Feb. 13, 2019

The End of Hornet - Part 3

As a 19-year-old seaman who had been in the Navy for about a year and a half, Richard Nowatzki's ship USS Hornet (CV 8) was mortally wounded in the intense World War II Battle of Santa Cruz Islands.In this first-hand account, from his book Memoirs of a Navy Major, Nowatzki shares his experiences in the extraordinarily brutal and dangerous

Feb. 13, 2019

The End of Hornet - Part 2

As a 19-year-old seaman who had been in the Navy for about a year and a half, Richard Nowatzki's ship USS Hornet (CV 8) was mortally wounded in the intense World War II Battle of Santa Cruz Islands.In this first-hand account, from his book Memoirs of a Navy Major, Nowatzki shares his experiences in the extraordinarily brutal and dangerous

Feb. 13, 2019

The End of Hornet - Part 1

As a 19-year-old seaman who had been in the Navy for about a year and a half, Richard Nowatzki's ship USS Hornet (CV 8) was mortally wounded in the intense World War II Battle of Santa Cruz Islands.In this first-hand account, from his book Memoirs of a Navy Major, Nowatzki shares his experiences in the extraordinarily brutal and dangerous

Feb. 8, 2019

Famed Blue Angel's First Mission was from USS Hornet

In famous director John Ford's color film titled The Battle of Midway, an eighteen-minute documentary capturing events of the landmark battle that took place in June 1942, one of the scenes shows naval aviators walking from a PBY Catalina to a waiting ambulance. Among them is a dark-haired pilot in a khaki flight suit, his broad smile reflecting

Feb. 8, 2019

An Artist's View of USS Hornet

During World War II war correspondents spanned the globe to cover its pivotal events. Their proximity to the action brought them up close and personal with the hazards faced by those in uniform. Some like Walter Cronkite flew on bombing missions, while Ernie Pyle's dispatches from the front-illuminated the experience of the American G.I. for those

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

June 3, 2016

A Cruise through The Battle Of Midway

The Battle of Midway, one of the most important battles of the Pacific campaign in World War II, occurred between June 4 and 7, 1942. The battle took place only six months after Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor and one month after the Battle of the Coral Sea. The U.S. Navy defeated an attacking fleet of the Japanese navy near Midway Atoll, inflicting