USS Franklin CV-13 War Damage Report
USS Franklin CV-13 War Damage Report

Author: U. S. Navy Department Staff

Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform

Published: 2013-12-16

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781494496678

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

USS Franklin CV-13 ...also known as the ship that would not die. 1-1This is a long report. An effort has been made to present a comprehensive summation of the many design and damage control problems which were disclosed or emphasized by the war experiences of Franklin. In addition, various pertinent war experiences of other large carriers have been considered in this report. 1-2The damage sustained by Franklin as a result of the actions of 13 and 15 October 1944 was superficial and is included in this report only for the purpose of rendering her damage history complete. The major damage sustained in each of the actions of 30 October 1944 and 19 March 1945 demonstrates the effectiveness of bomb hits when received by aircraft carriers during the extremely vulnerable period just prior to and during periods of launching strikes. The damage sustained on 30 October is a reasonably good example of what may be expected from a suicide plane crash and subsequent fire on a carrier having a full complement of planes on board which are gassed but not armed except for small caliber ammunition. Similarly, the damage sustained on 19 March may be considered as about the maximum to be expected from fires and detonations of large numbers of bombs and rockets on the flight and hangar decks when a carrier having heavily armed, fully fueled planes aboard is hit by one or more bombs properly placed. 1-3The latter two cases of damage to Franklin illustrate thoroughly the ability of modern U.S. aircraft carriers to survive extensive damage from plane crashes, fire and heavy bombs. The basic design and construction of this class of carrier, which was developed prior to World War II and therefore without the benefit of war experience, is favorably reflected in the manner in which Franklin absorbed heavy damage. Materiel alterations and improvements in damage control organization and technique during the war further increased the ability of this class carrier to minimize potentially severe damage. At the same time many lessons have been obtained from the experiences of Franklin and other cases of war damage and results of this knowledge have been and will be incorporated in existing ships where feasible and in future design and construction. 1-4This report is based on the references, inspections of Franklin upon her return to this country, and informal interviews with various officers attached to Franklin by representatives of this Bureau.

So Long for Now
So Long for Now

Author: Jerry L. Rogers

Publisher: University of Oklahoma Press

Published: 2017-03-09

Total Pages: 433

ISBN-13: 0806158786

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Elden Duane Rogers died on March 19, 1945, one of the eight hundred who perished on the aircraft carrier USS Franklin that day. It was his nineteenth birthday. Write home often, the navy told sailors like Elden, thinking it would keep up morale among sailors and those waiting for them stateside. But they were told not to write anything about where they were, where they had been, where they were going, what they were doing, or even what the weather was like. Spies were presumed everywhere, and loose lips could sink ships. Before a sailor’s letter could be sealed and sent, a censor read it and with a razor blade cut out words that told too much. So Long for Now reconstructs the lost world of a sailor’s daily life in World War II, piecing together letters from Elden’s family in Vega, Texas, and from his girlfriend, the untold stories behind Elden’s own letters, and the context of the war itself. Historian Jerry L. Rogers delves past censored letters limited to small talk and local gossip to conjure the danger, excitement, boredom, and sacrifices that sailors in the Pacific theater endured. He follows Elden from enlistment in the navy through every battle the USS Franklin saw. Flight deck crashes, kamikaze hits, and tensions and alliances aboard ship all built to the unprecedented chaos and casualties of the Japanese air attack on March 19. “So long for now,” Elden signed off—never “Goodbye.” This moving work poignantly confronts the horrors of war, giving voice to a young sailor, the country he served, the family and friends he left behind, and the hope that has sustained them.

