USS Hornet (CV-12)

USS "Hornet" (CV/CVA/CVS-12) is a United States Navy aircraft carrier of the "Essex" class. Construction started in August 1942; she was originally named USS|Kearsarge, but was renamed in honor of the USS|Hornet|CV-8, which was lost in October 1942, becoming the eighth ship to bear the name.

"Hornet" was commissioned in November 1943, and after three months of training joined the U.S. forces in the Pacific War. She played a major part in the Pacific battles of World War II, and also took part in Operation Magic Carpet, returning troops back to the U.S. Following World War II, she served in the Vietnam War, and also played a part in the Apollo program, recovering astronauts as they returned from the Moon.

"Hornet" was finally decommissioned in 1970. She was eventually designated a National Historic Landmark, and in 1998 she opened to the public as a museum at the former Naval Air Station Alameda in Alameda, California.

History

Construction: 1940 to 1943

The contract to build "Kearsarge" had been given to Newport News Shipbuilding on 9 September 1940, and her keel was laid down 3 August 1942. The seventh USS|Hornet|CV-8|3 was sunk in the Battle of Santa Cruz on 26 October 1942, and the CV-12 hull was renamed "Hornet" (the name "Kearsarge" is still stamped into her keel plate).Fact|date=May 2008 She was launched 30 August 1943 and commissioned 29 November 1943. Her first commander was Captain (later Rear Admiral) Miles R. Browning.

World War II: 1944 to 1947

The "Hornet" conducted shakedown training off Bermuda before departing Norfolk 14 February 1944 to join the Fast Carrier Task Force 20 March at Majuro Atoll in the Marshalls. After lending air support to protect the invasion beaches in New Guinea, she conducted massive aerial raids against Japanese bases in the Caroline Islands and prepared to support the amphibious assault for the occupation of the Marianas Islands.

On 11 June 1944, "Hornet" launched raids on Tinian and Saipan. The following day she conducted heavy bombing attacks on Guam and Rota. During 15 June to 16 June, she blasted enemy air fields at Iwo and Chichi Jima to prevent air attacks on troops invading Saipan in the Marianas. The afternoon of 18 June 1944 "Hornet" formed with the Fast Carrier Task Force to intercept the Japanese First Mobile Fleet, headed through the Philippine Sea for Saipan. The Battle of the Philippine Sea opened 19 June 1944 when "Hornet" launched strikes to destroy as many land-based Japanese planes as possible before the carrier-based Japanese aircraft came in.

The enemy approached the American carriers in four massive waves, full of young but inexperienced pilots. Fighter aircraft from "Hornet" and other U.S. carriers, whose veteran pilots were honed to perfection, broke up and savaged all the attacks before the Japanese aerial raiders reached the task force. Nearly every Japanese aircraft was shot down in the great air battles of 19 June 1944 that became commonly known as "The Marianas Turkey Shoot". As the Japanese Mobile Fleet fled in defeat on 20 June, the carriers launched long-range airstrikes that sank Japanese carrier "Hiyō" and so damaged two tankers that they were abandoned and scuttled. Admiral Ozawa's own flag log for 20 June 1944 showed his surviving carrier air power as only 35 operational aircraft out of the 430 planes with which he had commenced the Battle of the Philippine Sea.

"Hornet", basing from Eniwetok in the Marshalls, raided enemy installations ranging from Guam to the Bonins, then turned her attention to the Palaus, throughout the Philippine Sea, and to enemy bases on Okinawa and Formosa. Her aircraft gave direct support to the troops invading Leyte 20 October 1944. During the Battle for Leyte Gulf she launched raids for damaging hits to the Japanese center force in the Battle off Samar, and hastened the retreat of the enemy fleet through the Sibuyan Sea towards Borneo.

In the following months "Hornet" attacked enemy shipping and airfields throughout the Philippines. This included participation in a raid that destroyed an entire Japanese convoy in Ormoc Bay. On 30 December 1944 she departed Ulithi in the Carolines for raids against Formosa, Indo-China, and the Pescadores Islands. En route back to Ulithi, "Hornet" planes made photo reconnaissance of Okinawa 22 January 1945 to aid the planned invasion of that "last stepping-stone to Japan".

"Hornet" again departed Ulithi 10 February for full-scale aerial assaults on Tokyo, then supported the amphibious landing assault on Iwo Jima 19 February–20 February 1945.

Repeated raids were made against the Tokyo plains industrial complex, and Okinawa was hard hit. On 1 April 1945 "Hornet" planes gave direct support to the amphibious assault landings on Okinawa. On 6 April her aircraft joined in attacks which sank the mighty Japanese battleship "Yamato" and her entire task force as it closed Okinawa. The following two months found "Hornet" alternating between close support to ground troops on Okinawa and hard-hitting raids to destroy the industrial capacity of Japan. She was caught in a howling typhoon 4 June to 5 June 1945 which collapsed some 25 feet of her forward flight deck.

