R/V Petrel finds USS Hornet

[Chad Fuck 17631]

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/uss-hornet-wreckage-world-war-two-warship-discovered/?fbclid=IwAR3lJaes-BQj72WcodC_CkLbW0tLT5Jd197kMxxBgcMVE4k8z9mFkQxQavQ

This is the ship Doolittle's Raiders launched from for their raid on Tokyo.  Pretty incredible.

[Chad Fuck 17631]

Quote

 "If you go down to my locker, there's 40 bucks in it, you can have it!" Nowatzki joked. 

 

[TwiceHorn 31412]

Out of rep today.  I'll be back.

Was gonna ask what we thought the plane was, but the wheels give it away as a Wildcat.

[Chad Fuck 17631]

Definitely a Wildcat.  Some of the Naval Aviation geeks I associate with are already trying to track down its' pilot.  

The Petrel is on a roll.  They just found the Japanese battleship Hiei about a week ago:

Quote

R/V Petrel Finds Wreck of First Japanese Battleship Lost in WWII

https://www.maritime-executive.com/article/r-v-petrel-finds-wreck-of-first-japanese-battleship-lost-in-wwii

More pics at the link.

[Chad Fuck 17631]

Also, from the looks of the Wildcat (wheels down, wings back, peppered with holes) it may've been on deck during the attack.  Certainly it looks the worse for wear.

 

[Brisketexan 104912]

That's just badass.  And three miles.....FUUUUUUCK that's deep.

[Llano Estacado 1257]

Obviously carriers’ roles in warfare have changed over time, but that was the last US fleet carrier ever lost in war.

[Eastwood 4394]

An amazing find. Can't wait for more images.

[TwiceHorn 31412]

4 minutes ago, Chad Fuck said:

Also, from the looks of the Wildcat (wheels down, wings back, peppered with holes) it may've been on deck during the attack.  Certainly it looks the worse for wear.

 

Had same thought.

[Digdogger 1343]

Here's a pic of the pilot from the day they took off

 

[Johnny Sack 8397]

How many men are entombed on or near there?

[ImissWallyPryor 9046]

Fuckin' Jap bastards.

[conVINCEd 21468]

They found my grandfather’s ship a few months ago.  Wish they would’ve found it a few years ago when there were still a few of the survivors alive.  Still very cool.

[Llano Estacado 1257]

How many men are entombed on or near there?

140 went down with her. 266 US dead in the final battle.

Battle of Santa Cruz Islands

[Chad Fuck 17631]

More pics:

B5N "Kate"s launching torpedos at Hornet, Battle of Santa Cruz Islands 

[Chad Fuck 17631]

D3A "Val" death dive:

[Chad Fuck 17631]

[Chad Fuck 17631]

E

El Paso native Tom Lea's painting of Hornet under attack:

[Pato del Muerto 52460]

Naval warfare during WWII was so unique. 

[Zepol87 9177]

Wow. This is very cool

Edited February 13, 2019 by Zepol87

[Macanudo 12970]

Yes.   Very cool.   

[TwiceHorn 31412]

19 minutes ago, Chad Fuck said:

Didn't recognize this at first, thought it was Japanese, but it's a 1.1" AA gun.  Obsolete in '42-43, replaced by 40mm Bofors and 20mm Oerlikon.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1.1"/75_caliber_gun

5"/38 Naval Gun in dual-purpose (anti-aircraft) mount.  The most numerous gun of the USN in WWII. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/5"/38_caliber_gun

 

I believe this is a powder casing for the 5"/38 gun above.

 

Edited February 13, 2019 by TwiceHorn

[Shenanigans 31]

Those photos are incredible. The quality is astonishing.

[Chad Fuck 17631]

Damage report:

You can match up the battle pics to these damage reports.

Link to the big versions:  http://ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/WarDamageReports/WarDamageReportCV8/WarDamageReportCV8.html

[TwiceHorn 31412]

That is an amazing resource for naval geeks.

[Pato del Muerto 52460]

16 minutes ago, TwiceHorn said:

That is an amazing resource for naval geeks.

Prime opportunity for naval gazing?

