"Trial By Fire" by P. T. Deutermann, Capt (Ret) USN © 2021

[NVSMITH]

-A fictional account of the damage done and crew response to the 19 March 1945 attack on USS Franklin CV-13, "The Ship That Wouldn't Die"
-I have seen many films and photos of the damage done to the Franklin but had never read anything about the attack itself or the struggle to save the ship.
-Read this first: The Captain of the Carrier USS 'Franklin' Is a Case Study in How Not to Lead
-The first words of the official US Navy damage report are: "This is a long report" and it is: over 70 pages; the report on the sinking of the Lexington (CV2) is 12 pages. The struggle to save "Big Ben" has been used as a case study in US Navy damage control training. USS Franklin CV-13 War Damage Report No. 56
-From a crew of 3,600 the crew received two Medals of Honor, 19 Navy Crosses, 22 Silver Stars, 116 Bronze Stars, 235 Letters of Commendation, 347 Purple Hearts, and 808 Posthumous Purple Hearts (total 1155 Purple Hearts). The casualties on the Franklin were exceeded only by the USS Arizona.
-MoH citations and damage illustrations: USS Franklin (CV-13) "Big Ben" - The National Medal of Honor Museum
-The Naval History and Heritage Command article on the Franklin says nothing about CAPT Gehres toxic leadership or his desire to court martial his crew.
Franklin III (CV-13)

 

[Barrett]

The bible is Joe Springer's "Inferno" based on interviews with many survivors.
Les Gehres had HMS Bounty with a flight deck--never ever shoulda had a major sea command. Apparently he was the only non-USNA CO of an Essex class ship and one of only two given a fast carrier (the other was a CVL and the CO did well.)

 

[NVSMITH]

-How Capt Gehres became CO of Big Ben isn't covered. Checking other sources it appears he was Commodore of Fleet Air Wing (FAW) 4 in the Aleutians and had been there since 1942. FAW 4 used PBY and PV aircraft.
-In 1945 he wrote the preface to "Fleet Air Wing Four Strikes" (NAVAER 50-40T-2) signing it L.E. GEHRES, Captain, U.S. Navy, (formerly Commodore and Commander Fleet Air Wing FOUR) Fleet Air Wing Four Strikes This is a very interesting read of aerial combat in a rather nasty area even if Capt Gehres says: "Certainly the weather in that area was definitely not favorable for flight operations, but it was more 'terrible' in the tales of the old-timers and in the imaginations of the newcomers than in fact and, being at war, the concept of 'impossible' could not be entertained." One wonders how many missions the Commodore flew...
-In 1969 RADM (Ret) Gehres was interviewed prior to a TV show on Big Ben; it makes interesting reading. Leslie Gehres: Captain of the Franklin | AMERICAN HERITAGE
-An interesting bio: Leslie Gehres
-I'm Army, not Navy, so I don't know how these things work but it was my understanding that carrier commander selectees were given ship handling experience before being turned loose with their commands. In the book, Capt Deutermann discusses various officers and states whether they are aviation or surface officers.

 

[vikingBerserker]

"I was the Chaplain on the Franklin" by father O'Callahan was a pretty good read but "Inferno" is excellent.