USS Hornet (CV/CVA/CVS-12) is an Essex-class aircraft carrier built for the United States Navy (USN) during World War II. Completed in late 1943, the ship was assigned to the Fast Carrier Task Force (variously designated as Task Force 38 or 58) in the Pacific Ocean, the navy's primary offensive force during the Pacific War.

In early 1944, she participated in attacks on Japanese installations in New Guinea, Palau and Truk among others. Hornet then took part in the Mariana and Palau Islands campaign and most of the subsidiary operations, most notably the Battle of the Philippine Sea in June that was nicknamed the "Great Marianas Turkey Shoot" for the disproportionate losses inflicted upon the Japanese. The ship then participated in the Philippines Campaign in late 1944, and the Volcano and Ryukyu Islands campaign in the first half of 1945. She was badly damaged by a typhoon in June and had to return to the United States for repairs.

After the war she took part in Operation Magic Carpet, returning troops to the U.S. and was then placed in reserve in 1946. Hornet was reactivated during the Korean War of 1950–1953, but spent the rest of the war being modernized to allow her to operate jet-propelled aircraft. The ship was modernized again in the late 1950s for service as an anti-submarine carrier. She played a minor role in the Vietnam War during the 1960s and in the Apollo program, recovering the Apollo 11 and Apollo 12 astronauts when they returned from the Moon.

Hornet was decommissioned in 1970. She was eventually designated as both a National Historic Landmark and a California Historical Landmark, and she opened to the public as the USS Hornet Museum in Alameda, California, in 1998.

Design and description

The Essex-class ships were much larger than the preceding Yorktown-class aircraft carriers, which allowed them to carry more aircraft, armor, and armament.[2] The initial ships had a length of 872 feet (265.8 m) overall and 820 feet (249.9 m) at the waterline, although this was revised to an overall length of 888 feet (270.7 m) in the "long-hull" sub-class when the bow was reshaped to accommodate a pair of quadruple 40-millimeter (1.6 in) mounts in the bow compared to the single mount in the earlier "short-hull" ships like Hornet.

All of the ships had a beam of 93 feet (28.3 m) at the waterline and a draft of 30 feet 10 inches (9.4 m) at deep load.[3] They displaced 27,100 long tons (27,535 t) at standard load and 36,380 long tons (36,960 t) at deep load. Their designed complement was approximately 268 officers and 2,362 enlisted men, but more men were added even before the ships were completed; the addition of more light weapons and other equipment greatly increased the overcrowding so that Hornet's sister Intrepid had a crew of 382 officers and 3,003 enlisted men in 1945.[4] The ships had four geared steam turbines, each driving one shaft, using steam supplied by eight Babcock & Wilcox boilers. The turbines were designed to produce a total of 150,000 shaft horsepower (110,000 kW), enough to give a maximum speed of 33 knots (61 km/h; 38 mph). The ships carried enough fuel oil to give them a range of 14,100 nautical miles (26,100 km; 16,200 mi) at 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph).[5]

Flight deck arrangements

Grumman F6F-3 Hellcat fighter of VF-15 being catapulted from Hornet via the hangar catapult, 25 February 1944

The short-hull Essexes had a flight deck that was 862 feet (262.7 m) long and had a maximum width of 108 feet (32.9 m). Below it was a 654 by 70 feet (199.3 m × 21.3 m) hangar with a height of 18 feet (5.5 m). The hangar was connected to the flight deck by three aircraft elevators, two in the flight deck and a folding one on the port side of the flight deck, abreast the island.[6] Catapult arrangements for the early Essexs varied between ships; Hornet was built with a single hydraulic catapult on the forward part of the flight deck and another was fitted transversely on the hangar deck.[2] All of the Essexs were fitted with arresting gear to allow them to land aircraft over both the stern and the bow.[7]

Early in the design process, the Essexs were intended to carry over 100 aircraft: 27 fighters, 37 scout or dive bombers, 18 torpedo bombers, 3 observation and 2 utility aircraft, plus 21 partially disassembled spares. Early war experience increased the number of fighters to 36 at the expense of the observation and utility aircraft and reduced the number of spares to 9. By mid-1945, the air group typically consisted of 36 or 37 fighters, an equal number of fighter bombers, and dive and torpedo squadrons of 15 aircraft apiece for a total of 103. By this time, the fighter squadrons included specialist photo-reconnaissance and night fighter aircraft.[8]

Armament, armor and electronics

One of Hornet's quadruple 40 mm Bofors mounts firing under remote control, 16 February 1945

