Wakaba was the third of six Hatsuharu-class destroyers, built for the Imperial Japanese Navy under the Circle One Program. Three were laid down in JFY 1931 and the next three in JFY 1933. The remainin
Wakaba on 21 October 1937.
USS Franklin (CV-13)
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USS Franklin, nicknamed "Big Ben," was one of 24 Essex-class aircraft carriers built during World War II for the United States Navy, and the fifth US Navy ship to bear the name. Commissioned in Januar
Japanese destroyer Wakaba (1934)
…October, she escorted troop convoys from Kure to Taiwan and Luzon. On 24 October 1944, in the Battle of Leyte Gulf, Wakaba was sunk by aircraft from USS Franklin, struck by one or two bombs off the west coast of Panay (). Hatsuharu rescued 78 survivors and Hatsushimo 74 survivors. On 10 December 1944, Wakaba was…
USS Franklin underway in 1944
The newly commissioned Franklin departing Norfolk in February 1944
Belleau Wood (left) and Franklin hit by kamikazes, 30 October 1944
USS Franklin on fire after being struck by two bombs on 19 March 1945