Pinned post for Q&A :)

@JohnSmith-of2gu

Жыл бұрын

If the Imperial Japanese Navy had been blessed by a Random Omnipotent Being with the same quality of damage control equipment and training right before Midway, how many if any of the fleet carriers could have been saved after the Five Lucky Minutes?

@brendonbewersdorf986

Жыл бұрын

If the Japanese had managed to develop a 1000lb bomb for their dive bombers do you think it would have cause significantly more losses to American carriers? For example would Franklin have survived?

@bkjeong4302

Жыл бұрын

Is HMS Zubian the single most extreme example of a damaged warship returning to service?

@and15re1

Жыл бұрын

Why didn't the USN used the USS Ranger in more combat actions in the Atlantic outside of North Africa and Norway?

@santiagoarena3910

Жыл бұрын

Favourite naval battle ever?

Anyone else think comet strike, as in an actual comet for a moment? Wondering now if any ships have been hit by meteorites

@tomg3290

Жыл бұрын

Prolly zero...see the Russian meteorite ...chelabrisk...even right in the landing zone , rocks hit almost nobody an no structures...also a stray bullets would be the same ,chunks of flying burnt iron ..would more likely be a destroyed airplane than astronomical...

@sgtmarcusharris4260

Жыл бұрын

That gives me the image of a meteor slamming into the British fleet during Trafalgar

@josephuscila5223

Жыл бұрын

Yes

@just_one_opinion

Жыл бұрын

@@sgtmarcusharris4260 did it? Cause el meteoro failed.

@MrRugbylane

Жыл бұрын

A ship gets hit my a few million meteroites every day ... almost all of them dust sized. About 200 tonnes of space dust etc arrive on Earth every day.

The pictures taken of the Franklin as she burned and after the fact are some of the most raw and powerful pictures of a ship in distress. It's amazing that she survived, it's a testament to the crews dedication and training. Plus the fact that the Essex class was ridiculously tough and built extremely well.

@ph89787

Жыл бұрын

Aside from doing away with the treaty limits they are descendants of the Yorktowns and we all know how much punishment they can take.

@hawkeye5955

Жыл бұрын

The crew definitely had a crucial role in saving the ship. The ship is only as good as its crew. The IJN Taihou had new damage control systems at the time but its crew was inexperienced and their mistakes hastened the demise of the carrier.

@MisterSplendy

Жыл бұрын

American damage control training was stellar, the doctrine still in use in navies all over the world today.

@keithskelhorne3993

Жыл бұрын

@@MisterSplendy USS Bonnehomme Richard says "HI" :)

@Easy-Eight

Жыл бұрын

@@keithskelhorne3993 "was" is past tense.

Imagine you're a worker at Ulithi, you heard the fleet rumors of Franklin being damaged and saved, but you figure it can't be that bad. Then you see her slowly limp her way into the bay or harbor and you lay eyes on the absolute hulk that is her stern. To think of seeing it after the fact, and knowing she's still at least mechanically sea worthy, must have been both awe inspiring and absolutely horrifying

@jeffreyskoritowski4114

Жыл бұрын

If they didn't see worse then their leadership certainly did.

@spencerstevens2175

Жыл бұрын

Beats swimming back

@Rulusto

Жыл бұрын

And then she proceeds to smash into the dock.

@iansneddon2956

Жыл бұрын

I imagine it was the same for the workers at the Vickers-Armstrong when HMS Eskimo came back from Norway with her bow blown off from a German torpedo (not just damaged, the bow of the ship was gone). Some temporary repairs and she steamed back across the North Sea back to the yard where she was built. I have an image of the workers saluting, and the crew saluting back.

@KPen3750

Жыл бұрын

@@iansneddon2956 And according to Dr Clarke, she made a habit, of losing her bow lol

Thank you for doing this. My father was part of the USMC detachment aboard the Franklin. He was one of the 300 crewman who were led to safety by Lt. Garys. He was taken aboard the Santa Fe when he and others were cut off by fire after their fire hose failed. He came back aboard the ship at Ulithi. He always said Captain Geheres was an incompetent ass.

@carlbegnaud4851

Жыл бұрын

I agree that captain was an ass , can you imagine getting blown off the ship by a bomb and then getting desertion charges against you , REALLY !!!!!! Thank your relative the Marine for his service for me . Please

@spvillano

8 ай бұрын

I only have one complaint with his assessment and that being, there is absolutely no good reason to insult asses so by associating them with that walking, talking foreskin. I sincerely hope that the Navy made his remaining remnant of a career a veritable living hell.

@chrisrageNJ

4 ай бұрын

You should read the book Lucky Lady about the incident involving the Franklin and the Santa Fe

I’ve read quite a bit about Captain Leslie Gehres and his career, especially his very long war assignment up in the Aleutian Islands prior to first and only ship command, the U.S.S. Franklin. Not only did he immediately foment an absolute toxic atmosphere aboard the Franklin upon taking command of the carrier, he had carried aboard a personal legacy of creating poisonous working environments within his patrol wing and the attached ground- based squadrons he was responsible for up in the Aleutian combat area. It was long known that there was something “wrong” with the man and that he had a screw or two loose. He was the perfect organizational example of a work place problem being passed off over the years to become “someone else’s” headache….

@jeffreyskoritowski4114

Жыл бұрын

Could you please provide some examples and a source please? I think I know what your source is from 2 of the words you used.

@neilbuckley1613

Жыл бұрын

Was his career an influence on the famous Humphrey Bogart film "The Caine Mutiny"?

@Gentleman...Driver

Жыл бұрын

To my surprise his career wasnt over afterwards. He became a Rear Admiral (second half) and earned several awards like the Navy cross for saving the ship, and the Legion of Merit with Gold star and V device. Thats outragious.

@MartinCHorowitz

Жыл бұрын

Unfortunately you run into people like this captain sometimes, that can parse and prioritize situations well, they usually make things a lot worse.

@sneakerset

Жыл бұрын

Gehres was the technical advisor on the film "Flat Top" (1952) source: Imdb

My Grandmother-in-Law lost her brother on that ship. The sailor was from Clare, Michigan. He was a married man with two children. He graduated with a two year business from Central Michigan College (now university) and worked at the Farwell State Bank as an assistant manager. He was drafted into the US Navy, yes there was a draft for the Navy. Despite his finance degree and banking experience he was assigned as part of the flight deck crew. From what I was able to gather, he was in the initial several hundred killed in the initial blast. His remains were recovered and he was buried at sea with hundreds of others of his ship mates. His wife never remarried and the family survived on meager social security survivor benefits during the 40s to the 60s. Prior to 2016, we had a few Christmases with the grown children.

@badgerattoadhall

Жыл бұрын

name?

@Easy-Eight

Жыл бұрын

@@badgerattoadhall Dwyer

@Easy-Eight

Жыл бұрын

@@badgerattoadhall Raymond A.