The main armament of the Essex-class ships consisted of a dozen 38-caliber 5-inch (127 mm) dual-purpose guns arranged in two superfiring pairs of twin-gun turrets fore and aft of the island and four guns in single mounts on the port side of the flight deck. These guns were controlled by a pair of Mk 37 directors, mounted on the top of the island; each director was fitted with a Mk 4 fire-control radar. The early short-hull Essexs were equipped with eight quadruple 40-millimeter (1.6 in) Bofors anti-aircraft (AA) guns; one mount each at the bow and stern, four atop the island and two on the port side of the flight deck, next to the 5-inch guns. Each mount was controlled by its own Mk 51 director. The carriers were also fitted with 46 Oerlikon 20-millimeter (0.8 in) light AA guns on single mounts along the sides of the flight deck and on the island.[9]

The waterline armor belt of the carriers was 10 feet (3 m) high, 508 feet (155 m) long and covered the middle 62% of the hull. It was 4 inches (102 mm) thick, tapering to 2.5 inches (64 mm) at its bottom edge. The hangar deck was also 2.5 inches thick and the protective deck below it was 1.5 inches (38 mm) thick. Transverse 4-inch bulkheads closed off the ends of the belt armor to form the ship's armored citadel. The steering gear was protected by 2.5-inches of special treatment steel.[10]

The Essex-class carriers were designed with little space reserved for radar and the additional systems added while under construction contributed to the general overcrowding of the crew and the cramped island of the ships. Hornet was completed with most of her radars mounted on the tripod mast atop her island. It carried the SK early-warning radar, SM height-finding radar and the SG surface search radar. A SC early-warning radar was positioned on a stub lattice mast on the starboard side of the funnel.[11]

Wartime modifications

Changes to the numbers of 20 mm guns aboard Hornet during the war are not available in the sources, although she had 35 single mounts by the end of the war.[12] The ship did not return to any naval base in Hawaii or the West Coast until July 1945 when she arrived at San Francisco, California, for repairs for her typhoon damage, so it is unlikely that any major modifications were done before then. Facilities in Ulithi Atoll were limited, but they had been able to install some of the new equipment that was fielded in late 1944 and 1945. Some of the ship's Mk 51 directors may have been replaced by Mk 57 directors with an integral Mk 34 fire-control radar and the Mk 4 fire-control radar atop the Mk 37 directors may have been upgraded to a Mk 12 system that shared its mount with a Mk 22 height finder. The SP height finder was a lighter version of the SM and began to be installed in Essex-class ships in March 1945.[13]

While being repaired, the Navy took the opportunity to refit the ship to the latest standard. Her SK radar was upgraded to a SK-2 model with a dish antenna that improved its performance and her hangar-deck catapult was replaced by one on the flight deck. Her island was remodeled to expand the flag bridge which caused the removal of the forward lower 40 mm mount on the island and 10 new quadruple mounts were added along the sides of the flight deck and the hull for a total of 68 guns in 17 mounts.[14]

Construction and career

Launching ceremony of Hornet, 30 August 1943

The Chief of Naval Operations had ordered three Essex-class carriers on 10 May 1940 in anticipation of Congress passing the Two-Ocean Navy Act,[15] although the ship that later became Hornet originally had the name Kearsarge with the hull number of CV-12. The contract to build her was awarded to Newport News Shipbuilding on 9 September 1940, and her keel was laid down on 3 August 1942. The seventh Hornet (CV-8) was sunk in the Battle of Santa Cruz on 26 October 1942, and the CV-12 hull was renamed Hornet shortly afterwards.[16] The ship was launched on 30 August 1943 with her sponsor being Annie Reid Knox, wife of Secretary of the Navy Frank Knox. She was commissioned on 29 November 1943 with Captain Miles R. Browning in command.[1]

Hornet worked up off Bermuda before departing Norfolk, Virginia, on 14 February 1944 to join Task Force 58 at Majuro Atoll in the Marshall Islands where she arrived on 20 March.[1] Two days later the Task Force departed to attack warships and airfields in the Palau Islands and the Kossol Roads to eliminate any threat to the scheduled operations in New Guinea and the Admiralty Islands. To block the exits from Kossol and trap all of the ships inside the lagoon, the torpedo bomber squadrons from Hornet and her sisters Lexington and Bunker Hill had trained on aerial minelaying. To avoid detection, the American ships steamed far south of the Japanese naval base at Truk. They were spotted on the 28th and Admiral Mineichi Koga, commander of the Combined Fleet, ordered his warships to withdraw to Tawi-Tawi Island in the Philippines and for the merchant shipping to disperse.[17]

As Task Force 58 approached its targets on the morning of 30 March, its carriers launched a fighter sweep that shot down 30 Mitsubishi A6M Zero fighters already airborne and they were soon followed by 39 Grumman TBF Avenger torpedo bombers, each of which carried a pair of magnetic mines that effectively bottled up the 40-odd ships in Kossol Roads.[18] This was the first and only time that carrier aircraft laid mines during the Pacific War.[19] Despite reinforcing fighters that flew in overnight, the Americans sank 24 merchant and auxiliary ships, totaling nearly 130,000 gross register tons (GRT) of shipping, plus two old destroyers, four subchasers and a pair of repair ships on 30 and 31 March. American pilots claimed to have shot down 63 aircraft and destroyed over 100 more on the ground while losing 25 aircraft of their own. On their way back to Majuro, the carriers attacked targets on Woleai on 1 April to little effect.[20]

