_underway_in_August_1943.jpg) | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | Franks |
| Namesake | William Joseph Franks |
| Builder | Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding Corporation |
| Laid down | 8 March 1942 |
| Launched | 7 December 1942 |
| Commissioned | 30 July 1943 |
| Decommissioned | 31 May 1946 |
| Stricken | 1 December 1972 |
| Fate | Sold for scrapping, 1 August 1973 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | Fletcher-classdestroyer |
| Displacement | 2,050 tons |
| Length | 376 ft 6 in (114.76 m) |
| Beam | 39 ft 8 in (12.09 m) |
| Draft | 17 ft 9 in (5.41 m) |
| Propulsion | 60,000 shp (45,000 kW); 2 propellers |
| Speed | 35 knots (65 km/h; 40 mph) |
| Range | 6,500 nmi (12,000 km) at 15 kn (28 km/h) |
| Complement | 336 |
| Armament |
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USSFranks (DD-554), aWorld War II-eraFletcher-classdestroyer in the service of theUnited States Navy, was named afterMedal of Honor recipient ActingMaster's MateWilliam Joseph Franks.
Franks waslaunched on 7 December 1942 bySeattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding Corporation,Seattle, Washington; sponsored by Mrs. Martha F. W. Carr, a cousin of Acting Master's Mate Franks, andcommissioned on 30 July 1943.
Franks arrived atPearl Harbor 25 October 1943 to prepare for the invasion of theGilbert Islands, for which she sortied 10 November. She screened escort carriers providing air cover for theTarawa landings, then patrolled offBetio until 27 December, returning then to Pearl Harbor for a brief repair period. The destroyer was underway once more 22 January 1944 with the Southern Attack Force for the invasion ofKwajalein, during which she patrolled against submarines, as well as closingEbeye Island for reconnaissance and bombardment. Again she replenished at Pearl Harbor, between 18 February and 4 March, then sailed for convoy and patrol duty in theSolomon Islands, arriving atPurvis Bay 15 March.
Targets forFranks' reconnaissance and bombardment missions in March and April 1944 includedMussau, north ofNew Ireland;Kapingamaringi; andBougainville. In May, screening minelayers inBuka Passage,Franks andHaggard contacted, attacked, and sank theJapanese submarine I-176 on 16 May. Returning to the central Pacific the next month,Franks joined in the preinvasion bombardment ofGuam from 12 July, and gave fire support to the assault troops who landed there 21 July. After replenishing atEniwetok,Franks sailed back to the South Pacific to prepare for the invasion of thePalaus, off which she arrived 15 September. She served as screen and fighter-director ship, then covered the occupation ofUlithi 23 September.
On 1 October 1944,Franks sailed fromManus, beginning a month and a half of operations in thePhilippines screening escort carriers. She took part in the preinvasion strikes onLeyte and the landings there, then fought gallantly to protect the escort carriers in theBattle off Samar phase of theBattle of Leyte Gulf, coming under the pounding fire of Japanese battleships 25 October. After replenishing at Manus, she returned to Leyte late in November, and in December joined the fast carrier task force to cover the landings onMindoro, and to conduct strikes in preparation for theLuzon assault of January 1945.
Still screening the fast carriers,Franks took part in strikes on the Japanese home islands on 16 and 17 February 1945 on the eve of the invasion ofIwo Jima, then sailed from Ulithi 14 March for strikes onKyūshū and theNansei Shoto in preparation for the Okinawa operation. On 18 March her task force came under heavy enemy air attack, andFranks claimed one of the attacking aircraft, joining in the fire which brought several others down. Joining thebattleship group,Franks closed the southern coast of Okinawa on 24 March for a preinvasion bombardment, which hid the intention to land atHagushi on the western coast.Franks cruised off Okinawa, serving as plane guard for carriers covering the landings 1 April, until 2 April, when she was badly damaged and her commanding officer was fatally injured in a collision with the battleshipNew Jersey. She sailed at once for temporary repairs at Ulithi, from which she departed 13 April for overhaul atPuget Sound Naval Shipyard.
Franks returned to the western Pacific on 17 August 1945 at Eniwetok, and on 3 September rendezvoused with the fast carrier task force for air-sea rescue and weather station duty for flights between Okinawa andHonshū. She enteredTokyo Bay 13 September, and on 1 October sailed for the west coast.Franks was placed out of commission in reserve atSan Pedro, California 31 May 1946, and sold for scrapping on 1 August 1973.
Franks received ninebattle stars for World War II service. Credited with the first swimming rescue of downed Navy aviators, Mel Collins radar man and first SEAL rescue diver. (Murphy, B 1st navy seals)
This article incorporates text from thepublic domainDictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be foundhere.
Photo gallery of USSFranks at NavSource Naval History