@philgerber447

Жыл бұрын

Thank you for sharing. The true costs of war are suffered for decades after it is over and most have moved on.

@badgerattoadhall

Жыл бұрын

@@Easy-Eight i looked him up on findagrave. there is a photo of him there.

Wow, that story about the desertion charges is pure gold. How much of the captain's decision to push for charges lead to him never seeing another command?

@RonOhio

Жыл бұрын

I have to wonder, had he always been like that, or did the experience of the attack, the horrible deaths of so many officers and crew, and the struggle to save the ship cause a mental break.

@washingtonradio

Жыл бұрын

It's telling that other skippers essentially ignored him who knew the truth. Also, while the men did leave the ship it was under duress and desertion charge would not have stuck in reality. Given the communication was a mess on her it is understandable that groups of men 'abandoned ship' because they did not know what was going on and had other reasonably safe course of action. A competent defense lawyer would have a field day with these charges making the prosecution look incredibly stupid. Desertion is a very serious military charge and the en-mass charging of men on the Franklin was an idiocy of the highest order. Once someone realized what was happening, the attempt was quashed. Also, desertion has a fairly specific set of actions that must be met which I doubt any of the Franklin's crew came near to meeting.

@kevinbarry71

Жыл бұрын

@@RonOhio he was an asshole who should never have made it that far

@jamessimms415

Жыл бұрын

Not only that, Gehres ignored Protocol & SOP for a civilian Harbor Pilot to help navigate the carrier to the dock when arriving @ Pearl Harbor on the way back to the States afterwards. Saying he would "take her in" himself, he maneuvered into the dock area too fast. Gehres crashed Franklin into the dock, blaming the mooring details for the incident.

@captainobvious9233

Жыл бұрын

@@RonOhio He was a prick from the start. Just look up his name. It should also be noted that many of the crew he accused of deserting were detained and treated poorly because those holding them had no idea what really happened and thought they were actual deserters.

The biggest shock in this one is how that captain survived the whole ordeal, I am sure more than a few onboard had plans to loose him over the side at night.

@ph89787

Жыл бұрын

Or launch him from one of the ship’s catapults.

@danielbackley9301

Жыл бұрын

Old joke The U.S. Navy doesn't frag its officers. That's what Marines are for. Heard that as a teen from a vet .

@TomBombadil-be9gz

Жыл бұрын

@@danielbackley9301 Too bad there were no Marines where I was stationed.

@notapilot1

Жыл бұрын

"The skipper? Last time I seen 'I'm he was walkin' the deck in a heavy sea. You wanna stay healthy, you ain't seem 'I'm either"

@milferdjones2573

Жыл бұрын

@@danielbackley9301 Yep and sailors I imagine more throw them off in deep water types shooting people Marines job.

It has returned! A fine example of the tenacity of US damage control and the solidness of the Essex-class.

@steveandrushko75

Жыл бұрын

As a 20 yea ( retired ) US Navy Damage Control man I agree

@jlawsl

Жыл бұрын

The good part of that is that the damage control was good. Japanese ships suffered far less damage and foundered. The bad part is the fact that the US could have easily transitioned to armored flight decks and probably never suffered this combat loss to begin with. Its sinking would have been a propaganda victory for Japan, a +1 in carrier kills, but for all intents and purposes, she was a loss. It is really odd to think, that the largest and most expensive active USN ship that had to be scrapped or written off was done by no other then the US navy itself. Correct me if I am wrong, but wasn't the Bonhomme Richard the largest and most expensive ship, but also the biggest military asset ever to be lost to the country in a single event? They are counted as amphibious ships, but to most everyone else, they are aircraft carriers with some extra abilities. Especially in modern times, the loss of one carrier is crazy as most countries have none and all but the USA have one or two, mostly far smaller then the Wasp Class. No nation has managed that since WW2, the last carrier kill in WW2 being the USA and the first destroyed after it, nearly 80 years later...the USA, and it was its own. Whoever had to pay for that debacle is not a happy sailor.

@jlvfr

Жыл бұрын

@@jlawsl you don't " easily transitio to armored flight decks", that would require an entire new design. Don't forget that the Essex is basically a pre-war design with some extras; at the time of it's design, and withing the US' requirements and threats faced, armoured decks seemed an expensive and not very usefull idea which most likely also result in smaller carriers with smaller air wings (as shown by the RN); only the 43-45 experience, and seeing what the RN carriers survived, convinced the USN to get it, but by then it was too late for WWII.

@Nostripe361

Жыл бұрын

@@jlvfr I think the US didn’t build armored flight decks at first due to the reduction in air wings and to make it faster to patch holes in the flight deck.

@RogCBrand

Жыл бұрын

@@jlvfr Also, wasn't most of the damage to U.S. carriers, in earlier battles, caused by torpedoes , either from planes or submarines, and so not something an armored deck would protect against?

Drach - This is by far the best explanation of the story of Franklin. Well done, my friend, well done indeed.

@sandrodunatov485

Жыл бұрын

I was enthralled for 30+ minutes while the devastating effect of fire, explosions, smoke, menacing water and scorching heat literally passed in front of me. And, notice, I knew this story..!! 👏

@ivangenov6782

Жыл бұрын

There was an one hour + video on the story of USS Franklin, but it got taken down

@BleedingUranium

Жыл бұрын

The story itself is amazing, and Drach really has a way with script-writing and delivery on these more dramatic and intense story-based videos.

@warrenjones744

Жыл бұрын

Indeed, I was thinking as I listened to the narration, what a excellent account of what occurred. Well Done Sir.

@senatorjosephmccarthy2720

Жыл бұрын

@@ivangenov6782 , Witch-in-town DC has been Captured by the enemy. As has Oregon.

Just seeing how damaged Franklin was and how extreme her list was, I've always marvelled at the fact those sailors were able to save the ship. USN damage control was definitely the best in the world.

@RighteousReverendDynamite

Жыл бұрын

The USS Franklin was at a jaunty angle to starboard and then to port!

@nogoodnameleft

Жыл бұрын

And even with all that it was for nothing. She had the most KIA/MIA fatalities of a damaged or sunken American carrier and as a result was knocked out of the war and never became an active ship again. Bunker Hill (3rd most carrier deaths for the USA) at Okinawa also had the same fate. Yet we are always lied to and told by "historians" that the bombers/kamikazes at Okinawa did nothing but flesh wounds to the American ships other than minesweepers and Liberty ships. Franklin and Bunker Hill were de facto sunken ships or total losses in all but name.

@45CaliberCure

Жыл бұрын

@@nogoodnameleft Who the hell EVER said that the kamikazes did only damage to minesweepers and Liberty ships? Name one. Or, you can just talk out your ass the rest of your life.

