On March 19, 1945, the Essex class aircraft carrier USS Franklin while on station off the coast of Japan, was struck by a Japanese dive bomber flying a virtually suicidal mission through intense defenses, causing massive damage, but not sinking the ship. Still, an incredibly high fatality count had been inflicted upon the crew of the stricken ship, with at least 740 men killed and perhaps more.
Is the Franklin the ship that suffered the highest death toll in a single battle that did not sink of damage inflicted in that battle? While we could not find a ship that could top the death toll on Franklin, we will list a few other notable cases of ships being horribly damaged in battle and suffering a large number of casualties without sinking. If you know of a ship that lost more men in a battle without sinking than the Franklin, please let us know.
