USS Hornet

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The USS Hornet (CV-8) was the seventh in a series of American warships that had that name. She was the third of the Yorktown-class carriers built at Newport News, Virginia, launched in 1940, and commissioned to serve in the fleet in 1941. She was still training her crew out of Norfolk when the Japanese struck Pearl Harbor. On February 2, 1942, she left Norfolk with two Army B-25 medium bombers on her deck. After steaming out to sea, the two bombers took off from her flight deck. Her totally surprised and startled crew stared at the big bombers struggling to get into the air. No one really knew th reason for such an experiment as she returned to Norfolk, got ready for combat, and left Norfolk on March 4 for the Pacific.

She arrived at San Francisco 16 days later. Her cranes then lifted 16 more B-25s and placed them on her flight deck. USAAF Lt. Col. Jimmy Doolittle, 70 officers, and 64 enlisted men came aboard. She and her escorts steamed out of San Francisco Bay on April 2. After being safely at sea, Capt. Marc Mitscher, her skipper, got on the ship's loudspeaker and announced that the reason for the Army fliers being on board was to launch the bombers for a bombing raid on Japan.

The Hornet joined her sister ship, the Enterprise, on April 13 off Midway Island. Task Force 16 now headed toward Japan for their historic mission. On April 18, the Task Force sighted a Japanese patrol boat. Despite sinking the intruder and concerned that the Japanese boat had possibly warned the Japanese of the American ships' presence, Halsey had no choice but to launch the B-25s about 200 miles further from Japan than originally planned. The Americans kept the Hornet's mission a secret for one year despite President Roosevelt answering a reporter’s question that the planes came from a secret base called “Shangri La” at a press conference just after the raid.

She could not arrive in time to help the Lexington and Yorktown at the Battle of Coral Sea but managed to join the Enterprise and Yorktown to fight at the Battle of Midway. Her torpedo squadron, Torpedo 8, lost all its planes with one pilot surviving, Ens. George H. Gay. Gay floated under his seat cushion and witnessed the Enterprise's and Yorktown's dive bombers destroy three Japanese carriers.

The Hornet returned to Pearl Harbor to have a new radar installed. She left Pearl Harbor on April 17, 1942. During and after the Battle of the Eastern Solomons, the Japanese torpedoed and heavily damaged the Saratoga (CV-3), sank the Wasp (CV-7), and damaged the Enterprise. The Hornet was to only American carrier in the South Pacific until October 24, 1942 when the Enterprise joined her in a position northwest of New Hebrides Islands. Both carriers went after a powerful Japanese task force heading for Guadalcanal.

Japanese planes attacked both American carriers and dealt mortal blows to the Hornet such that was a helpless derelict. Her crew fought valiantly to save her but no avail. The American destroyers Mustin and Anderson tried to sink her with 400 rounds of 5-inch ammunition but she would not give up. Eventually, Japanese destroyers fired four of their deadly Long Lance torpedoes into her. She finally succumbed to her inevitable fate when she slipped beneath the waves on October 27, 1942 at 1:35 a.m.

Although the US Navy took her from the rolls of the fleet, another carrier arrived to take up that gallant name. She was the new Essex-class carrier Hornet (CV-12). That ship served with distinction throughout the Pacific War, Korean War, and the War in Vietnam. She was a recovery ship for Apollo missions. After a fine record of service, the Navy retired her. She can now be seen at the USS Hornet Museum at Alameda naval Station in San Francisco bay. I personally have visited her, and she is a sight to behold.