@Tank50us

8 ай бұрын

@@nogoodnameleft Technically, it wasn't for nothing. Just like the Rangers scaling Point Du Hoc, the efforts to save the ship ultimately meant she could live to fight another day. Had the planned invasions of the Japanese Home Islands gone through, Franklin and Bunker Hill would've been right there in the thick of it along side Midway and one or two of her planned Sisters. It's just unfortunate for them that the war ended when it did... though for their crews it's probably a good thing since they didn't have to go into the fires of hell one more time. I would realistically liken her to a pro athlete that finally made it to the big leagues... only to get injured in the third game in such a fashion that they had to sit out the rest of the season, the play offs, and the big victory at the end.

@nogoodnameleft

8 ай бұрын

@@Tank50us Again, Franklin was knocked out of the war and what happened to her was no different from being sunk. The "saving her for repairs" was propaganda BS. Tell the 807 men who were killed on Franklin on that day that bringing her back to the USA was any different than being sunk. She and Bunker Hill were both knocked out of the war and never ever brought back to active duty. Hindsight says waste of money. Those repair ships should have been used on other ships that were actually able to be saved and repaired unlike the now worthless Franklin and Bunker Hill. It proves that kamikazes were effective, right from the words of Admiral Spruance. The Navy's (and her "historians") big lie from WWII was "kamikazes were ineffective". What a joke! Spruance was right! Spruance in May 1945: "This is my second experience with a suicide plane making a hit on board my own ship, and I have seen four other ships hit near me. The suicide plane is a very effective weapon, which we must not underestimate. I do not believe anyone who has not been around within its area of operations can realize its potentialities against ships. It is the opposite extreme of a lot of our Army heavy bombers who bomb safely and ineffectively from the upper atmosphere."

Thank you SO much for doing this. My father was a plank owner on the Franklin and was aboard her from commissioning until he went over the fantail onto the USS Santa Fe on March 19. Regarding her commanding officers, my father said Shoemaker was beloved by the crew and Gehres was despised from the first time he addressed them, implying the damage they sustained in October 1944 was their fault.

@trealosgaming3345

Жыл бұрын

Cant recall my grandfather's post on the Franklin, but he state he helped her back to port

@josephspringer7432

9 ай бұрын

Steven, who was your dad? And do you recall his job? I may have interviewed him.

@spvillano

8 ай бұрын

Amazing that he was so absolutely clueless as to blame the entire crew, given the US Navy even blames the commander for such a loss. "It was over 3000 men's fault, not me, I was only in command" really floats about as well as a lead balloon on Venus. Where lead can only exist as a liquid. If one of my teams failed at something, the very first question that I have is, "How did I fuck up a good team and how to I fix my fuck-up?", while apologizing to the team for setting them up to fail. That only happened a couple of times over 28 years, so obviously I didn't repeat mistakes. I sincerely hope that his assignments in the remainder of the remnant of his career made hell look like a vacation destination for the family!

@jacobmccandles1767

4 ай бұрын

If he is alive, please ask him how he got aboard the Santa Fe. My Dad was on the fantail of the Santa Fe, throwing a rope to men in the water.

No Essex class were ever sunk in combat, but Franklin and Bunker Hill were so heavily damaged they never saw service again after being repaired as best they could.

@TheEDFLegacy

Жыл бұрын

If the war lasts longer, they most definitely would have seen combat again. Ironically, it was because they were fully repaired that they never saw service again; all of the other Essex ships were given quick upgrades to handle early jets, but as Drach noted the ultimate upgrade never came because no upgrade would make it feasible.

@robbarasch6472

Жыл бұрын

The Franklin was being repaired, so it could participate in the invasion of Japan, which, fortunately, never happened.

@thevictoryoverhimself7298

Жыл бұрын

@@robbarasch6472 my grandpa was in boot camp preparing for the invasion of japan when the war ended. I likely wouldn’t exist of it wasn’t for the atomic bombs,

@robbarasch6472

Жыл бұрын

@@thevictoryoverhimself7298 my dad was assigned to the Franklin out of boot camp during the summer of 1945. So, I'm also personally grateful that the invasion wasn't necessary

@TheEDFLegacy

Жыл бұрын

@@thevictoryoverhimself7298 That's a misconception; it may have partially contributed to it, but it was actually the Soviets that truly shook up the Japanese populace; they thought they were only primarily fighting the United States, and then all of a sudden _MANCHURIA._ or rather how the Japanese lost a vast majority of their Eastern Asian holdings in the span of two weeks. But even with _that_ in mind, the war still could have continued if not for the bravery of the Emperor (I wish I was kidding) and his aides, who barely escaped his own people from the military establishment who were planning to kill or otherwise silence him so he couldn't broadcast a surrender order to his people and the rest of the world, because to the Japanese, the Emperor was their God, and His word was law. He ultimately succeeded, and many of those in the military establishment quickly committed seppuku not long after, and the war ended. Trust me, the end of WWII wasn't as clean-cut as you think. It could have ended very, very differently if a few people in very key moments didn't succeed in the Emperor's final mission to end the war. Also worth noting that had the Emperor been killed at any point from the fire bombings of Tokyo, there's a very strong possibility that a very large proportion of the Japanese populace would have fought to the last.

O'Callahan's story is pretty amazing. Especially the part where he first refused the Navy Cross, but then Roosevelt (Edit, Oops, meant to type Truman) stepped in and he was awarded the Medal of Honor.

@phytonso9877

Жыл бұрын

Truman, not Roosevelt. FDR died on April 12, less than a month after the attack on the Franklin, and before it had even got to Panama on its trip to New York.

@kpdubbs7117

Жыл бұрын

@@phytonso9877 You are very much correct, that was a typo on my part.

@toldyouso5588

8 ай бұрын

Truman asked him, do ya feel lucky punk? Well do ya?

I remember your old 'what do when everything is on fire' video, still sad it got taken down. Glad to see another video on how the Essexes survive a pounding. Franklin's misery with poortly-timed bombs reminds me a lot of what the Kido Butai suffered at Midway- but the famous USN damage control came to save her. Massive respect for the man of America for surviving this inferno and saving the ship! Radar getting blinded by IFF signals from planes on the flight deck, given them a blindspot the Japanese could hide in- these types of complications you'd never think of. Technology is hard.

@benhall7574

Жыл бұрын

Wait, that was taken down? Sad day

@AC_WILDCARD

Жыл бұрын

Wait what nonsense is youtube on to taking diwn such a video?!

@neilbuckley1613

Жыл бұрын

There were plenty of US planes and ships to protect Franklin from further damage. The 3 Japanese carriers severely damaged in the first wave would surely have been sitting ducks for the USN aircraft.

@gazeboist4535

Жыл бұрын

@@AC_WILDCARD Not youtube. The previous Franklin video included citations to a bizarrely and aggressively litigious author, so Drach took it down a while ago.

@cbbees1468

Жыл бұрын

@@gazeboist4535 Thanks for your response, I was second guessing myself because thought I had seen this video before.