Saving Big Ben
Saving Big Ben

Author: John Satterfield

Publisher: Naval Institute Press

Published: 2011-04-15

Total Pages: 210

ISBN-13: 1612514022

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Father Joe O’Callahan, S.J. was the unlikeliest war hero. A bespectacled math professor from Holy Cross, he became the U.S. Navy’s first Jesuit chaplain in World War II and served in combat operations in the Atlantic and Pacific theaters. Father O’Callahan was on the aircraft carrier Franklin, known as “Big Ben”, in the Okinawa campaign in early 1945 when massive explosions and fire from a kamikaze bomb attack nearly destroyed his ship. Hundreds of sailors died within moments of the attack, and the Franklin, lay dead in the water, drifting toward Japan just 60 miles distant. As flames consumed the carrier, the chaplain organized and led fire-fighting crews and prevented a potentially fatal explosion while ministering to injured, dying and terrified sailors. Father O’Callahan’s deeds were instrumental in saving the Franklin, and he stayed with the ship on its voyage under power to New York Harbor. The carrier’s captain called him “the bravest man I ever saw,” and Father Joe became the first American military chaplain to receive the Medal of Honor, the nation’s highest decoration for valor. But the price of glory was high for Father O’Callahan. He suffered a stroke after returning to Holy Cross and spent the rest of his life enduring incapacitating pain. Through it all, the priest displayed the same leadership and strength derived from unwavering faith that enabled him to help save his ship and comrades. The book incorporates primary sources, interviews with Franklin survivors and O’Callahan family members and other materials never before published, including documentation of the Navy’s review of Father O’Callahan’s recommendation of the Medal of Honor and the process leading to the priest’s receipt of the decoration.

Return to Victory
Return to Victory

Author: James P. Duffy

Publisher: Hachette Books

Published: 2021-03-16

Total Pages: 321

ISBN-13: 030692191X

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

General Douglas MacArthur's bloody campaign to defeat die-hard Japanese forces and liberate the Philippines “I shall return,” General Douglas MacArthur promised the Filipino people following the Japanese invasion and occupation of the Philippines in spring 1942. The people there believed MacArthur’s vow—and even Americans were stirred by his dramatic pledge. Now, two and half years later, MacArthur was ready to fulfill his promise--the liberation of the Philippines was about to begin. It would not be an easy campaign. The more than 7,000 islands of the Philippine archipelago were the key to taking down the Japanese Empire—and the Imperial forces were prepared to sacrifice every man and every ship to prevent MacArthur from regaining control of them. Covering both the strategic and tactical aspects of the campaign through the participation of its soldiers, sailors, and airmen, as well as its commanders, James P. Duffy leads readers through a vivid account of the nearly year-long, bloody campaign to defeat over a quarter million die-hard Japanese defenders in the Pacific theater. Return to Victory is a wide-ranging, dramatic and stirring account of MacArthur’s epic liberation of the Philippines.

Shattered Sword
Shattered Sword

Author: Jonathan Parshall

Publisher: Potomac Books, Inc.

Published: 2011

Total Pages: 734

ISBN-13: 1597973092

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Many consider the Battle of Midway to have turned the tide of the Pacific War. It is without question one of the most famous battles in history. Now, for the first time since Gordon W. Prange s bestselling "Miracle at Midway," Jonathan Parshall and Anthony Tully offer a new interpretation of this great naval engagement. Unlike previous accounts, "Shattered Sword" makes extensive use of Japanese primary sources. It also corrects the many errors of Mitsuo Fuchida s "Midway: The Battle That Doomed Japan," an uncritical reliance upon which has tainted every previous Western account. It thus forces a major, potentially controversial reevaluation of the great battle. The authors examine the battle in detail and effortlessly place it within the context of the Imperial Navy s doctrine and technology. With a foreword by leading WWII naval historian John Lundstrom, "Shattered Sword" will become an indispensable part of any military buff s library. Winner of the 2005 John Lyman Book Award for the "Best Book in U.S. Naval History" and cited by "Proceedings" as one of its "Notable Naval Books" for 2005."

