USS Franklin D. Roosevelt (CVB/CVA/CV-42) was the second of three s. To her crew, she was known as "Swanky Franky," "Foo-De-Roo," or "Rosie". Roosevelt spent most of her active deployed career operating in the Mediterranean Sea as part of the United States Sixth Fleet. The ship was decommissioned in 1977 and was scrapped shortly afterward. She was the first aircraft carrier of the United States Navy to be named in honor of a president of the United States.
Early career
thumb|left|Roosevelt at commissioning ceremonies in 1945
CVB-42 was laid down at New York Naval Shipyard on 1 December 1943. Sponsor Mrs. John H. Towers, wife of the Deputy Commander-in-Chief, Pacific Fleet, christened the ship Coral Sea at the 29 April 1945 launching. On 8 May 1945, President Harry S. Truman approved the Secretary of the Navy's recommendation to rename the ship Franklin D. Roosevelt in honor of the late president, who had died four weeks earlier.
Roosevelt was commissioned on Navy Day, 27 October 1945, at the New York Naval Shipyard. Capt. Apollo Soucek was the ship's first commanding officer. During her shakedown cruise, Roosevelt called at Rio de Janeiro from 1 to 11 February 1946 to represent the United States at the inauguration of Brazilian president Eurico Gaspar Dutra, who came aboard for a short cruise. During April and May, Roosevelt participated in Eighth Fleet maneuvers off the East Coast, the Navy's first major postwar training exercise.
left|thumb|[[Fleet admiral (United States)|Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, Fleet Admiral William D. Leahy, President Harry S. Truman, and Vice Admiral Marc A. Mitscher on the bridge of USS Franklin D. Roosevelt (CV-42) during maneuvers off the Virginia Capes, 24 April 1946.]]
On 21 July 1946, Roosevelt became the first American carrier to operate an all-jet aircraft under controlled conditions. Lieutenant Commander James Davidson, flying the McDonnell XFD-1 Phantom, made a series of successful take-offs and landings as Roosevelt lay off Cape Henry, Virginia. Jet trials continued in November, when Lt. Col. Marion E. Carl, USMC, made two catapult launches, four unassisted take-offs, and five arrested landings in a Lockheed P-80A. This visit showed U.S. support for the pro-Western government of Greece, which was locked in a civil war with Communist insurgents. The ship received thousands of visitors during her calls to many Mediterranean ports. This was the first of twenty Mediterranean deployments Roosevelt would make, initiating an American aircraft carrier presence that would develop into the United States Sixth Fleet.