My dad was on the Franklin that day. He was blown off the fantail and wounded by shrapnel. Fortunately he was picked up by the USS Santa Fe.

@Tank50us

8 ай бұрын

did the Idiot in charge of Franklin try to charge him as well?

@peregrinesmith1117

8 ай бұрын

@@Tank50us no because he was wet and bloody. He still wasn't allowed to sail back with the Franklin, dad very much disliked the drunk captain.

If the War and Navy Departments let Captain Gehres bring charges against those men the amount of letters their families would've wrote to their Congressmen and Senator's would have been legendary. The DOD would still be responding to the backlogged inquiries to this day.

My significant other's father was a senior naval rating aboard Franklin, and he was responsible for overseeing photo reconnaissance and on-board photography. I sit now in a room half-filled with thousands of negatives and B&W photographs from that ship and later assignments....including the first atomic test in the Pacific, OPERATION CROSSROADS. One photo behind me shows the mushroom cloud from that explosion. Other photos include but are not limited to that, and include carrier landing and takeoff photos, cockpit 'beauty' photos of pilots, sea side pictures of shore duty and other shipboard events. I have been pressing my girlfriend to scan these and get them into the hands of archivists, at present to no avail. I will continue to try for this being done.

@ryangrimm9305

Жыл бұрын

Oh, and Captain Gehres? Universally reviled, something along the line of "would not piss on him if he was afire" and much more in that vein.

@tipofthespear7182

Жыл бұрын

Please do it mate. Especially for survivors families as most of the crew would have passed by now and their grown children and grand children would surely appreciate having a connection they can turn to.

@shary5165

Жыл бұрын

Has anyone contacted the historic society? If the local chapter didn't want those photos, I'd bet they could help find someone who would want them. It sounds like you have some gems of our history there!

@ryangrimm9305

Жыл бұрын

@@shary5165 We have a few museums in mind, BUT...a lot has to be done here before we can go through them. Hundreds of family photos and slides have her priority...I'm still attempting to get her to dispose of office clothing from a job she left six years ago when she retired. In other words....movement is slow, VERY slow. I believe in due course this will be taken care of.

@dwightbutler2221

Жыл бұрын

Contact Don Shipley ( retired Navy Seal), he has a channel on KZread, I'm sure he can help you.

My painting teacher in The National College of Art Dublin in 1979 was a survivor of this event , Charles Brady told us of how as 17 years old ensign of he struggled learn to walk again . Charles took advantage of the GI bill of rights studying painting , in 1959 he returned to the land of his ancestry specializing in minimalist still life paintings and becoming a member of the Royal Irish Academy. His death in 1988 was hastened by smoke inhalation on the USS Franklin.

Some of these stories of incredible heroism made me proud to be human. That one sailor who returned into the smoke-filled hallways again and again to get the other men out of there, most likely saving their lives at great personal risk, is the very epitome of a hero!

@richardwoodford3365

6 ай бұрын

Donald Arthur GARY

A neighbor of mine was a aircraft maintenance mechanic on the Franklin with an embarked Marine Corps squadron. Just a kid from Florence, South Carolina. He was on the flight deck when the bombs hit. I knew him forty years after the event. He never went into any details of that day beyond saying it was a very long day, and then one day when we were watching a world at war documentary he jumped off the couch, pointed at the TV and shouted “that was my gun!”. It was film from the Franklin bombing and subsequent fire. That started many sessions where he started to get it out of his system. He’d been haunted by the events for forty years and had never talked to anyone about it. He passed a few years later. I think he’d made piece with those ghosts by then.

From other documentaries on the Franklin, Captain Gehres was a real piece of work. He's a decent part of the reason the Franklin was such a mass casualty event in the initial explosions since he'd set the readiness condition to relaxed and thus the mass of men waiting for breakfast meeting their fate and then as Drach states, in scorning and disparaging all the men who'd left the ship with absolutely no regard for circumstances. Blown off the ship by the explosions? Remaining at your DC station until the last moment when the metal around you was glowing hot? DESERTION!

@nickierv13

Жыл бұрын

In the previous version of this video I think it was mentioned that the radar was more than a little spotty, weather was a factor, there where other ships covering, and the crew had been at stations for some time. Better to rest the crew when your not under clear threat, so stuff was manned, just not fully. Spotty radar wasn't uncommon back then, so nothing to be done there, same with weather. The breakfast casualties where just bad luck. But the stuff after with regards to desertion should have at minimum landed the captain with a psych eval.

@alphax4785

Жыл бұрын

@@nickierv13 From those other documentaries (one of them being 'USS Franklin: Honor Restored' which is also on youtube at this time and includes survivor interviews), Gehres had half the crew stood down that morning at a very inappropriate readiness condition for being 50 miles off the Japanese coast. Had they been at an actually appropriate readiness condition there wouldn't have been the many hundreds in line for a meal. Rewatching some parts... holy crap was Gehres a piece of work... and there's a good reason Drach didn't go into much detail on it since it's very much a story all its own apart from the attack and monumental effort to save the ship and which the above documentary (and some others) cover with survivor testimony.

@donbrashsux

Жыл бұрын

What a horrible captain

@EstOptimusNobis

5 ай бұрын

And to be given the Navy Cross! The man should have been court martialled. Even on a tenuous reason such as the readiness condition, he should have been publicly charged and court martialled.

An incredible story to hear. That was a Midway-level critical hit that would have surely put most any other carrier on the bottom. The tenacity of the men of these crews and the ruggedness of these ships is truly legendary. And while they're on the other side of the line, credit also has to be given to the pilot of that Suisei- that was an absolutely perfect ambush. Obviously there was a degree of luck where the bombs ended up, but it was one of the most brutal dive-bomber hits of the war, surely. It's a shame all these incredible feats come at the cost of so many human lives, but that's war for you.

@TomLuTon

Жыл бұрын

I mean, flip the story around 180 degrees. US Navy pilot bombs Japanese carrier and knocks it out of the war, that's gotta be worth a Navy Cross.

@vikkimcdonough6153

Жыл бұрын

I would dispute the "put most any other carrier on the bottom" bit - had one of the RN's armored carriers been in _Franklin's_ place, she likely would've shrugged off the hit with few casualties (remember that the bomb that hit _Franklin's_ armor deck bounced clean off - it's just that, after that bounce, it was in the middle of a hangar full of things that liked to go BOOM). To flip that around, the _Essexes_ were fortunate to have never have had to face Fliegerkorps X - _that_ encounter would've likely resulted in a very dead carrier.

@Talguy21

Жыл бұрын

@@vikkimcdonough6153 Yeah, an armored deck would definitely have prevented a lot of the damage. I more meant that the level of damage sustained would've likely sunk most others.

@vikkimcdonough6153

Жыл бұрын

@@Talguy21 Ah. Agreed.