Before Task Force 58 departed Majuro on 13 April, Rear Admiral Joseph J. Clark had hoisted his flag in Hornet as commander of Task Group 58.1 that consisted of his flagship and the three Independence-class light carriers, Cowpens, Belleau Wood and Bataan. The task group was ordered to attack Sarmi, Sawar, and Wakde Airfields in Western New Guinea while the other task groups supported the amphibious landings at Hollandia. There was little Japanese air activity while the ships were off New Guinea, although the Task Group's fighters did shoot down two Mitsubishi G4M (Allied reporting name "Betty") bombers that were searching for them. Task Force 58 withdrew to Seeadler Harbor on Manus Island on 25 April to replenish for a few days before leaving to attack the shore facilities at Truk. The Japanese spotted the ships during the night of 28/29 April, but their weak attack later that morning was ineffective and the 84 Grumman F6F Hellcats of the morning fighter sweep were opposed by about 60 Zeros. Bad weather and a heavy overcast prevented the Americans from gaining complete air superiority until the mid-afternoon, but they were able to severely damaged the naval base's infrastructure over the next two days. They lost 9 aircraft in accidents and 27 in combat, mostly to anti-aircraft fire while claiming 59 aircraft in the air and 34 on the ground.

En route to Majuro, Task Group 58.1 was detached to cover the bombardments of the airfields at Satawan and Ponape by the portions of the Task Force's escorting ships. Both islands had already been previously attacked and little additional damage appears to have been done in exchange for the loss of one aircraft shot down by AA guns. Task Force 58 arrived at Majuro on 4 May and spent the next month preparing for the Mariana and Palau Islands campaign.[21] The abrasive Browning had made many enemies and his mistakes led him to be relieved for cause[22] on 29 May; he was replaced by Captain William Sample.[23]

Mariana and Palau Islands campaign

Main article: Mariana and Palau Islands campaign

Avengers belonging to Torpedo Squadron 2 (VT-2) overflying Hornet, mid-1944

By June Hornet's air group (Carrier Air Group 2 (CVG-2)) mustered 40 Hellcat fighters, including 4 night-fighter versions, 33 Curtiss SB2C Helldiver dive bombers and 20 Avengers. Task Group 58.1 had exchanged Cowpens for Hornet's sister Yorktown so it mustered a pair each of fleet and light carriers for the campaign. Task Force 58 departed Majuro on 6 June in time to begin the air strikes on the southern Marianas six days later, three days prior to the planned amphibious assault on Saipan, although the Japanese discovered that it had left Majuro on 8 June. Hornet's night fighters began shooting down Japanese reconnaissance aircraft on the night of 10 June. Vice Admiral Marc Mitscher, commander of the task force, decided to move the air strikes forward to 11 June, hoping to catch the Japanese off guard.

The task group's fighters discovered 30 Zeros over Guam during their sweep and claimed to have shot them all down, with Hornet's 16 Hellcats claiming 23 of them as kills. A picket line of destroyers was stationed between the carriers and Guam and they controlled interceptions by the task group's fighters of about a dozen reconnaissance and attack aircraft that afternoon. The following days the task group continued to attack Guam to eliminate all of the aircraft based there as well as any reinforcements. Later that afternoon, Hornet's aircraft discovered a seven-ship reinforcement convoy east of Guam, but it was too far away to attack if the aircraft were to land during daylight. That night the task group closed the distance while the convoy continued to approach Guam and was only 80 nmi (150 km; 92 mi) when it launched 20 bomb-armed Hellcats. Their pilots were not trained for anti-shipping missions and failed to significantly damage the ships of the convoy before it reached Guam.[24]

The new commander of the Combined Fleet, Admiral Soemu Toyoda, was uncertain if the Americans were merely attacking the Japanese facilities in the Marianas until the fast battleships escorting Task Force 58 were detached to make a preliminary bombardment of Saipan on 13 June. Even before he received the report of the bombardment, he ordered the 1st Mobile Fleet to move forward to Guimaras Island to start training their inexperienced aviators in a more protected environment. He then alerted all forces to prepare to implement Plan A-Go, effective on 19 June, once he had word of the bombardment. The plan was intended to inflict a decisive defeat on the USN and cause the American government to sue for peace after the collapse of public will to continue the war. An American submarine spotted the movement and alerted Vice Admiral Raymond Spruance, commander of the entire operation. Not knowing the Japanese intentions, he believed that the Japanese ships would not be able to attack before 17 June. To take advantage of this window of opportunity to destroy Japanese aerial reinforcements gathering in the Bonin Islands, Spruance ordered Task Groups 58.1 and 58.4 to rendezvous on the 14th, attack the airbases there the following day and return in time to concentrate for the battle that he expected o