Wreckage of WWII Aircraft Carrier USS Hornet Found in South Pacific

Wreckage of the World War II aircraft carrier USS Hornet was recently discovered by the expedition crew of Paul G. Allen’s research vessel (R/V) Petrel.

Hornet was found 5,400 meters below the surface, resting on the floor of the South Pacific Ocean around the Solomon Islands.

Hornet was best known for its part in the Doolittle Raid that was launched in April of 1942, which was the first air-borne attack of Japanese homeland targets including Tokyo.

Led by U.S. Army Lt. Col. James Doolittle, all the 16 B-25 planes that were launched from Hornet were unable to land at their designated airstrip in China.

In June, Hornet was one of three American carriers that surprised and sunk four Japanese carriers at Midway, turning the tide of war in the Pacific.

The ship was sunk during the Battle of Santa Cruz Island that started on October 25, 1942. Hornet lost 111 sailors from its crew of nearly 2,200.

With the loss of Hornet and serious damage to Enterprise, the Battle of Santa Cruz was a Japanese victory, but at an extremely high cost,” said rear admiral (Ret.) Samuel Cox, director of Naval History and Heritage Command. “About half the Japanese aircraft engaged were shot down by greatly improved U.S. Navy anti-aircraft defenses. As a result, the Japanese carriers did not engage again in battle for almost another two years.”

“Naval aviation came of age in World War II and American Sailors today continue to look to and draw inspiration from the fighting spirit of ships and crews like USS Hornet (CV 8),” added vice chief of Naval Operations adm. Bill Moran.

The discovery of Hornet was made during R/V Petrel’s first mission of 2019 after relocating from the Philippine Sea to the Solomon Islands.

We had Hornet on our list of WWII warships that we wanted to locate because of its place in history as an aircraft carrier that saw many pivotal moments in naval battles,” said Robert Kraft, director of subsea operations for Vulcan. “Paul Allen was particularly interested in historically significant and capital ships, so this mission and discovery honor his legacy.”

The 10-person expedition team on the 250-foot R/V Petrel was able to locate Hornet’s position by piecing together data from national and naval archives that included official deck logs and action reports from other ships engaged in the battle.

Positions and sightings from nine other U.S. warships in the area were plotted on a chart to generate the starting point for the search grid. In the case of Hornet, it was discovered on the first dive mission of Petrel’s autonomous underwater vehicle and confirmed by video footage from the remotely operated vehicle, both pieces of equipment rated to dive down to 6,000 meters.

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