@augustosolari7721

Жыл бұрын

​@@TomLuTon Do we know the names of the crew of the Judy who accomplished this impressive feat?

Sad that after what this crew did and had to suffer through they had to have their story tarnished by their Captain. Great damage control and heroism. Allot of brave men died saving that ship and their crewmates. Really great reporting Drach! Best I have seen on the Franklin. I served on the Lexington for a couple years during her role as a training carrier in the early 80's, so anything Essex class fascinates me. They were great ships. USS Lexington thankfully is now a museum ship in Corpus Christi, TX. Cheers!

@dalevaughn9446

Жыл бұрын

Lady Lex 1982--86.

@nightwolf2378

Жыл бұрын

Rip The original Lady Lex(CV-2) the beauty she was before having been scuttled due to extreme damage in the Battle of the Coral sea, 8th of May, 1942, hit by no less then 2 torpedoes and 3 aircraft bombs, though record states she was abandoned due to a Gasoline explosion, then scuttled by the USS Phelps(DD-218). May the Blue Ghost live in everyones hearts!

"Somewhat less popular Captain Gehres" Drach with that trademark British understated snark.

I have heard that the captain of the Franklin tried to keep the chaplain, who had delivered such good service, from being awarded his medal.

@spvillano

8 ай бұрын

Congress awards the medal and tends to gain an intense, service injurious dislike of such officers. As in, *really* screwing with officer authorizations and budget until said officer becomes compliant with his government's wishes. The last such was an Air Force officer, who was ordered by Congress to release retired war dogs for adoption by volunteers. Said officer kept having the dogs destroyed, the Air Force suddenly couldn't get officers appointed and funding got tangled in perpetual committees and said officer was ordered to release the animals, then reassigned to a less complicated position, where promotion was beyond unlikely. I did hear something about the chaplain refusing a Navy Cross, only to find himself overruled by Congress by being awarded the Medal of Honor. Good chaplains are worth far more than their weight in precious metals!

I will say it is great hearing about this ship nearly 20 years after my grandfather passed away. He had never spoke much about it but told my dad several times how he helped get the Franklin back to a safe port

In 1958 my father took me and my sister to the Bayonne NJ Naval yard to visit the USS Franklin and the battleship USS New Jersey. I especially recall walking around the hangar decks and looking at the different displays, especially the electronic ones. My father told me about the history of the Franklin and about when he saw it after the battle when it made its way to Pearl Harbor. He was a Navy man serving on what he called a Large Slow Target, LST. What a fantastic generation those men and women were serving our country during the war. My mother was an Army nurse stationed in England and France. Yes, she wore combat boots and was proud of it. I miss them.

Franklin: How does one defend against such power? Enterprise: A wise master does not reveal all his secrets at once. In due time, my apprentice. (For context. Enterprise and Franklin were both assigned to TG 38.4 in late 1944 and TG 58.2 during March 1945. Both times Franklin was damage Enterprise had to fill in as TG flagship.)

@jeffreyskoritowski4114

Жыл бұрын

Franklin after tanking 2 bomb hits: Hey "Wise Master" I could really use some of those secrets of yours about now.

@ph89787

Жыл бұрын

@@jeffreyskoritowski4114 Enterprise: You seem to be doing fine by yourself.

@a6mzeke1

Жыл бұрын

Enterprise: *Little do they know, I'm too stubborn to go out by enemy actions.*

@zackakai5173

Жыл бұрын

Franklin: "is it possible to learn this power?" Enterprise: "not from Captain Gehres."

@eddiehaskell1957

Жыл бұрын

That does not surprise me, After all it's the Enterprise!

USS Franklin - a blazing torture chamber of twisted steel and burning ordnance. Meanwhile, Captain Geheres is in the ships stores, counting strawberries.

Back in 1963 my scoutmaster was Joe Pasztor. He was a survivor of USS Franklin. He had 7 children and was an honored member of our church in Lake Jackson, Texas. WOW!

My father-in-law served aboard USS Poole (DE-151) and his ship was in port the day Franklin arrived in Brooklyn Navy Yard. He said his crew were in awe of the damage and they were told there were still dead sailors trapped in spaces that hadn't been accessed yet. He said it had a sobering effect, because after 18 convoy runs across the North Atlantic, their own ship was headed to the Pacific.

Similarities to the strike on Illustrious by the JU87 and the resulting hanger fires are stark. Illustrious maintained power and speed but the struggles were no less real. Illustrious survived 7 bomb hits and another one while alongside in Valletta for emergency repairs (proving the value of the armoured flight deck). One difference is that Illustrious had a captain (Dennis Boyd) with a working brain after the event.

@Mishn0

Жыл бұрын

Illustrious may have had a different experience if there'd been 50 armed and fueled aircraft on the flight deck, armored or not.

@spvillano

8 ай бұрын

What most civilians can never grasp is, armored anything afire becomes a metal box that's heated - an oven. At times, even to the point where even steel begins to burn. The hanger deck had to have been filled with rivers of molten and boiling aluminum quite early on! As for Illustrious, I'm not sure which caused more damage, the attack you're speaking of or the last attack on her, which was a 2200 pound bomb detonating 50 feet away in the water, cracking multiple transverse frames. Most of the bombs that did strike her, well, they only struck her, didn't penetrate. Excellent armor on that deck! Although, I don't recall that many warships that had the ship's bell shot up as much as hers was, which is telling as to the intensity of the attack.

When Gehres took command of the Franklin from Shoemaker he addressed the crew and, in regard to the Oct-44 kamikaze attack, supposedly said: ‘It was your fault because you didn’t shoot [the kamikaze] down. You didn’t do your duty; you’re incompetent, lazy and careless. Evidently you don’t know your jobs and I’m going to do my best to shape up this crew!’ . Read: "Inferno: The Epic Life and Death Struggle of the USS Franklin" by Joseph Springer

@shawnmiller4781

Жыл бұрын

A speech worthy of a jackass

@Kevin_Kennelly

Жыл бұрын

@@stevenhall8891 I don't understand how such a toxic personality made its way up the ladder of command. How did the USN not see him for what he was?

@legionx4046

Жыл бұрын

@@Kevin_Kennelly he should of been executed by firing squad for that shit

@JohnSmith-gd2fg

Жыл бұрын

@@Kevin_Kennelly It happens remarkably often in bureaucracies, where those higher up the chain of command don't want to see what is happening and if they do, they make it someone else's problem. People who are manipulative can also thrive in some kinds of bureaucracies as the control subordinates who they can always fire to cover their own mistakes. For context, I worked briefly in the NHS in the UK, which has long had a problem with toxic managers. My own boss in the time I was briefly at a hospital estates department, boasted of how she got rid of my predecessor, who was 'useless'. When I said I had no experience of project management (I consider myself a technical architect), she started on a campaign of bullying against me, that saw me make a complaint about her and get asked to resign, which I happily did. I found out she had also run my successor out in short order, in a similar manner. She herself was there for years...and this was a hospital whose HR liked to proclaim 'bullying is unacceptable'. I gathered at the time I left that other managers were very clearly scared of her. I also checked over her CV on linkedin, and shall we say, she had a remarkable number of jobs in a short time? Almost like she came in, blamed everyone else for failures, then moved on when she had been there long enough, that she would be herself responsible for something. And left before this could impact on her. That she ended up in a hospital, with its entrenched bureaucracy, was in retrospect, no mistake, she was perfectly suited to be in that environment. She is now working for a university, which can similarly provide shelter for the cunning and manipulative toxic manager that she is.

