Saga of the Franklin
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Saga of the Franklin | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Produced by | United States Navy |
| Release date(s) | 1945 |
| Country |  United States |
| Language | English |
Saga of the Franklin (1945) was a Kodachrome color documentary film produced about the aircraft carrier USS Franklin which was hit by a Japanese dive bomber on March 19, 1945. Franklin was the most heavily-damaged carrier to survive WWII.
The film traces the career of the Franklin from construction to commissioning, and then follows her out to sea and combat. Some of the most harrowing footage in the film shows the aftermath of the Japanese bombing, when ammunition dumps aboard the carrier caught fire and began to explode. A sequence depicting a priest wearing a steel helmet while administering the last rites to a dying sailor is one of the most enduring images of WWII in the Pacific.
The film ends as a badly damaged Franklin, against all odds, reaches New York City for repairs.