For 16 continuous months she was in action in the forward areas of the Pacific combat zone, sometimes within convert|40|mi|km|-1 of the Japanese home islands. Under air attack 59 times, she was never hit. Her aircraft destroyed 1410 Japanese aircraft; only USS|Essex|CV-9|6 exceeded this record. Ten of her pilots attained "Ace in a Day" status; 30 of her 42 VF-2 Hellcat pilots were aces. In one day, her aircraft shot down 72 enemy aircraft, and in one month, they shot down 255 aircraft. "Hornet" supported nearly every Pacific amphibious landing after March 1944. Her air groups destroyed or damaged 1,269,710 tons of enemy shipping, and scored the critical first hits in sinking "Yamato".

"Hornet" earned seven battle stars for her service in World War II, and was one of nine carriers to be awarded the Presidential Unit Citation.

Following the typhoon, "Hornet" was routed back to the Philippines and from there to San Francisco, arriving 7 July 1945. Her overhaul was complete by 13 September 1945 when she departed as a part of Operation Magic Carpet that saw her return home troops from the Marianas and Hawaiian Islands. She returned to San Francisco 9 February 1946. She decommissioned there 15 January 1947, and joined the Pacific Reserve Fleet.

Peacetime tensions: 1951 to 1959

"Hornet" recommissioned 20 March 1951, then sailed from San Francisco for the New York Naval Shipyard where she decommissioned 12 May 1951 for conversion to an attack aircraft carrier CVA-12. On 11 September 1953 she was recommissioned as an attack carrier. The ship then trained in the Caribbean Sea before departure from Norfolk 11 May 1954 on an 8-month global cruise.

After operations in the Mediterranean Sea and the Indian Ocean, "Hornet" joined the mobile 7th Fleet in the South China Sea to search for survivors of a Cathay Pacific Airways passenger plane, shot down by communist Chinese aircraft near Hainan Island. On 25 July, "Hornet" aircraft supported planes from USS|Philippine Sea|CV-47|6 as they shot down two attacking Chinese communist fighters. After tensions eased, she returned to San Francisco 12 December 1954, trained out of San Diego, then sailed 4 May 1955 to join the 7th Fleet in the Far East.

"Hornet" helped cover the evacuation of Vietnamese from the Communist-controlled north to South Vietnam, then ranged from Japan to Formosa, Okinawa, and the Philippines in readiness training with the 7th Fleet. She returned to San Diego 10 December 1955 and entered the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard the following month for conversion that included a hurricane bow and the installation of an angled flight deck, which permits the simultaneous launching and recovery of aircraft.

Following her modernization overhaul, "Hornet" operated along the California coast. She departed San Diego 21 January 1957 to bolster the strength of the 7th Fleet until her return from the troubled Far East 25 July.

Following a similar cruise, 6 January–2 July 1958, the ship was redesignated CVS-12 (anti-submarine warfare support carrier). In August it entered Puget Sound Naval Shipyard for the conversion work to an ASW carrier. On 3 April 1959 she sailed from Long Beach to join the 7th Fleet in antisubmarine warfare tactics ranging from Japan to Okinawa and the Philippines. She returned home in October, for training along the western seaboard.

Vietnam and the Space Race: 1960 to 1970

In the following years, "Hornet" was regularly deployed to the 7th Fleet for operations ranging from the coast of South Vietnam, to the shores of Japan, the Philippines and Okinawa; and she also played a key part in the Apollo program, as a recovery ship for unmanned and manned spaceflights.

On 25 August 1966 she was on recovery station for the flight of AS-202, the second unmanned flight of a production Apollo Command and Service Module. The moonship rocketed three-quarters of the way around the globe in 93 minutes before splashdown near Wake Island. Scorched from the heat of its re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere, the Apollo space capsule, designed to carry American astronauts to the moon, was brought aboard "Hornet" after its test; that command module is currently on display aboard "Hornet". [ [http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/masterCatalog.do?sc=APST202 "AS-202"] , NASA (NSSDC ID: APST202)] [http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/SP-4205/ch8-2.html "Chariots for Apollo: A History of Manned Lunar Spacecraft"] , Chapter 8.2, "Qualifying Missions". NASA Special Publication-4205. Courtney G Brooks, James M. Grimwood, Loyd S. Swenson, 1979.] [cite web |url=http://www.uss-hornet.org/exhibits/apollo/|title=Apollo & Other Space Program Artifacts|accessdate=2008-09-19|publisher=USS Hornet Museum]

"Hornet" returned to Long Beach 8 September, but headed back to the Far East 27 March 1967. She reached Japan exactly a month later and departed the Sasebo base 19 May for the war zone. She operated in Vietnamese waters throughout the remainder of spring and during much of the summer of 1967.

"Hornet" made her most significant contribution to the Apollo program when she recovered the astronauts from the first moon landing mission, Apollo 11, on July 24, 1969. [ [http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraftDisplay.do?id=1969-059A "Apollo 11"] , NASA (NSSDC ID: 1969-059A)] President Nixon was on board to welcome the returning astronauts back to Earth, where they lived in quarantine aboard "Hornet" prior to transfer to the Lunar Receiving Laboratory at Houston. [ [http://www.nasaexplores.com/extras/apollo11/hirasaki.html "A Front Row Seat For History"] , NASAexplores, July 15, 2004. Retrieved May 10, 2008.] The first steps on Earth of returning moonwalkers Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, with Command Module Pilot Michael Collins, are marked on her hangar deck, as part of her Apollo program exhibit.