@parrot849

Жыл бұрын

@@Kevin_Kennelly - Because with guys like Gehres, being complete as*holes, well…, that’s hardwired into them from birth, from the start of their miserable lives. Now…, as far as “successfully” fu*king over subordinates in order to climb an organizational ladder; that is a learned skill. Anyone can be born an assh*le; but even an as*hole has to work and study at becoming a successful brown nose. It takes real talent to learn how step all over your peers and subordinates, damage the lives and careers of others, and at the same time successfully suck up to the proper authority in order to advance in an organization. Remember they’re naturally miserable asshol*s, but they have to learn and practice how to screw over others and successfully brown-nose those in authority over them and who can further their careers at the expense of others. Sorry, I think I just repeated myself, anyway you get my point….🧐

The survival of the Franklin is one of the greatest "What do we say to the God of Death? Not today!" moments in WW2.

My dad was a gunners mate (40 mm loader) on the Franklin when it was hit. He was only 18 at the time. He was supposed to be relieved to go to the mess hall and his relief did not come. Most of the men in that mess hall were killed. He said after the ship was hit everything was on fire above them and there was no way to get out. So he and his shipmate said either we burn or drown. So both went over the side. They were picked up by the Pittsburgh. They wanted to give him a purple heart because he had some minor flash burns but refused because he said the men who were killed or badly burnt deserved it. He never had a kind word to say about the Captain and said they should have court martialed the Captain for securing general quarters so close to Japan. He was so proud to have served on "The Big Ben".

@josephspringer7432

9 ай бұрын

Who was your dad? I may have interviewed him.

A crew that out performs it's Captain.

@mikeframe5450

Жыл бұрын

Geheris was quite the horse's a$$. Proving that there are many more horse's a$$as, than horses.

@stevenhall8891

Жыл бұрын

Well said!

My grandfather served on the Franklin during WWII, after fighting for the RCAF before America entered. He was a Corsair pilot. My sister asked me a little bit about the ship a few days ago, so it is a great coincidence you’ve covered it right now. Grandpa passed away before I was born, but he was on the ship during the attack and wrote to my grandmother later about how he’d been “doing a lot of swimming” since the attack knocked him off of the ship. Thank you for the video!

USAF firefighter ('89-'93) here. This experience of theirs is stunning in its heroism and sheer balls. Them's some firedogs, right there.

Thank you for this. I had an Uncle who was killed on the Franklin. My Dad was a Marine aviator stationed on Okinawa. Another Uncle was a Navy man, who was on two ships sunk by Japanese torpedoes. He came home a wreck, never able to have a family or hold a job. When people tell me that the atom bombs were not needed I have a far different perspective. How many lives are those people who argue that willing to have spent ending Japanese militarism?

@anthonyburnam3415

Жыл бұрын

The Ripples of Battle is one hell of a book. My wife's uncle JoJo was in USMC for Korea. Caught a round up by the Yalu and died. His parents went basically crazy and both stopped eating and started drinking. They drank themselves to death after alienating their only daughter. She is a mess and is my wife's mother. War ruins everything. My Dad fought on Iwo and my Mom Saud he had real bad dreams. My father never spoke of it.

@anthonyburnam3415

Жыл бұрын

Our greatest generation is ravaged by combat. Or was I should say.

@trealosgaming3345

Жыл бұрын

My grandfather was a shipmate of your late uncle. Sorry your uncle was part of Franklin's losses.

@Firebolt193

Жыл бұрын

To those people who think the atom bombs weren't needed, all you have to do is point them towards the casualty projections for Operation Downfall, specifically the projections for Japanese civilian casualties. Their attitudes tend to change extremely rapidly after that.

@robertf3479

Жыл бұрын

@@Firebolt193 There are some whose opinions and attitudes won't change no matter what information or projections are presented to them. Some had even told me to my face that the Japanese were surrendering or HAD surrendered but Hiroshima and Nagasaki were bombed anyway to "send a message" to the USSR. The final decision on whether or not to use the A-Bomb or conduct the "Downfall" operation was President Truman's. I think he made the correct choice even though the information even he had was necessarily incomplete. If an invasion of the Home Islands had been conducted there is a very good chance that many of us posting here today may not have been born, our fathers or grandfathers killed in that action, ending our branches of our family trees.

See, this is why I watch your videos often as I can. You bring us into the Franklin without being covered in burning oil and blood. Well told story.

Much respect to the men of the Franklin and of those ships that helped. What a riveting story!

These stories never fail to instill an awe in me for the bravery and competence of the Naval crews who dealt with catastrophes. One more confirmation about a true "Greatest Generation"...

Well played by both the japanese airmen who did the perfect attack run (2x500pounds is not that much when it comes to bombs) and the Franklin's remaining crew which managed to keep the ship afloat and saved most of the crew.

The story of the survival of the Franklin was taught and used as the pre-eminent example in damage control & fire fighting when I was in the navy in the early to mid 70s. The chief in charge of the damage control party I was assigned to had pictures of her on the inside of the doors of our equipment lockers.

"Surviving a Comet Strike" I see what _Judy_ -id there

@thevictoryoverhimself7298

Жыл бұрын

Sui Chan waaaaaaaaaaa! (Boom)

@Big_E_Soul_Fragment

Жыл бұрын

@@thevictoryoverhimself7298 D4Y diving out of nowhere: HI HONEY~

@ph89787

Жыл бұрын

@@Big_E_Soul_Fragment Enterprise (nearby): Anyone getting a sense of Deja Vu?

@Big_E_Soul_Fragment

Жыл бұрын

@@ph89787"You dare use my own spells against me"

I was aware of the Franklin and the insane charges of desertion,but the lawyer and the brass were new to me.Thanks Drach, your story telling skills are great 👍!

I had a distance uncle who was part of the surviving crew that stayed aboard and saved the ship. He told me his story about his service aboard her at the time I was joining the Navy. Hearing first hand stories like this, is becoming a lost art, as few WWII veterans remain. Turns out my first ship, I served on was the USS Coral Sea CV-43, a WWII designed ship.

When the Franklin went to the breakers, in the 60s, one of the US TV networks produced a documentary about it. Besides the archival footage, the show had several members of the crew from that day, talking about what they were doing and how they survived.

