[GATOR NAVY]

Good read. I would only note that the despite what the article says, FRANKLIN was not hit by a kamikaze. It was a conventional attack by a single bomber that caught her with a fully fueled and armed strike ready for take off on deck. It was almost like what happened to the Japanese carriers at Midway. She was the most the heavily damaged carrier to survive the war, over 700 dead if I remember.

Even after Okinawa, the Japanese still had thousands of aircraft available for kamikaze attacks if Kyushu had been invaded. They had also learned their lesson and were planning on making the transports, not the warships, their primary targets. It would have real bad.

[SAMWolf]

Thanks Gator Navy, good catch.

I don't think the pictures claim the Franklin was hit by a Kamikaze. It just said damaged after an air attack. Although the damage was extensive. I still think that catching the Japanese at Midway with the carriers ready to launch was a miracle.