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| | USS Franklin (CV-13) - Article from FactBug.org - the fast Wikipedia mirror site |
 | | The fifth USS Franklin (CV-13) (also CVA-13, CVS-13, and AVT-8), nicknamed "Big Ben", was an Essex-class" class="a-lk">Essex-class aircraft carrier of the United States Navy, notable as the hardest-hit carrier to survive World War II. |
 | | She was laid down on 7 December 1942 and launched by Newport News Shipbuilding, Newport News, Virginia, on 14 October 1943, sponsored by Lieutenant Commander Mildred A. McAfee, USNR, Director of the WAVES, and commissioned on 31 January 1944, with Captain James M. Shoemaker in command. |
 | | Among the plankowners was a ship's band made up of drafted and enlisted professional musicians of the era, including Saxie Dowell and Deane Kincaide, assigned to Shoemaker by lottery. |
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