@alantoon5708

Жыл бұрын

This can be found on YT. It was televised around 1968 or 69..

@davidb6576

Жыл бұрын

@@alantoon5708 Any hint as to the title, so searching succeeds?

@alantoon5708

Жыл бұрын

@@davidb6576 I know that it showed how a number of crew escaped thru the funnel. It was something about how the crew of the Franklin was finally redeemed after many years.

@alantoon5708

Жыл бұрын

@@davidb6576 USS Franklin Honor Restored.

@davidb6576

Жыл бұрын

@@alantoon5708 Thanks, Alan!

My Grandfather served aboard the Franklin, heard many first hand stories from my Grandfather,he was a AA gunner on Big Ben. Well done sir!

@jacobmccandles1767

4 ай бұрын

My Father was an AA gunner on the Santa Fe. He helped rescue men off of the Frankin.

I just visited the Yorktown last weekend and laid eyes upon a large model the Franklin post battle damage. As impressive as it was, this video helps to bring the situation to life a bit more. Thanks Drach.

@hallmobility

Жыл бұрын

Wish I had seen that model when I toured the _Yorktown_. Drach's video is superb and thorough. I had read about USS Franklin in the book _Pacific War Diary_ by a guy on the _Yorktown_. (Either Fahey or Leahy I think) Staggering loss of life, maybe the third worst on a warship ever? But this would have been without knowledge of the Japanese losses on _Taiho_, _Shinano_, , _Yamato_ or _Mushashi_. A super superstitious sailor on the _Yorktown_ made much of the _Franklin's_ unlucky number, CV13.

@cabsbass

Жыл бұрын

@hallmobility If you have a chance to go back to Yorktown, it is currently located on the hangar deck in front of the prop powered warbirds.

A story of pure heroics almost ruined by a toxic commander. What is unbelievable, is that he actually has a monument dedicated to him in his home town.

@vonbuzz9009

Жыл бұрын

Funny how history works,,,,, its written by the conquorers that pilliaged thier way to the top ,, therefore ,thier truth is the truth that has been written.has nothing to do with REALITY.

@loushavkey5982

Жыл бұрын

Where is that?

@loushavkey5982

Жыл бұрын

Heard he went into politics. Imagine that! Lol. Prob had the monument put up himself.

@crazygame2724

5 ай бұрын

Unbelievable...

Great new recap on Franklin, Drach. That Suisei dropping almost to mast level and missing gives you the chills... Thank God the guy didn't think "Well, time to go down on the forward deck". Franklin got the right crew and the wrong captain. Santa Fe? MVP of the day. Cheers.

As a side note the famous marine vmf 214 black sheep squadron was aboard as the Franklin's corsair squadron losing 32 men in the attack two of the squadrons corsairs who were airborne at the time were credited with shooting down the Judy which had attracted the Franklin !!!

My father's destroyer was just leaving Pearl Harbor when the Franklin limped into port. It was a very sobering experience for everyone, especially those like my father who were just for their first foray into the war zone. So many heroes those critical days who were involved with saving lives and their ship. May we never forget them.

Franklin to Taiho: THIS is how its done

I was unaware of this U.S. Navy chapter. Being a military veteran, the captain’s charging the crew with desertion is no surprise to me.

USS Franklin was one tough lady (yes, ships are traditionally referred to with female pronouns), and in the heat of disaster her entire crew acted in the finest traditions of the United States Navy to save her. Absolutely incredible story. Equally amazing is that her crew didn't take the opportunity to throw their dud of a captain overboard with the rest of the hazards and ordnance. Thank you, Drach!

@Tank50us

8 ай бұрын

"The captain? I'm not sure what happened to him. The last I saw of him, he was smoking a cigar watching planes taking off. When the bombs went off he was no where to be seen. Probably became pink mist."

The story of the SoB/Captain charging everyone in sight with Desertion reminds me of a individual I had the profound displeasure to serve with. Some things don't change.

The sheer courage shown by many during this event is quite humbling.

This ship or USS Bunker Hill (CV-17) should have been kept as a museum, they were both still in their WWII configuration and would have been a living testament to the tenacity of the US Navy, much like USS Laffey (DD-724)

What a genuine nightmare listening to Drach tell this story in detail. Absolutely can’t imagine living through this.

I have made a number of visits to CV-10 at Patriots Point. Seeing story of the Franklin and touching its bell gets me every time. Thanks for your recount of their story.

@mytmousemalibu

Жыл бұрын

That was a pretty sobering thing to see. It had cracked from the immense heat. The platform they built to stand on to demonstrate what it was like to be on the Franklin with its 22 degree list was also eye opening.

This is an amazing tale of heroism. I've been involved in fighting a major shipboard fire, and it was bad enough for us with the ship in drydock at the time, I cannot begin to imagine how terrifying it must have been for these men having to do it while at sea with live ordnance all around and at the same time still being under threat of enemy attack.

@frankguz55

Жыл бұрын

I think the real hero is the Japanese pilot. Alone, flying an inferior plane, against an entire fleet. He managed to sneak up, avoiding hundreds of enemh fighters and AAA guns, place two solid hits on a major carrier, and escape safely. What a feat!!!!

In my time as a nuclear operator on a submarine, I was required to commit to a 6-year hitch, the navy knowing it would take years to train me and wanted to get some return on their investment. The boat I was assigned to had an exceptional CO. About halfway through my time on board, he was replaced by a man the crew accurately described as a pompous ass. The navy was keen for me to re-enlist and had the first CO asked me, I might have. By the time the second CO was threatening me with bad duty assignments if I didn't reup, everyone on board including officers were making plans to get out at first opportunity. Interestingly, the second CO had put a book in the boat's library, Who's Who in the US Navy, and his father, grandfather and so on had been admirals of some repute. We took it that his daddy was putting in good words for him, advancing his career.

@gregorywright4918

Жыл бұрын

One of the things they track about officers is the re-up rate of those under them. You and others not accepting gives him a black mark. Good job.

@marckyle5895

Жыл бұрын

Threatening me with a bad assignment if I don't reup will fucking guarantee I won't reup. Who the hell thinks that will work? I hope that sub wasn't a boomer.

@moo5289

Жыл бұрын

@@marckyle5895 Yes, it was a boomer but it's ancient history now. That boat's been recycled into dog food cans. I waved goodbye in 1978. I was just pointing out that they didn't stop making bad CO's in the war years. I don't know how things are now but it seems to me that at least then, an officer could cash in some of the credit his father earned. I'm sure that was far worse during the war when the rapid expansion of the fleet created the need for shoulders to put stripes on.

@trifidhm

Жыл бұрын

​@@moo5289 it's still like that a bit, but word spreads fast and usually we keep in touch with other guys from duty stations we met along the way. Any rate is a small rate when your OICs are bad and we have the benefit of emails and phones.

