Yorktown (CVS 10) - Naval Cruise Book

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By now the crew of the Fighting Lady must have felt invincible. They,had participated in numerous actions and had repelled repeated air and sub attacks by luck, maneuvering, and a constant flow ot hot lead from theiir5uns.t 18 March 1945, the spell was broken. lronically, a minor skirmish dealt YORKTOWN her sole injury of the war. Her log reports: Q 1500 Third Hludyw came out of the clouds dead ahead and dropped awbomb that landed on the starboardisignal bridge, passed through that deck and down through 20 MMM' battery number seven, exploding alongside near the second deck. Three men were killed and 18 wounded h l 12 and 19 Sq ft were tom in the side of the ship- The Judy began two o es, - -v ' ' ' . huted. . . disintegratlng on Pull Out and the Japs parac n . I h hout . - ' ly as she remained completely operationa t roug . The YORKTOWN was finally hu, though not SCHOUS 1

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P--Mi---M But this first, raid left Marcus Island' a smoking shambles and the men proved to themselves that they were ready to fight. Following Marcus raid came successful strikes against Wake, the Cilberts, Kwajelein and Wjote Atolls. YORKTOWN dealt devastating blows t0v Ja- pans air and sea power in the Philippines, Truk, Guam, and at the Marianas Turkey Shootv where hundreds ofilapg- anese planes were shot down in a single day. Her men were justly proud when YORKTOWN returned to the West, Coast in August, 1944, for on her superstructure were stenciled over 400 Japanese flags. For her men it was a picturesque adventure and they still had plenty of fighting spirit left for another tour. ' In October 1944, YORKTOWN was underway again. After brief stopover in Pearl Harbour, and Ulithe, she steamed into the very heart of Japanese power. In February 1945, YORKTOWN launched a surprise attack on Tokyo itself. Again, she met with great success and sustained few casualties. N 4 l l I li 1 i l l yr 13

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,. .,.. -,,- 1- And so it went for six more months until. the Japanese capitulation. On August 15, 1945, the Commander-ln-Chief, Pacific Fleet ordered a cessation of all offensive operations and one episode in the life of a great fighting ship was brought to a close. It is indicative of YORKTOWN's spirit that even during the rage of battle there had been comical moments. One was the landing of Marine pilots. Three Marines had become lost during a 30,000 feet air patrol over Okinawa and had wandered several hundred miles out to sea. They were almost out of fuel when YORK- TOWN picked up their distress calls. Though none had ever Fniade ia carrier' landing they were directed to awsafeireturn aboard. One Marine who made a perfect recovery asked afterwards, What was that man doing waving those pallets back therew? He was quickly an- swered by a sailor who said ubrother, he's the Landing Signal Officer, and he was giving you a wave-offln In January, 1947, YORKTOWN was de- comissioned and attached to the Pacific Re- serve Fleet. Five years later she was recom- inissioned CVA-10 and pounded Communist supply lines until the end of the Korean conflict.