Saga of The Franklin

Saga of the Franklin (1945) was a Kodachrome colour 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 World War II.

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 showing the ships chaplain, Lieutenant Commander Joseph T. O'Callahan, wearing a steel helmet while administering the last rites to a dying sailor is one of the most enduring images of World War II in the Pacific. Both O'Callahan and Lieutenant JG Donald A. Gary, were awarded the Medal of Honor for their actions on the Franklin.

The film ends as a badly damaged Franklin, against all odds, reaches New York City for repairs.