Inferno The Epic Life and Death Struggle of the USS Franklin in World War II

In the early morning hours of March 19, 1945, just fifty-five miles south of Japan, a lone Japanese aircraft dropped from the clouds over the American fleet and targeted the aircraft carrier USS Franklinwith a single bomb. "Big Ben" was about to become "the ship that wouldn't die," a nickname earned through fire and blood as she shuddered for an hour and a half under the explosions of her own ordnance that had been triggered by the bombing. Many of the crew not immediately killed in the explosions were blown overboard, driven off by fire, or wounded, a source of myriad heroic tales of survival. The officers and enlisted men left aboard the faltering ship (and those allowed to rejoin her later) were able to save her through sheer valor and tenacity. The enemy aircraft was shot down and disappeared into the sea, butFranklinremained afloat, against all odds and with casualties totaling 798 killed and over 487 wounded-one of the most harrowing and amazing ordeals of any American carrier.This is her riveting story, from start to finish, in the eloquent and sometimes emotional words of the men who served aboard her.Springer, Joseph A. is the author of 'Inferno The Epic Life and Death Struggle of the USS Franklin in World War II', published 2007 under ISBN 9780760329825 and ISBN 0760329826.