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Posted by DonH on December 3, 2022, 16:30:39, in reply to "U.S.S. Franklin CV-13 Namesake"
Anyone remember hearing about one of the most famous naval battles of the revolutionary war when the Bon Homme (Bonhomme??) Richard took on the HMS Serapis? I would say that was a major battle! Hard to name a shape after that battle though BUT Ben Franklin was highly instrumental in arranging for the buying and fitting out of the Bon Homme Richard. Of Course there was an Essex class carrier named for the original ship later on. So who knows? I prefer to think of it was a tribute to Ben Franklin and if not it should have been. And to flaunt my ignorance, I had never heard of the battle of Franklin before this post.
And of course who can forget the ULTRA FAMOUS "Battle of Shangri-La". Ok, I'm making light of it but it certainly doesn't fit the famous battle mold or founding fathers mod.
I think we worry too much about this kind of thing. AND in my humble opinion since I am on a soapbox right now, WHY were there no tears shed for the Bon Homme Richard carrier when it was scrapped. It was the ONLY Essex class to take part in WWII, Korea and Viet Nam (spelled the way we used to spell it).
The Enterprise was in a few memorial battles but the Bon Homme Richard was in memorial three WARS. Oh well. Time to move on from this.
Previous Message
I was hoping someone could shed some light on the naming of the U.S.S. Franklin of WW2 fame and tragedy. For years folks have always said she was named after Benjamin Franklin. That just doesn't seem to make sense since none of the other carriers in the fleet up until the FDR CV-42 were named after famous Americans. (U.S.S. Hancock was named so because of the massive fund-raising efforts dedicated undertaken by employees of the the John Hancock Insurance Company) Also, honestly Benjamin Franklin would seem an odd choice for a warship namesake. I read somewhere and it would seem more logical that she was named after the 1864 Union victory at the Battle of Franklin. At that time naming convention was that carriers were named for famous American battles (Lexington, Saratoga, Yorktown, Bunker Hill, Ticonderoga) or earlier famous warships (Enterprise, Wasp, Hornet, Essex) FDR was the first to really break with that convention and unfortunately we seem to be saddled with the current politically influenced conventions we have now. Egads..Carl Vinson, John Stennis, and too many presidents, good or bad, from both sides of the political spectrum) Too bad we don't have those glorious names of the old Yorktown, Essex, Midway, and Forrestal classes (Sorry not keen on Forrestal either) At least we have a new Enterprise on the ways. Would rather see her sailing into battle with a new Saratoga, Lexington or Ticonderoga.
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