Discovered: WWII Aircraft Carrier

The wreck of a World War II aircraft carrier has been found on the ocean bed after 77 years - thanks to the wonders of modern technology. The legendary American vessel, the USS Hornet, was on active service during the war when she was sunk during a battle with the Imperial Japanese Navy.

She sank to a depth of more than 17,000 feet during the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands, with the loss of 140 of the 2,200 sailors on board, at 1.35am on 27th October 1942. There she had remained, with the chances of finding her almost non-existent, until now.

With the help of modern equipment, provided by the research vessel Petrel, the stricken ship has been located on the bed of the South Pacific, near the Solomon Islands. Following further investigations, the USS Hornet is to become an official war grave, so that the families of those who lost their lives have a physical memorial at last.

Outbreak of war

The Second World War had begun on 1st September 1939, when Hitler invaded Poland. The act of aggression drove Britain and France to declare war on Germany. The conflict raged over the next six years, taking more lives and destroying more property and land around the world than any previous war in history.

The Pacific War raged over a vast area, covering the Pacific Ocean and its islands, South-East Asia, the South West Pacific and China. The Allies, including the United States and Britain, battled against Japan, who were allied to Germany and Italy as a result of the Tripartite Pact.

Signed in 1940 in Berlin, the pact was drafted to provide mutual assistance for any of the signatories, should they be attacked by any nation which wasn't already involved in the war. The formal alliance was aimed at the then neutral United States, to make them think twice before joining the Allies in the war.

The war in the Pacific lasted from 1942 to 1945. The Allies divided their forces' operational control between two supreme commands: Southwest Pacific Area and Pacific Ocean Areas. The region was known as the Pacific Theatre, in terms of where the battles were taking place.

Doolittle Raid

The USS Hornet was a Yorktown-class vessel, commissioned by the US Navy. She was active in the Pacific Theatre during the war, launching the famous Doolittle Raid on Tokyo, which began on 1st April 1942, when 16 B-25 bomber aircraft were loaded on to her flight deck.

Eleven days later, the Hornet steamed deep into enemy waters around Japan as part of an Allied task force. However, on 18th April, a Japanese patrol boat spotted the Allied task force, around 690 miles off the Japanese coast. The US aircraft were forced to launch early, rather than continuing to within 460 miles of the coast of Japan, as planned.

As the Hornet prepared to launch the bombers, gale force winds sprang up, causing the ship to pitch violently, with the waves washing over the flight deck. The lead plane was commanded by Lieutenant Colonel James Doolittle, of the United States Army Air Corps.

The planes eventually managed to take off from the Hornet's deck, with all 16 aircraft (known as Task Force 16) heading off to carry out the United States' first air strike against Japan's home islands.

Solomon Islands' campaign

The Hornet was heavily involved in the Solomon Islands' campaign, including the capture and defence of Guadalcanal, the principal island of the Guadalcanal Province. At the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands, she was damaged beyond repair by dive bombers and enemy torpedoes.

The battle happened on 6th October 1942, when the Hornet and another US aircraft carrier, the Enterprise, fought against two Japanese vessels. Planes launched from the Enterprise bombed the Japanese carrier Zuih?, and the aircraft launched from the Hornet bombed the carrier Sh?kaku (causing severe damage) and the heavy cruiser Chikuma.

Three bombs, dropped by the Japanese Aichi D3A Val dive bombers, hit the Hornet. Anti-aircraft fire struck one of the Japanese aircraft and it plummeted on to the Hornet, spilling burning fuel across the deck. Seven crew members died as a result.

While trying to deal with this, the Hornet was further damaged by Nakajima B5N "Kate" torpedo planes, which hit her twice. This severely damaged the ship's engines and electrical system and the carrier stopped. A second Val aircraft then crash-landed on the port side of the Hornet.

The ship's engines had no power, so the Hornet couldn't land any aircraft. Allied planes had to ditch into the ocean, while some managed to land on the Enterprise. The heavy cruiser, Northampton, was sent to tow the Hornet to safety.

Sinking of the Hornet

Initially, the rescue mission appeared to be successful, as the Japanese bombers were still attacking the Enterprise. This enabled the Northampton to begin towing the Hornet away at five knots, or 6mph. The Hornet's onboard repair crews quickly began working to restore power.

They almost succeeded, but further attacks by nine Japanese "Kate" torpedo planes destroyed the Hornet. While eight of the Japanese aircraft were shot down, unfortunately, the ninth scored a direct hit on the Hornet's starboard side.

Repairs that had been carried out to the ship's electrical system were immediately destroyed again and the ship listed under the force of the torpedo. Surface forces of the Japanese were also approaching the stricken vessel and subsequently, Vice Admiral William Halsey issued an "abandon ship" order.

The last man on board was Captain Charles Mason. In an amazing rescue, the escorting destroyers saved 2,060 survivors, but a further 140 crew members lost their lives.

The Japanese destroyers, Akigumo and Makigumo, managed to defeat the Hornet when they hit her with four Long Lance torpedoes and she sank without trace.

The Hornet had been in service for just over a year. She was the final US fleet carrier to be sunk by enemy fire. She was awarded a citation for the Doolittle Raid and four service stars, while her Torpedo Squadron 8 crew members were recognised for extraordinary heroism and received a Presidential Unit Citation.

Finding the Hornet

The Hornet remained on the ocean bed until the end of January 2019, when efforts to locate her finally paid off. The research vessel, Petrel, had been scanning the ocean bed using a drone to send back pictures. Finally, a shape was located that looked promising!

The research team realised they had finally found the USS Hornet in late January. The crew of the Petrel said they felt "honoured" to have finally found the aircraft carrier, 77 years after she sank.



One of the surviving crew members, Richard Nowatzki, 95, was an 18-year-old gunner who survived the sinking back in 1942. He was able to watch live videos of the discovery of the ship, via a satellite link.

He recalled the ship going down, telling news reporters on America's CBS This Morning programme about the horrific sound of the armour-piercing bombs hitting the decks and then exploding on the ship, causing it to shake violently.

Seeing the Hornet again proved an emotional experience for Nowatzki. The drone's cameras revealed evidence of the crew members who had served, including a jacket still hanging on a hatch and a toothbrush and wash-kit.  He said he had been "very fortunate", as he reflected on those who hadn't been as lucky.

Shipwreck discoveries

Thanks to modern technology, several shipwrecks have been found in recent years, as drones have helped to locate them. In a number of cases, divers have then been able to go down to the stricken vessel to examine the remains close-up.

The search for the Hornet also led to the discovery of a Second World War Japanese battleship in the same area. Battleship Hiei was found off Guadalcanal, at a depth of 3,280 feet, by the crew of the Petrel.

The research ship had been launched by the late Paul Allen, co-founder of Microsoft, who died in October 2018. Allen had committed himself to finding famous shipwrecks for decades, using sonar scanning and underwater camera technology to confirm their location and condition.

The Hiei's whereabouts had been unknown until this year, but the Petrel's autonomous underwater vehicles detected her upside-down. Kazushige Todaka, director of Hiroshima's Kure Maritime Museum, described it as an "important moment in naval history".

Today, wreck diving is a popular leisure pastime for intrepid divers, who enjoy seeing not only the preserved vessels on the ocean bed but also the host of marine life which tends to use the ships as a home.

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