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Commissioned just before World War II, the U.S.S. Hornet was the third and last of the Yorktown-class aircraft carriers. She completed her shakedown and training out of Norfolk, Virginia, commanded by Captain Marc Mitscher, who would later lead the fast carrier task forces in World War II as a Vice-Admiral. Hornet was at Norfolk on December 7, 1941. In February 1942 Hornet left Norfolk with two Army Air Force B-25s on deck which were later launched at sea in a highly secret experiment.
Hornet was sent to the Pacific, arriving in San Francisco on March 20, 1942. There she put all her aircraft in the hanger and loaded 16 B-25s on her flight deck. Leaving San Francisco on April 2nd , Hornet met up with her sister carrier Enterprise north of Midway, becoming part of Task Force 16 under Vice-Admiral William F. Halsey aboard Enterprise. When 600 miles from Japan, Hornet launched the B-25s under the command of Colonel James Doolittle on the famous raid on Tokyo. Enterprise’s aircraft provided cover for the task force, which quickly withdrew once the bombers were on their way. The raid caused little damage, but was an enormous morale-booster for the American public and had the added benefit of providing a communications intelligence windfall for the navy’s intelligence group in Pearl Harbor, intelligence that would help create a stunning victory in just a few short months.
Both Hornet and Enterprise missed the Battle of the Coral Sea as a result of the Doolittle Raid, but both were present along with their sister Yorktown for the Battle of Midway. On June 4, 1942, Hornet’s Torpedo Squadron 8 attacked the four-carrier Japanese battle force in an action that cost every plane and all but one man. This great sacrifice kept the Japanese carriers from being able to spot their own aircraft for launch and all four carriers were destroyed by dive bombers later in the day. The U.S. navy lost carrier Yorktown and a destroyer. The following day, Hornet aircraft helped sink heavy cruiser Mikuma. This battle ended all hope of Japanese conquest in the Pacific.
Hornet’s next action was at the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands during the Guadalcanal campaign. On October 26, 1942, Hornet, operating with the Enterprise, launched an air strike that succeeded in severely damaging carrier Shokaku. During the battle, Hornet was hit by five bombs, two aircraft and three torpedoes, causing massive damage. (Enterprise was also damaged, but survived.) Despite crippling damage and fires, Hornet’s salvage crew was winning the battle to save the ship, and she had actually been under tow before being hit by the final torpedo. This ended salvage efforts, and the ship was abandoned. Despite nine torpedoes and 5" gunfire from escorts, Hornet refused to go down. Two Japanese destroyers later found her burning hulk and sank her with torpedoes. Hornet lost 111 crewmen in her last battle. (DBoyer 2007)
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