Robert Leonard Franklin
Military
Navigator
Crew #789 - Marvin Holmes Crew
Loretta Franklin Jones - Sister of Robert Franklin
Object Number - UPL 29444 - 2LT Robert L. Franklin Navigator Crew #789 - Marvin Holmes Crew
Franklin was appointed the rank of Flight Officer upon graduated Navigator School. He retired from the USAF with the rank of 1st LT.
He flew 32 combat missions as a navigator at age 19. He didn't even know how to drive a car (but did learn when he was Officer of The Day and given a Jeep to drive for the day. He had to figure it out.)
Connections
See how this entry relates to other items in the archive by exploring the connections below.
Units served with
- Unit Hierarchy: Group
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Bombardment
- Unit Hierarchy: Squadron
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Bombardment
People
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 466th Bomb Group 787th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: O-834815
- Highest Rank: First Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Pilot
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 466th Bomb Group 787th Bomb Squadron
- Highest Rank: First Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Co-Pilot
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 466th Bomb Group 787th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: O-829485
- Highest Rank: First Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Pilot
Aircraft
Missions
- Date: 16 April 1945
- Date: 15 April 1945
- Date: 11 April 1945
- Date: 9 April 1945
- Date: 5 April 1945
Places
- Site type: Airfield
- Known as: Attlebridge Arsenal, Station 120
Events
| Event | Location | Date | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Born |
Duncan, OK | 20 April 1925 | |
|
Other Graduated Navigator School |
San Marcos, TX | 20 June 1944 | Class 44-G Rated as Navigator Appointed to the rank of Flight Officer |
|
Other Departed for the ETO |
New York, NY | 6 October 1944 | aboard the Nieuw Amsterdam |
|
Other Assigned to the 466th BG |
Attlebridge, UK | 19 October 1944 | |
|
Other 1st Combat Mission |
Karlsruhe, Germany | 5 November 1944 | Our instructor pilot (flying in the co-pilot's seat, Henry Hull.) told the gunners of the necessity of staying alert. They, in fact, all of us, would see more airplanes today than we had ever seen in the air at one time. How right he was! Bombers were everywhere...like swarms of bees. There was always a chance of collision. Ships came at us for every direction. The aircraft we were assigned to was "Gran Slam" and we flew it on subsequent missions. This day our primary target was Metz, France, but if it was obscured we would go to Karlsruhe, Germany and bomb the marshalling yards there. When we reached Metz there was a solid undercast, so we circled and circled for about 30 minutes, and then, unbeknownst to me, we struck out for Karlsruhe. There was plenty of flak waiting for us there. I was one frightened and confused navigator! Three aircraft were lost on that mission. One was Lt. Nelson's. His ship crashed about seven miles from Attlebridge on the return flight. It ran out of fuel. The rumor was no one on board knew how to transfer fuel. Nelson and his co-pilot survived, but most of the crew were killed (historian's note: three men were KIA, and seven were injured). The two were badly injured and spent about six months in the hospital. Our crew had trained and then shipped over with them. It was their first and only mission. |
|
Died |
Perkins, OK | 13 May 2016 | The Greatest Generation lost one of its own when Robert Leonard (Bob) Franklin made his transition on May 13, 2016. Bob was born April 30, 1925 in Duncan, Oklahoma. The son of Leonard (Frank) and Alma Franklin, he had two sisters, Irene and Loretta. Bob was moved with the family at the age of four to Seminole where he grew up, graduating from Seminole High School in 1943. He was concerned that he might be drafted to serve in World War II before graduation since he wanted to get his diploma before enlisting in the Army Air Corps. He did get to graduate and by 1944 found himself with the 8th Air Force in Attlebridge, England. Bob was a B-24 navigator and had flown 32 missions at the age of 19. He was injured once, was awarded a Certificate of Valor, earned five Air Medals and was commissioned a Second Lieutenant. His last mission was April 16, 1945, about two weeks before his 20th birthday. After separation from the service with a Reserve Commission, he entered Oklahoma A&M College (now Oklahoma State University) where he was a member of Kappa Sig fraternity. He was recalled to active duty in 1947 and became First Lieutenant during his second tour of duty. Discharged in 1953, Bob completed his degree in history and government at the University of Oklahoma in 1955. He worked in the Defense Mapping Agency Aerospace Center in St. Louis, Missouri until retirement. While there he became an accomplished artist, specializing in portraiture. Bob was also an avid golfer. |
|
Buried |
Seminole, OK | 16 May 2016 | Maple Grove Cemetery Seminole, Seminole County, Oklahoma, USA |
| Seminole, OK, USA | 7 Franklin Street, R.I. |
Revisions
Contributor466thHistorian
Changes
Sources
https://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv=1&dbid=2238&h=1377471…
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/162549122/robert-leonard-franklin
466th BG Archives - unpublished memoir of Robert L. Franklin
Contributor466thHistorian
Changes
Sources
Loretta Franklin Jones - Sister
"Officers of Attlebridge" - 466th BG publication 1945
