Aviation Naval Warfare Land Systems Small Arms Space By Flag By Year By Tag

USS Franklin (CV-13)

1944 COLD WAR WORLD WAR 2

History of USS Franklin (CV-13)

While the Essex class was not the most available aircraft carrier to the United States Navy (USN) during combat during World War II (1939-1945), it did play the most important role in the operations of the US Navy's surface fleet. Empire of Japan.

One of them, USS Franklin (CV-13), was ordered in 1940 but did not roll off the line until December 7, 1942. She was finally launched on October 14, 1943, and officially commissioned on January 31, 1944.

Built to Essex-class standards, the USS Franklin displaces 27,100 tons under standard load and a whopping 36,400 tons under full load. She is 872 feet long, with a beam of 93 feet and a draft of 34 feet.

Power comes from 8 boilers providing 4 shafts for 4 150,000 hp Westinghouse gear steam turbines. The maximum attainable speed is 33 knots and the range is 20,000 nautical miles.

There are 2,600 people on board. Armor protection ranges from 4 inches on belts and 1.5 inches on deck to 4 inches on bulkheads and 2.5 inches on vital stern pieces.

Mounted weapons include a Dual Purpose (DP) gun in a 4 x 5" dual gun turret, a Dual Purpose (DP) gun in a 4 x 5" single gun turret, and a 46 x 40mm Anti-Aircraft (AA) gun from Bofors.

The fleet includes up to 100 different types of aircraft - fighters, torpedoes and dive bombers. The flight deck is served by two centerline elevators and a single deck edge elevator. At the time of construction, the battleship was powerful and fast, and its firepower consisted mainly of its wings.

Defenses will come from her conventional projectile weapons as well as the anti-air screens provided by all of the fleet's accompanying warships.

The initial explosion was contained, although hundreds of Franklin's crew were eventually killed in the subsequent spillover. Flames spread to the loaded aircraft, rapidly igniting/detonating various fuel depots, live ammunition and ammunition depots, causing increasing damage and confusion. Hazardous fumes produced during the incident were drawn into the ship's active ventilation system, killing 724 people in action (265 were also recorded as injured). Still, with so many souls trapped on the lower decks, no one ever agreed to abandon the warship.

In fact, many employees voluntarily stayed on board during the chaos.

It was only through the sacrifice and courage of the crew that the USS Franklin survived and managed to sail back to Pearl Harbor very slowly for its first assessment. From there, she was sent to the New York Navy Yard for wider repair work, which saved her for the rest of the war.

With the surrender of Japan in August 1945, World War II officially ended.

The USS Franklin was not returned to service as her service was no longer required after the war - she was placed in reserve in February 1947. She was reclassified from CV to CVA (attack aircraft carrier) in October 1952, and then again from CVA to CVS (anti-submarine warfare support carrier) in August 1953.

In May 1959, she became an AVT (Aircraft Transport), and despite a long-term plan by the US Navy to transform her into something more suited to the Cold War, she was eventually removed from the Naval Register on October 1, 1964. She was sold as scrap in 1966.