Hornet (CVS 12) - Naval Cruise Book

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When this news returned to the States, another keel had been laid for USS KEARSARGE, CV 12. To keep a Hornet in the fleet, this ship was named the Eighth Hornet. To this day, this ship carries the name Kearsarge emblazoned in her keel. But as Hornet, she wrote history in the war against the Japanese. As part of the famed Task Force 58, she tallied a most impressive record, and garnered the coveted Presidential Unit Citation. She shot down 688 planes, destroyed 742 others on the ground, sunk one carrier and one cruiser, ten destroyers, 42 cargo ships, and assisted in the sinking of the battleship Yamato. After the war. Hornet became a ship of the Magic Carpet Fleet — the return of battle-weary veterans from the far reaches of the Pacific to their homes. SEVENTH HORNET — This photo of HORNET, the first aircraft carrier to bear the name, was taken just prior to her sinking as a result of damage sustained during the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands on October 26, 1942. This ship was in commission one year and one week before she went down in action. Hornet ' s just-completed cruise to the Far East was marked with support action against the Viet Cong. Her jet detachment was operating in attack missions against the rebel and communist forces. Her propeller air- craft provided a submarine net for the attack vessels, and her helicopters performed search and rescue missions for pilots who were shot down over Vietnam. After over 22 years of service, broken by two short periods with the mothball fleet. Hornet is a far cry from her original self in the 1940 s. She now has an angle deck, courtesy of the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, necessitated by the coming of the jet age. Her internal changes are too numerous to mention. She is the best antisubmarine carrier in the fleet. Her 1965 Battle Efficiency Award attests to this fact.

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FIRST HORNET — A (en-gun sloop, commissioned in the fall of 1775. This ship was destroyed in November 1777 by its crew to prevent it from falling into the bands of the British. History Of The Eight USS Hornets Practically from the begin- ning of the United States ' history, a chapter in the history of a ship in the Navy named Hornet was penned. Sketchy informa- tion about the first five ships to bear the name Hornet precludes a lengthy exploration of their gallant deeds, but each ship in this ancestry was noted in its time for heroic action a- gainst the enemies of the United States. The First Hornet, a ten- gun sloop, was destroyed during the Revolution to prevent its use by the British. The firepower of the ten- gun sloop Second Hornet, proved instrumental in win- ning the Tripolitan War. She was sold out of service after only one year ' s service with the Navy But this didn ' t keep a Hornet out of the fleet. The Third Hornet, a powerful 440-ton brig-rigged vessel that served gallantly for 24 years as the vanguard of the fleet, floundered in 1829 off Tampico, Florida, and was lost with all hands aboard. But another child had been born. The Fourth Hornet was bought for the Navy in 1813. She also saw action against the British during the War of 1812. She retired and was sold out of service in 1820. The Fifth Hornet, an iron side-wheel steamer, was a captured vessel during the Civil War. She was taken into service under her original name Lady Sterling . Not so, said the Navy Department. She was re- named Hornet. She was ordered to accompany the Rhode Island to Cuba to receive the surrender of the con- federate, Sam Stonewall. On June 26, 1869, after four and a half years of service, she was sold out of service for $33,000. The Sixth Hornet, originally a private yacht named Alicia , was built in 1890. Her 800-horsepower engines gave her a speed capability of an unheard-of 15 knots. Eight years after she was built, she was purchased for the Navy. The War with Spain was the Sixth Hornet ' s baptism of fire. She saw action at Montonza Harbor in Cuba. Following that war, she was donated to the North Carolina Naval Militia for drill and instructional pur- poses. The Seventh Hornet, the first aircraft carrier to bear this now-famed name was commissioned in 1939. She was first commanded by the then Captain Mark Mitchner. It was from her decks in April 1942, that Lt. Colonel Jimmy Doolittle launched his famous raids on Tokyo, with twin-engine B-25 bombers. Later that same year, in a maze of gunfire, she was lost in the battle of Santa Cruz Island. Aften ten hours of attack, and brave defense, she was ordered torpedoed to preclude her falling into the hands of the enemy EIGHTH hornet — . sleek modernized 43,000-ton anti- ■ ' ■ submarine carrier pictured in her role as vanguard of sub- marine defense for the mighty United States Seventh Fleet units in waters off Metnam.

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RADM E. P. AURAND, USN Commander ASW Group ONE Rear Admiral Evan P. Aurand, Commander Antisubmarine Warfare Group ONE, Embarked in HORNET, was bom in New York City on June 10, 1917. He graduated from the U. S. Naval Academy in 1938 and served in LEXINGTON {CV-2), STURTEVANT (DD-240) and MCCORMICK (DD-223) before reporting to flight training at NAS Pensacola. He was designated Naval Aviator on January 1, 1941. He was awarded the Navy Cross when he sank an enemy ship in the face of heavy antiaircraft fire during a dive bombing attack off Lae, New Guinea. He commanded VFN-76 aboard BUNKER HILL participating in the carrier attacks in the western Pacific in 1944. Admiral Aurand also commanded the first jet squadron in the Pacific Fleet in 1947. Other highlights in bis career mcluded XO of HANCOCK, Naval Aide to President Eisenhower from 1957 to 1961, commanding officer of GREENWICH BAY (AVP-41) and later INDE- PENDENCE (CVA-62). He was Assistant for Systems Analysis in the Navy Program Planning Office when he was nominated to the rank of Rear Admiral in May 1964. He is married to the former Patricia Riley of Seattle, Washington, and has one daughter, Margaret Lucille Aurand.