmacist ' s mates. Instead of anesthesia an oxygen mask was used to keep the woundeil man alive. For two hours the doctor labored, cutting through the damaged bone, removing the deadly clots which he had known must be there, then replacing the trepanned .section. Lt. Hoy was alive two weeks later and transferred to a lui-- pital ship, with a fighting chance for recovery. Fortunately the bomb hit had not knocked the lliuht deck out of commission. The deck edge elevator could be re- paired by Comdr. LeFavour ' s shipfitters and Lt. Comdr. (ireene ' s engineers. The bomb-laden strikes would continue to pour ofT toward the doomed Japs on Luzon. During the afternoon two more attacks were thrown at Task Group 38.4. From the northwest ,50 Japanese planes appeared on the radars. . few miinites later a large group came into radar range from the southwest. Lt. Comdr. Brun- ing scrambled section after section of Hellcats, and the Sun Jacinto air patrol was already moving full speed to intercept the enemy groups. V( ithin ten miiuites M) fighters were clos- ing in on the southern group and 20 fighters on the northern formation. In a precise interception at 50 miles the southern Jafis were brought to battle. Not a Nip escaped. Reports from the airmen came through: ' S[)lash two Zekes. Splash an Oscar, Splash a Betty. The iu)rthern group was inlercejjted at 60 miles while it atti ' mjjted to execute an encircling maneuver. It fled in panic. Hellcats of the Thirteenth charging in victoriously to knock down a dozen of the Japanese before the formation escaped when American gas ran low. On Big Ben all bands breathed a sigh of relief and grati- tude to the boys of Fighting Thirteen. In CIC Lt. David .Al- len, Evaluation Officer, was busy until laic that night tabu- lating reports from the other air grou|)s for a final tally of the day ' s work. o4 Japanese planes had spun into the water, shattered by .American steel. Big Ben ' s guns had accounted for one and her fighters had shot down 29. The Enterprise air grouji had knocked down 27. with the remainder going to the smaller airgroups on the San Jacinto and Belleuu Wood. Heavy strikes were again launched at the Manila Bay area on October 16th, concentrating on shipping. The Japanese defenders strove desperately to protect the ships which were the life-blood of their Empire. Oscar and Zeke fighters trail- ed re turning strikes. ho])ing to pick off cripples, or circled above the oncoming formations of carrier planes, striving to draw ofl fighter escorts so that other Zekes could |)ick off unprotected dive-bombers and torpedo planes. Sometimes this worked and then the gunners in the .Avengers and Hell- divers had opportunity to show their mettle. ,A number of them were credited with shooting down Jap fighters. Yet at day ' s end the hulks of half-sunken ships dotted the shallow water of Manila Harbor and clouds of smoke poured from the stricken installations. That night 30 of the Enterprise planes striking .Manila lost their way in the dusk. They were heard on the radio and finally located, but when they had been directed to the task group it was dark and many had barely enough gas to land aboard. It was urgent to gel them down; every carrier in the force advised the Big E that they were ready to commence landing operations. .As the tired warbirds came down to the dim-lit flight decks pathetic messages could be heard on the radio; This is Bea er Two. Am making water landing. Out. Gas enough for one more circle. Can you give me a flag, [deasey ' One Helldiver. blinded in the darkness, flew full into the side of the Helleau Wood and exploded. Half a dozen others crashed in the sea and the indefatigable de- stroyers commenced searching for survivors. Big Ben took eight planes aboard; the pilots and ai;- crewmen stumbled out. exhausted. It had been Irving for all hands while those big black planes were bumping down on the flight deck in the dark. The Big E was grateful: ' e thank you for your prompt response to eniergencv X ednes- dav night. Your close cooperation much appreciated. On the next dav ccurred another incident that might have had tragic consequences. Lt. J. B. Johiuiy Johnson, of Fighting Thirteenth, was wounded over the target and the landing gear of bis Hellcat so badly damaged that it could nut In ' lowered, lie came back with his strike, barely enough iias to make the ship, and requested permission to make a crash landing on deck. Admiral Davison, knowing that might