"Hornet" once again served in the space program with the recovery of Apollo 12 on November 24, 1969. Returning moonwalkers Charles Conrad, Jr. and Alan L. Bean, and command module pilot Richard F. Gordon, Jr., were picked up from their splashdown point near American Samoa. [ [http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraftDisplay.do?id=1969-099A "Apollo 12"] , NASA (NSSDC ID: 1969-099A).]

Retirement: 1970 to present

Infobox_nrhp | name =USS HORNET (CVS-12) (Aircraft Carrier)
nrhp_type = nhl

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caption = USS "Hornet" docked in Alameda, CA
area =
designated= December 4, 1991cite web|url=http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detail.cfm?ResourceId=2130&ResourceType=Structure
title=USS HORNET (Cvs-12) (Aircraft Carrier)|date=2007-09-28|work=National Historic Landmark summary listing (where year designated appears as 1992, believe to be incorrect)|publisher=National Park Service]
added = December 04, 1991cite web|url=http://www.nr.nps.gov/|title=National Register Information System|date=2007-01-23|work=National Register of Historic Places|publisher=National Park Service]
governing_body = Department of the Navy
refnum=91002065

"Hornet" was decommissioned for the last time on 26 June 1970, and stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on 25 July 1989. In 1991, she was designated a National Historic Landmark.cite web|url=http://pdfhost.focus.nps.gov/docs/NHLS/Text/91002065.pdf |title="USS Hornet (CVS-12)", June 18, 1991, by James P. Delgado|852 KiB | format=PDF |work=National Register of Historic Places Registration|date=1991-06-18 |publisher=National Park Service] cite web|url=http://pdfhost.focus.nps.gov/docs/NHLS/Photos/91002065.pdf |title=USS Hornet (CVS-12)—Accompanying 4 photos, exterior, from 1943, 1944, 1945, and c.1969.|462 KiB | format=PDF |work=National Register of Historic Places Registration |publisher=National Park Service|date=1991-06-18]

On 17 October 1998, she was opened to the public as a museum at the former Naval Air Station Alameda in Alameda, California. She was designated a California Historical Landmark in 1999. "Hornet" now plays host to a variety of national events, including the official launching of the website, Military.com, in 1999. In 2004 she was used as a set for scenes from the movie "", starring Ice Cube. [ [http://eudaemonic.blogspot.com/2004/10/xxx-state-of-union.html "Saturday, Alameda Naval Base, CA"] , [http://eudaemonic.blogspot.com/ Eudaemonic blog] . Retrieved 14 June 2008.]

Paranormal

The "Hornet" is said to be one of the most haunted warships in the American Navy, with numerous reports of supernatural events occurring onboard. [ [http://www.hauntedbay.com/features/usshornet.shtml "The USS Hornet: Alameda's Haunted Aircraft Carrier"] , from [http://www.hauntedbay.com/ Haunted Bay] . Retrieved June 6, 2008.] The "Hornet" has been the subject of several nationally aired television paranormal-related programs including "MTV's Fear", [ [http://www.mtv.com/onair/fear_season1/107/ MTV Fear://uss hornet] "MTV's Fear", Season 1.] and "Beyond Investigation Magazine" performed an instrumented investigation [ [http://www.beyondinvestigation.com/biforum/forum_posts.asp?TID=223 Beyond Investigation Magazine] BIM On] of large areas of the ship for "Scariest Places On Earth".

Maps and aerial photos

ee also

* List of aircraft carriers
* List of aircraft carriers of the United States Navy

References

External links

* [http://www.chinfo.navy.mil/navpalib/ships/carriers/histories/cv12-hornet/cv12-hornet.html "USS Hornet" by the US Navy]
* [http://www.uss-hornet.org/ "USS Hornet" Museum]
* [http://www.hazegray.org/danfs/carriers/cv12.htm From the "Dictionary Of American Naval Fighting Ships"]
* [http://maps.google.com/maps?q=Alameda,+CA&ll=37.772713,-122.302798&spn=0.005127,0.007237&t=k&hl=en Satellite view of the museum site]
* [http://homepage.mac.com/charlesclloyd/PhotoAlbum41.html Exterior Photos]
* [http://www.hnsa.org/ships/hornet.htm HNSA Web Page: USS Hornet]
* [http://www.hullnumber.com/CV-12 CV-12 Personnel Roster at HullNumber.com]
* [http://www.nps.gov/history/nr/travel/aviation/ Aviation: From Sand Dunes to Sonic Booms, a National Park Service "Discover Our Shared Heritage" Travel Itinerary]
* [http://www.cva-12.com/hornet.html "USS Hornet" by Dwayne Miles]