The hunt for USS Hornet CV-8

[Dan Johnson II]

First thing I thought of today when I saw they'd found her was the painting by Tom Lea of Hornet under attack. Saw it in a book called "Carrier War in the Pacific" way back in grade school during the time I got hooked on WW2 aviation.

Amazing that she and Yorktown are both sitting down there fairly intact. Wonder how Wasp looks?

[Courier Sportster]

Loks like she dug a trench as she hit bottom. Also made some splatter effect? Could be a sonar optical illusion. That tug pic definitely belongs over at the unsung ground equipment thread. The Hornet painting also got me real good back in the late 60's. I drew an awful lot of Zeros in flames crashing into ships, based totally off this. A thrill to see it again after all these years.

[wendovertom]

Someone somewhere should get a medal for their ability to properly tie down a tug - that is amazing! Plus the blanket - that probably got partially ejected as the ship sank. Amazing.

Tom P.

[Joe Scheil]

I had never really looked at or seen that "attacking" Val picture either, the pullout with the vapor trails coming off the wingtips. The angle of attack of the wing is incredible as the tail is way below the line the wingtips are tracking. Those pullouts must have been intense, and demonstrate an incredibly tough aircraft. Really a neat picture.

So thrilled at the pictures and the history.

[Mark Allen M]

More to come ...








This is the starboard forward 5" gun mount posted for one of our followers. His father was one of the 12 to 15 men it took to operate this gun.


An Anti-Aircraft projectile still in the fuse setter for the starboard forward gun in the previous photo.

[Mark Allen M]

Here's a similar gun from the USS Yorktown.


This is the hangar deck on the main part of the ship on the starboard side. You can see Hornet is nearly buried up to the Hangar Deck.


Another picture with possibe damage from a torpedo or impacting the seafloor. That is the hangar deck visible towards the top of the photo.


The hull number, 8, visible on the port bow


The Signal Bridge


On Northamptons last attempt at towing the Hornet they attached a cable to the port anchor chain visible here leading forward. The starboard anchor is visible in the lower left of the photo.


A 20mm Oerlikon AA gun on the port quarter. This part of the ship is 1 nautical mile from the main part of the wreck.


Another view of the Signal Bridge

[Tony C]

Given the length of time she has been sitting at the bottom, her condition is amazing, while the tractor doesn't look like it would need much work to get it started. I wonder if it is strapped down or if that is where it ended up, when Hornet hit the seabed?

[steve dickey]

Maybe i'm answering my own question but waht does the red hoses do for the AA guns(is that the 40mm Bofors?) do, water cooling perhaps?
Thanks.

[Mark Allen M]

Most recent from RV Petrel


This 5" gun is on the aft 45 meter section, 1 nautical mile away from the hull


The main section of hull on the port side where the break is


Forward 1.1" Quads on the starboard side


Aft 5" gun director.


This must of been writing during the building of the ship.


This is a large section of upturned flight deck. A couple of gantry cranes are visible in the middle of the picture and some white light fixtures.


Forward end of the island


A sailors hat


Port side 20mm Oerlikon guns


This is the welders workshop but you can see the deck plating to the right has been peeled back.


The tail end of a 500lb bomb.


What is this? It's aluminum and part of it is painted red. Lots of speculation onboard but it's in pretty bad shape.


20mm Oerlikon Anti-Aircraft gun on the starboard side


A 1.1" Quad AA gun underneath the flight deck on the bow of the Hornet


The remains of a plane. The tailhook visible on the bottom right is the only thing that's recognizable.

[Michel Lemieux]

OK...this is just another one of these WOW......moment...

Thank you sooo much for sharing.

Never in my life would I had even imagined we would get to see those images. Courtesy of Paul Allen passion and dedication......is just an understatement.

You know...as a kid I was really fascinated by WW2 aviation and naval aviation really was something of legends, hero’s and of course aircraft.

I do agree...next one on the list should be Wasp. But.....however so many ''others'' could be explored for archeology and history sake...

What do you think? Which one would you go after? Japan? Britain?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_sunken_aircraft_carriers

[lucky52]

Wasp or one of the Japanese carriers from Midway.

[Nathan]

It always saddens me the loss of the early U.S. carriers. Particularly Lexington and Yorktown, plus Hornet since the Doolittle raiders took off this very ship. So much history. Sometimes we think its gone like other history. But at least some of the ships are still out there, albeit under water.

[RyanShort1]

It always saddens me the loss of the early U.S. carriers. Particularly Lexington and Yorktown, plus Hornet since the Doolittle raiders took off this very ship. So much history. Sometimes we think its gone like other history. But at least some of the ships are still out there, albeit under water.

The fate of the Enterprise is worse in a way.

[Saville]

Does anyone know what causes the hull to separate into two pieces? Was it structural damage taken during the attack? Or twisting of the hull as she went down? Both?

These are marvelous photos and thanks for posting them.

[Clifford Bossie]

Does anyone know what causes the hull to separate into two pieces? Was it structural damage taken during the attack? Or twisting of the hull as she went down? Both?

These are marvelous photos and thanks for posting them.

One of the Japanese torpedoes that struck the ship during the morning attack hit at approximately frame 160, which is aft. When trying to scuttle the ship USN destroyers fired nine more torpedoes at the hulk of which only three (i believe that is the correct number) actually hit and exploded. The Japanese then came upon the wreck and fired either two, or four Long Lance torpedoes depending on which reference is believed. I had understood it was two that struck the ship. The locations of all those additional hits are not recorded, but it is quite possible that the single hit at frame 160 might have weakened the aft hull enough for the stern to break off during the sinking.

http://ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/WarDama ... rtCV8.html