In the Fight
In the Fight

Author: Andrew Kilsby

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Published: 2024-10-30

Total Pages: 440

ISBN-13: 1923144561

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Forgotten men and women from Australia in a forgotten war – Burma 1942-1945. If you didn’t know that Australians were involved in the longest campaign of WWII, in Burma, in what was called ‘a forgotten war’, this book illuminates the lost stories of their service. In the Fight tells the compelling stories behind the involvement of Australians in what became one of the great sagas of the war against the Japanese in Southeast Asia, encompassing India, Ceylon, Burma, China, Thailand, Indo-China, Malaya, Singapore and Sumatra. While Australian airmen attached to the Royal Air Force were heavily engaged, many other Australians both uniformed and civilian were part of the monumental struggle to turn ‘defeat into victory’ in Burma. Australian war correspondents, Red Cross nurses, Royal Australian Navy sailors, war artists, commandos and saboteurs, soldiers serving with the British Indian Army, the Women’s Auxiliary Service (Burma), well known sportsmen, government officials dealing with the terrible Bengal famine, Qantas crews and POWs in the Rangoon Jail are all covered in these detailed accounts. Written by leading authorities and expertly edited by Andrew Kilsby and Daryl Moran, In the Fight reveals the long-hidden stories of the Australians and the war in Burma.

A Human Error Approach to Aviation Accident Analysis
A Human Error Approach to Aviation Accident Analysis

Author: Douglas A. Wiegmann

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2017-12-22

Total Pages: 174

ISBN-13: 1351962353

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Human error is implicated in nearly all aviation accidents, yet most investigation and prevention programs are not designed around any theoretical framework of human error. Appropriate for all levels of expertise, the book provides the knowledge and tools required to conduct a human error analysis of accidents, regardless of operational setting (i.e. military, commercial, or general aviation). The book contains a complete description of the Human Factors Analysis and Classification System (HFACS), which incorporates James Reason's model of latent and active failures as a foundation. Widely disseminated among military and civilian organizations, HFACS encompasses all aspects of human error, including the conditions of operators and elements of supervisory and organizational failure. It attracts a very broad readership. Specifically, the book serves as the main textbook for a course in aviation accident investigation taught by one of the authors at the University of Illinois. This book will also be used in courses designed for military safety officers and flight surgeons in the U.S. Navy, Army and the Canadian Defense Force, who currently utilize the HFACS system during aviation accident investigations. Additionally, the book has been incorporated into the popular workshop on accident analysis and prevention provided by the authors at several professional conferences world-wide. The book is also targeted for students attending Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University which has satellite campuses throughout the world and offers a course in human factors accident investigation for many of its majors. In addition, the book will be incorporated into courses offered by Transportation Safety International and the Southern California Safety Institute. Finally, this book serves as an excellent reference guide for many safety professionals and investigators already in the field.

Strengthening Forensic Science in the United States
Strengthening Forensic Science in the United States

Author: National Research Council

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 2009-07-29

Total Pages: 348

ISBN-13: 0309142393

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Scores of talented and dedicated people serve the forensic science community, performing vitally important work. However, they are often constrained by lack of adequate resources, sound policies, and national support. It is clear that change and advancements, both systematic and scientific, are needed in a number of forensic science disciplines to ensure the reliability of work, establish enforceable standards, and promote best practices with consistent application. Strengthening Forensic Science in the United States: A Path Forward provides a detailed plan for addressing these needs and suggests the creation of a new government entity, the National Institute of Forensic Science, to establish and enforce standards within the forensic science community. The benefits of improving and regulating the forensic science disciplines are clear: assisting law enforcement officials, enhancing homeland security, and reducing the risk of wrongful conviction and exoneration. Strengthening Forensic Science in the United States gives a full account of what is needed to advance the forensic science disciplines, including upgrading of systems and organizational structures, better training, widespread adoption of uniform and enforceable best practices, and mandatory certification and accreditation programs. While this book provides an essential call-to-action for congress and policy makers, it also serves as a vital tool for law enforcement agencies, criminal prosecutors and attorneys, and forensic science educators.