Feb. 8, 2019

Two Flights Defined Hornet's Service

The aircraft carrier Hornet (CV 8) served for just 372 days, her short lifespan reflective of the fact that she put to sea in dangerous waters. During that brief time, it can be said two distinct flights defined the service of the Navy's eighth aircraft carrier before she slipped beneath the waves at the Battle of Santa Cruz on Oct. 27, 1942. Both

April 7, 2017

Doolittle Raiders Reflect on Their Moment in History

EDITOR'S NOTE: This story was originally published in the July 1992 issue of All Hands Magazine"I was eating breakfast aboard USS Hornet (CV 8) when I first heard the guns," said retired Air Force Col. Henry "Hank" A. Potter. Task Force 16 was firing on Japanese picket boats that, having spotted the ships, were feared to have radioed Tokyo about

April 3, 2017

Junior Officers and the Halsey-Doolittle Raid

NH-64472. Lieutenant Colonel Doolittle (left front) and Captain Marc A. Mitscher, Hornet commanding officer, pose with a 500-pound bomb and USAAF aircrew members during ceremonies on Hornet's flight deck prior to the raid.  The Halsey-Doolittle Raid in April 1942 was the first strike by U.S. forces against Japan itself. Vice Admiral William F.

April 18, 2016

The Doolittle Raiders - The Mission

On April 18, 1942, it was a "nice sun-shiny day overcast with anti-aircraft fire," according to Army Air Force Tech. Sgt. Eldred V. Scott. Over Tokyo, anyway. Scott's weather quip signaled the near completion of the Doolittle Raiders mission on that day 72 years ago today. But it was just the beginning of the unknown for the 80 men and their 16

Nov. 26, 2013

Battle of Midway lecture offers fascinating detail into US Navy victory

SBD "Dauntless" dive bombers from USS Hornet (CV-8) approaching the burning Japanese heavy cruiser Mikuma to make the third set of attacks on her, during the early afternoon of 6 June 1942. Mikuma had been hit earlier by strikes from Hornet and USS E...