Franklin was gravely damaged by two bombs while operating near the Japanese coast on 19 March 1945. Massive fires ensued, and the ship was left disabled, listing, and burning fiercely, with her flight deck almost totally destroyed. 724 of her crew were killed and many others injured, but through heroic efforts the fires were controlled and the ship was saved. At first towed by the cruiser Pittsburgh, then steaming under her own power, she proceeded to Pearl Harbor for emergency repairs and then on to New York for reconstruction. The repairs took nearly two years and required removal and replacement of virtually everything above the hangar floor, except the island and forward flight deck. Franklin never returned to operation after the repairs, instead decommissioning to reserve 17 February 1947, along with many other ships of her class. The veteran carrier was stricken in 1964 and scrapped 1966-68.

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