Wow. This is such an incredible piece of work. It’s like a movie you see but takes years to make and years to delve into the actual history. Thank you Drachinifel!

A tube strike forced me to stay in bed, so cracking time in posting this. Thank you.

@frankbodenschatz173

Жыл бұрын

A tube strike? How misfortunate!

@jp18449

Жыл бұрын

Not got legs?

@richmcgee434

Жыл бұрын

Tube strike? Hope that's UK slang and not the aftermath of being beaten with a lead pipe.

@copiousfool

Жыл бұрын

@@richmcgee434 isn't that doing a Tonya?

26:37, one of the men in the party the chaplain organized was Aviation Boatswains Mate Don Prather, he helped O'Callahan fighting fires, and helped break open the ammunition locker and throw the ammunition over the side. he went to the church my family attended growing up, but sadly passed away before i was old enough to really know him, from what my father has told me he was a very calm and quiet man, and helped my dad deal with some ptsd he picked up serving in the Navy in the late 80's. Franklin's survival has always amazed me, from photos of the list and carnage on the flight deck, to the brave sailors who rallied to save their ship, and the captain of the Santa Fe linking the fate of his ship with the Franklin's providing critical aid when it was desperately needed. Excellent video Drach!

Can't help remembering that my father and many of his friends left high-school before graduation to go fight in the war . Damn great men each and every one .

@trealosgaming3345

Жыл бұрын

What my grandfather did. Served on the Franklin

Whoever was involved in this documentary study of the horrific attack and near destruction of USS Franklin and of course more importantly the deaths and. terrible injuries of so many brave American sailors...You film makers/producers/ALL involved ❤did an absolutely amazing job!! Thank you so very much for sharing this wonderful project!!❤

Thanks for finally re-uploading this video. I have been looking for it for months and I wasn't sure If I had just hallucinated it's existence

@gregorywright4918

Жыл бұрын

The old one was taken down and this is a replacement.

Wow. I'd known about this crippling lone air attack on Franklin for a long time, but the telling of the story was first-class, with many details new to me. Excellent job, Drach! However, I noticed that you kept pronouncing the Captain's name wrong: It's actually pronounced "Kun"-*sound of needle being dragged from a record*

My father was drafted into the Marines in 1943. After boot camp and training he was designated a sea going marine. His group were lined up and called off numbers. 1, 2, 1, 2 and so on. One number went to the heavy cruiser USS St Paul, The other number went to the Franklin. My father went to the St Paul. Had he went to the Franklin It's quite possible I wouldn't have been born to tell this story.

Terrific video. My father was in the Brooklyn Navy Yard when the Franklin arrived. He said it looked like a pike of floating rust. Guys were wondering what had kept her afloat.

Much praise as well to the captain and crew of the _USS Santa Fe_ ; stunning manouver and huge risks undertaken in the course of the action.

@jacobmccandles1767

4 ай бұрын

That manouver tore a 60 foot gash in the hull of the Santa Fe, right at the water line.

@jlvfr

4 ай бұрын

@@jacobmccandles1767 but she got the job done.

@jacobmccandles1767

4 ай бұрын

@@jlvfr oh yes, absolutely. My Dad was aboard her and always spoke well of the move. They used mattresses and timbers to make temporary repairs and restore some semblance of seakeeping, and continuse with fire fighting and rescue efforts.

@jlvfr

4 ай бұрын

@@jacobmccandles1767 outstanding.

I remember seeing film of this ship on fire, but never knew in detail the actual tale of the Franklin? After seeing your original fine vid on this ship, I never understood how she survived at all? With this, I now know more of the brave men and ships that helped in saving her. Thanks, Drach.

Thank you Drach been waiting for this to be reloaded. Great work.

My father, aboard the USS Bunker Hill, watched the Franklin burning and exploding on the horizon. He and his ship would share a similar fate on 11 May.

Thanks for this video Drach - A great story, and having served on USS O'Callahan, one of the best descriptions of the Father's actions!

21:34 I can only conclude that he's a Rogue and succeeded on his Reflex save. Or he's an action hero with incredible plot armor.

@legionx4046

Жыл бұрын

Plot armor is a hell of a drug

Thank you for re uploading this

Amazing story. One of your best, Drach.

This is probably the most moving video you've done and I thank you for the great presentation. It amazes me there isn't a Hollywood movie on this story, just a couple of short films and one hour long documentary.

@MGlennRoss

Жыл бұрын

There was a movie made in the mid-1950s called "Battle Stations," that was based on this incident. But you're right, there should be another made.

@BigPapaKaiser

Жыл бұрын

I'm glad there isn't a Hollywood movie on this story because it would be gun toting yee-haw marines blitzing 100500 japanese bombers out of the sky with sidearms and putting out fires with a spit and a quick piss. Hollywood makes spectacles.

I'm so happy to see another video on the Franklin after your other one got taken down. Whenever I would reference your channel, I would mention that one because of the extraordinarily high quality it

Excellent video! Thank you for making and posting it. 👍🏻🎅👍🏻

Incredible, incredible video. Tremendous bravery and dedication displayed by all of the sailors involved (save the Captain).

My mother, who was already a war widow herself, lost a brother on the Franklin. Family lore said that he reassured Gramma that he would be safe from harm because he was assigned to the CiC below decks.

My Dad served on the CB-2 Guam and talked about this

incredible. thank you for publishing this footage and the narration

Suisei is indeed comet in english. Meteor is Ryuusei in japanese, which would be the B7A, while Suisei reffers to the D4Y. Also nice to see the Franklin video back, after all this time.

Sir, your presentation is the best kind of film making. To fix these events in the mind of those who could not be there to truly understand the courage and bravery of a United States sailor. My hat is off to you, and may you ever rise to greater heights. 😊

Thank-you for doing this video.. I was going to ask for it. The fortitude and bravery of her crew can not be understated. I had read some of the details, but your video was much more informative.... Again.. thank-you

These type of videos are your absolute BEST! Thank you Admiral Drach

In 1961 or so, I read an article about the Franklin’s ordeal in one of my grandmother’s _Reader’s Digest_ issues. Much was made of the heroic chaplain and his organization of a club of the men who stayed on the ship all the way back to Brooklyn. (The 735 club?) The captain was mentioned (positively but not much, I think) but not those c-s-t desertion charges. Thank you, Drach, for retelling this story so well.

This was a superlative account of this action. Thank you, Drachinfel.

Another Outstanding presentation, Thank you for keeping their memory alive. GO Navy!

A very good friend of my stepdad was a cook on the Franklin during WWII Roe Woody was his name. He was one of the nicest people I'd ever met. I always enjoyed his talks about the aircraft carrier and what he did

As tragic as this event was for the ship and it's crew, the fact it survived, and the captain added drama to the end, it would make one hell of a good movie!

Superb video chap, well done.