Al Bullock
Seething banks of smoke envelop the stern of the FRANKLIN as flames race through the interior of the ship. Men of the Cruiser SANTA FE watch in fascinated horror as they await the opportunity to lend a hand. Burning gasoline escapes out of the side of the ship, while a group of survivors clambore down a cargo net at the far left.

Seething banks of smoke envelop the stern of the FRANKLIN as flames race through the interior of the ship. Men of the Cruiser SANTA FE watch in fascinated horror as they await the opportunity to lend a hand. Burning gasoline escapes out of the side of the ship, while a group of survivors clambore down a cargo net at the far left.
Seething banks of smoke envelop the stern of the FRANKLIN as flames race through the interior of the ship. Men of the Cruiser SANTA FE watch in fascinated horror as they await the opportunity to lend a hand. Burning gasoline escapes out of the side of the ship, while a group of survivors clambore down a cargo net at the far left.
ArtistAmerican, 1923–2019
CultureAmerican
Titles
  • Seething banks of smoke envelop the stern of the FRANKLIN as flames race through the interior of the ship. Men of the Cruiser SANTA FE watch in fascinated horror as they await the opportunity to lend a hand. Burning gasoline escapes out of the side of the ship, while a group of survivors clambore down a cargo net at the far left.
DateMarch 19, 1945
MediumGelatin silver print
DimensionsImage: 7 1/2 × 9 1/2 in. (19.1 × 24.1 cm)
 Sheet: 8 1/8 × 9 15/16 in. (20.6 × 25.3 cm)
Credit LineGift of Will Michels in honor of Jason Dibley
Object number2022.641.8
Not on view

Explore Further

Department
Photography
Object Type
Provenance[Annapolis Maritime Antiques
, Annapolis, MD]; purchased by Will Michels, Houston; given to MFAH, 2022.

Cataloguing data may change with further research.

If you have questions about this work of art or the MFAH Online Collection please contact us.

Debris flies aloft after an explosion convulses the FRANKLIN...only one of a series of .....which dangered the ship anew, meant the loss of additional lives increased the long list of the shrined seeking to escape the ......of the blast, member of fire fighting detail fall back .. to return immediately and renew their assault against the flames.
Al Bullock
Debris flies aloft after an explosion convulses the FRANKLIN...only one of a series of .....which dangered the ship anew, meant the loss of additional lives increased the long list of the shrined seeking to escape the ......of the blast, member of fire fighting detail fall back .. to return immediately and renew their assault against the flames.
March 19, 1945
Gelatin silver print
2022.641.9
Highlighted by an area of flame, smoke spreads a choking curtain over the stern of the carrier. Behind the pall scores of courageous men risked their lives as they exerted every effort to save their ship.
Al Bullock
Highlighted by an area of flame, smoke spreads a choking curtain over the stern of the carrier. Behind the pall scores of courageous men risked their lives as they exerted every effort to save their ship.
March 19, 1945
Gelatin silver print
2022.641.11
A crown of flame mantles one of the five-inch turrets on the FRANKLIN, with jets of fire flickering out of the muzzles of the twin rifles. Crewmen aboard the cruiser SANTA FE extinguished the blaze by playing streams of water through the open hatch.
Al Bullock
A crown of flame mantles one of the five-inch turrets on the FRANKLIN, with jets of fire flickering out of the muzzles of the twin rifles. Crewmen aboard the cruiser SANTA FE extinguished the blaze by playing streams of water through the open hatch.
March 19, 1945
Gelatin silver print
2022.641.16
The list of the FRANKLIN affords an unusually clear vision of the extent of the havoc on the flight deck. Tongues of flames run along the wooden surface as crewmen converge on the endangered area with firehose. Despite the appalling shock of the explosion, the undamaged guns went into action when the japanese loosed a follow-up aerial attack, and succeeded in driving the few away without sustaining further hits.
Al Bullock
The list of the FRANKLIN affords an unusually clear vision of the extent of the havoc on the flight deck. Tongues of flames run along the wooden surface as crewmen converge on the endangered area with firehose. Despite the appalling shock of the explosion, the undamaged guns went into action when the japanese loosed a follow-up aerial attack, and succeeded in driving the few away without sustaining further hits.
March 19, 1945
Gelatin silver print
2022.641.15
Escapan entre las llamas (They escape through the flames) from the series The Disasters of War (Los Desastres de la Guerra)
Francisco de Goya
Escapan entre las llamas (They escape through the flames) from the series The Disasters of War (Los Desastres de la Guerra)
Published 1863
Aquatint on paper
BF.1979.63
[two firefighters on top of roof with smoke and flames behind]
[two firefighters on top of roof with smoke and flames behind]
1970s–1980s
Chromogenic print
2014.462
Following Navy tradition, the Cruiser SANTA FE risks its own destruction by moving alongside to within "arm's length" of the FRANKLIN in order to fight the fires and to remove exhausted and injured crewmen. Bringing the cruiser in such close proximity to the carrier was a magnificent feat of seamanship on the part of the skipper and officers of the SANTA FE.
Al Bullock
Following Navy tradition, the Cruiser SANTA FE risks its own destruction by moving alongside to within "arm's length" of the FRANKLIN in order to fight the fires and to remove exhausted and injured crewmen. Bringing the cruiser in such close proximity to the carrier was a magnificent feat of seamanship on the part of the skipper and officers of the SANTA FE.
March 19, 1945
Gelatin silver print
2022.641.17
provided
Esther Bubley
Tomball Gasoline plant- Distillation unit with gasoline stills in the foreground. Gasoline is made here from natural gas
1945
Gelatin silver print
2014.766
Ships in Dry Dock
Caroline Valenta
Ships in Dry Dock
1945–1952
Gelatin silver print
2022.477.17
The flight deck of the USS SARATOGA at dawn, as the ship moves in for an air strike against Rabaul
Wayne Miller
The flight deck of the USS SARATOGA at dawn, as the ship moves in for an air strike against Rabaul
November 1943
Gelatin silver print
2022.641.18
Image Not Available for J'veux monter tout de suite là-dedans avec toi papa... (I want to go on this ship with you at once, Papa,...), Plate 484
Honoré Daumier
J'veux monter tout de suite là-dedans avec toi papa... (I want to go on this ship with you at once, Papa,...), Plate 484
1858
Lithograph
71.76
Nurse with Red Cross Hospital Ship
Takeuchi Keishu
Nurse with Red Cross Hospital Ship
1904
Woodblock print; color on kozo paper
2019.300