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CHAP I K R E I (; II I ... ' never forge! iiluit the captain told lis the oilier evening; and I guess I won ' t let my grandchildren forget, either . . . And I don ' t think many of us ivill ever forget that Jn i named inn. the little yellow pilot that laid his Zeke on our flight deck. But that didn ' t slop Big Ben ... BATTLE FOR LEYTE GULF Admiral Davison ' s klagshii ' . Fnuiklin. and the ships ol Task Group 38.4 withdrew to the westward on October 22nd to replenish supplies since bombs were low and the su])j)ly of torpedoes nearly exhausted. Task Groups 38.2 and 38.3 were now in the seas off Luzon and Leyte. supporting the doughboys of the Sixth Army. Task Group 38.1. with the brand-new carrier Ticonderoga, was on a course from Uiithi to the Philippines. Admiral Halsey knew that the next move was up to the Japanese Navy. The airfields for a thousand miles north ot Leyte were out of commission for weeks and the important Philippines ' bases were under daily attack from carrier bombers. The vital shipping lanes over which reinforcements must come to Yamashita ' s soldiers were under constant at- tack. Within a few weeks new airfields hacked from the Leyte jungles would be havens for the land-based Fifth and Thir- teenth Army Air Forces. If the Philippines — and the Fm- pire — were to be saved it was up to the big, black battle- wagons and flat-tops of the Imperial Navy to smash the .American Fleet. Their aim must be to isolate the 200,000 in- vading Yankee soldiers so the defending Nipponese Army could cut them to pieces. The Japanese plan of battle was simple in conception and held the threat of disaster to the .American forces. It was the old pincer movement. From the northern tip of Luzon to the southern end of Mindanao there are a thousand miles of island-dotted ocean — the Philip|)ine Archipelago. There are two ])assages by which a fleet might cross the island chain; Suragaio Straits. between Leyte Gulf and the South China Sea: the Straits of San Bernardino, between Luzon and .Saniar. 100 miles north of Leyte Gulf, where the hundreds of American trans|jorts and supply ships now lay. The Japanese First Fleet, two battleshi])s. half a dozen cruisers and screening destroyers, would force its way through the Suragaio Straits and fall upon the transports The Japane.se Second Fleet, two super-battleships, the ) anuito and Musashi. three older battleshi|)s. with a dozen destroyers and ten cruisers would drive through the San Ber- nardino Straits, and cut Leyte ' s supply line to Uiithi. The Japanese Third Fleet, two battleships, four carriers, eight cruisers, and six destroyers, would proceed southward from Japan and lay a hundred miles to the west of Leyte, support- ing the other two fleets by drawing off any American carrier assaults. Probably the Jajsanese admiral expected some as- sistance from land-based aircraft in the Philip]jines. It was a desperate gamble of a Navy for an Empire. Weighed against it in the scales of war were the Third and Seventh United States Fleets. During the night of October 23rd the fateful word Hashed to Big Ben ' s radio room from submarines in the China Sea that the Japanese Navy was on the move and that strong units of the enemy fleet were approaching the Philippines. Task Group 38.4 wheeled and steamed westward, flank sjjeed. At dawn ten search-attack grou|)s, six Hellcats and six bomli- ers to a team, were thrown west. Four of the assault teams came from Big Ben. Over a radius of 325 miles they ranged, covering the island areas and waterways of southern Samar, northern Leyte. Celiu, Negros, and Panay. No major forma- tion of the enemy fleet were sighted, but near Pucio Point. Panay. two destroyers and a cruiser were located. Lt. Dick Harding and Lt. ' Fats Miller joined their attack groups and thundered down to hit the Japs with rockets, bombs, and machine gun fire. The cruiser heeled over and sank. The destroyers ere blazing and listing heavily when the attack ended. Later in the day main unit of the Jajjanese Second Fleet uere sighted moving throuiih Tablas Straits. 1.50 miles from . J lip deslraytT. hit. is shaken by a close one from one of Big Hen ' s smrrh-nttdck planes . . . Ocloher 2Uh