Hornet (CVS 12) - Naval Cruise Book

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The USS HORNET ICVS-121, eighTh ship oT The line To be so nomed, rnoinToiins The l-leriToge oT Excellence esToblished by her predecessors. The TirsT HORNET, ci merchonT sloop chorTered by The ConTinenTol Novy in 1775, served os d bloclcode runner in The l2evoluTionory Wor. DocumenTs ore incompleTe oiTTer 1776 buT iT op- peors ThoT HORNET Tell inTo 8riTish hounds in The summer oT 1777. The second HORNET vvos o Ten-gun sloop ThoT served vviTh Commodore Rodgers' Squoidron during The TripoliToin Wor in The MediTerroneoin. She vvds sold ouT oT service oT ChorlesTon, SouTh Corolino in 1806. The Third ship To be noimed HORNET vvos o brig-rigged sloop oT vvor, She ToughT in The Wor oT 1812 under The commond oT Jomes Loivvrence, vvho gove The Novy The Tomous moTTo, Don'T give up The ship. The HORNET successTully blockoded Bdhid l-lorbor, in 1813 she copTured The privoTeer DOLPHIN ond The HMS PEACOCK oTT 8riTish Guiono. ATTer vorious cruises To The lVlediTerrouneon ond The Coribbedn, The HORNET vvos coughT in o gdle oTT Tolmpico, Mexico on SepTernber 29, 1829 oind Toundered vviTh dll hounds. The TourTh l-IORNET vvois o Tive-gun schooner used os oi dispoTch vessel beTvveen 1813 ond 1820. ATTer ossisTing in coosT vvork ond hoirbor survey, she vvos sold ouT oT service oT NorToll4 in 1820. The nexT ship To beor The nome HORNET vvos on iron side-vvheel sTeomer. Originolly builT in Englond os The ConTederoTe blockode runner LADY STERLING, she vvcis copTured by The USS CALYPSO ond The USS EOLUS. On June 17, 1864 she vvos commissioned inTo The Novy os The USS HORNET. In June oT 1869, oTTer ocTion oTT The EosTern seoboord during The Civil Worr, she vvos sold ouT oT service.

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Index HORNET History The Cruise Hawaii Japan Yankee Station Hong K ong Recreation Subic B ay H Shellback Initiation Singapore THE CR Reflect EW ions Sea of Japan Arrival

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The sixTh l-IORNET, ci converTed yochT, served os ci dis- pciTch vessel in The Spcinish Civil Wor. Her record oT operciTions oTT The coosT oT Cuboi upheld ond odded To The highesT Trc1diTions oT The service. During This wor, she corried ci boTTery of Three 6 pounders, Two T pounders ond Tour moichine guns. In Morch T910 she, Too, wcis sTricken Trom The Noivy RegisTer ond sold ouT oT service. HI TORY For ThirTy-one yeors The Novy wcis To be wiThouT ci ship corrying The TighTing noime oT HORNET, Then, on Moy 17, i939, Congress possed The Novol Exponsion ACT Thereby ouThorizing The sevenTh l-TORNET. Mrs. Froink M. Knox, wife ol: The SecreTory oT The Novy, chrisTened The USS HORNET lCV-8l, on December Tri, i94O, OT The NewporT News Shipbuilding ond Dry Dock Compony. The sevenTh HORNET wos The Tomous Shoingri Loi Trom which LieuTenonT Colonel Jimmy DooliTTle's Tomed Tokyo Roidersu were lounched. l-ler life oT one yecir ond Tive dgys proved To be ci glorious one. She porTic- ipoTed in The BoTTle oT Midwoy Trom June 3-6, TQ42, during which Time her Tomous Torpedo Sgucidron EighT golloinily losT every plone in ci doring oTTock on severol Joponese oircroTT corriers. They were meT by overwhelm- ing TighTer opposiTion oibouT eighT miles from Three enemy corriers ond were shoT down one by one. Only one piloT, Ensign George H. Goy, survived by hiding under his seoT cushion To ovoid sTroTing ond Thus wiT- nessed The grec1TesT corrier bciTTle in hisTory. l-IORNET lciTer supporTed The occupoTion oT Guodoil- conol ond wois presenT on OcTober 26, T942 when The BoTTle oT SonTo Cruz begon. ThoT morning plones from l-TORNET severely domciged The Jopoinese corrier SHO- KAKU ond The cruiser Cl-TIKUMA. Two oTher cruisers were cilso oiTTocked by I-TORNET oircroTT. Meonwhile, HORNET herselif wos TighTing oTT oi coordinoTed dive bombing Torpedo plone oTTcick which leTT her so severely domoged ThciT she hcid To be oboindoned. CommenTed one soilor owoiiTing rescue, who wos osked iT he plonned To reenlisT, DcimmiT, yes --- on The new l-lORNET. Cop- Tciin Nloson, The losT mon on bocird climbed over The side, ond survivors were soon picked up by desTroyers. The obcindoned l-TORNET, oblcize Trom sTem To sTern, refused To occepT her inTended Tc1Te Trom Triends. She sTill Tloc1Ted oTTer receiving nine Torpedoes ond more Thon 400 rounds oT 5-inch shellTire Trom US. desTroyers MUS- TIN ond ANDERSON. l-lORNET's dec1Th blow wos deoilT by Joponese desTroyers Tiring Tour 24-inch Torpedoes oT The ljlgziyqg l'1IJll4, AT OCTOLDGI' The HORNET lCV-8l Tinolly sonk oTT The SoinTc1 Cruz islonds.