[Chad Fuck 17631]

29 minutes ago, TwiceHorn said:

That is an amazing resource for naval geeks.

fify.  

Tons more than just Navy stuff there.  

[idigTexas 2284]

As cool as all the military stuff is, I'm impressed by how sharp and alive Nowatzki appears to be.  Seems more like 75 than 95. 

[smuggs 9350]

1 hour ago, Chad Fuck said:

E

 

Intact and sitting upright at ~17,500 ft. That is a fucking incredible pic.

[Chad Fuck 17631]

Hull number:

Must've hit pretty hard.  It's buried almost to the hangar deck (the opening at the top of the pic below):

On USS Northampton's last attempt at towing the Hornet, they attached a cable to the port anchor chain (visible here leading forward).  The starboard anchor is visible on the lower left. 

20mm gun:

Signal Bridge:

Starboard forward 5 in. gun.  It took 12-15 men to operate this gun:

Anti-aircraft projectile in fuse setter, awaiting use for the above gun:

[SuingToGetAMessageBoard? 3861]

23 minutes ago, Chad Fuck said:

Starboard forward 5 in. gun.  It took 12-15 men to operate this gun

Like Churchill said: rum buggery and the lash.

[Braff Zacklin 13527]

Looks like she managed to sail another 150 feet or so after settling on the bottom.

[Matuka 1308]

3rd diagram shows a “cigar locker” on the ship.  Was that actually a room to store cigars/tobacco?

[Chad Fuck 17631]

They released some video:

https://www.facebook.com/rvpetrel/videos/371597530339587/

Edited February 14, 2019 by Chad Fuck

[Eastwood 4394]

International Harvester image is awesome. My dad used to work for them. Get a little free pub out of that, I'm sure.

[Chad Fuck 17631]

International Harvester image is awesome. My dad used to work for them. Get a little free pub out of that, I'm sure.

They’re great submarines too!

[Shoxthemonkey 1976]

44 minutes ago, Eastwood said:

International Harvester image is awesome. My dad used to work for them. Get a little free pub out of that, I'm sure.

I half-assed collect IHC stuff so that caught my eye. Looks like a modified W-4 tractor but nothing I could find spelled it out exactly. I did find an interesting page listing many of IHCs contributions to the war effort. I never knew they produced torpedoes.

http://usautoindustryworldwartwo.com/internationalharvester.htm

 

[Macanudo 12970]

When I was a kid, we used to go up to Bremerton where there were a couple of Essex class carriers tied up for scrapping.     You could just walk onto the flight deck.   You couldn't go below deck but any outdoor gangway or area accessible by ladder was easy to get too.   Talk about heaven for a 10 year old WWII nut. 

[Judge Roybeanbag 11815]

1 hour ago, Eastwood said:

International Harvester image is awesome. My dad used to work for them. Get a little free pub out of that, I'm sure.

My great grandfather worked for them in the first half of the 20th century.  Traveled all over selling them, including India..

[Hornstrader 179]

On 2/13/2019 at 10:34 AM, Chad Fuck said:

Damage report:

You can match up the battle pics to these damage reports.

Link to the big versions:  http://ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/WarDamageReports/WarDamageReportCV8/WarDamageReportCV8.html

I. Conclusions

65. HORNET did, in spite of admitted deficiencies in machinery arrangement, survive extreme punishment to the hull. The fact that damage from three torpedo hits, four bombs and two plane crashes did not result in sinking Is impressive. Despite such punishment, the hull was still in condition to allow towing from the scene of action if the tactical situation had permitted. In an attempt to sink HORNET, destroyers fired 369 rounds of 5" ammunition into the hull and a number of torpedoes. This still did not result in immediate sinking and HORNET was left "blazing furiously and in a slowly sinking condition". HORNET'S resistance to damage, as well as YORKTOWN's, exceeded reasonable expectations.

[Chad Fuck 17631]

Built to last.

[Armybrat 40797]

And one Exocet sank the Sheffield in the Falklands war.

[Texas_Rocks 346]

There’s a pretty cool short video titled “The Life and Death of the Aircraft Carrier U.S.S. Hornet” on Youtube.

Also...that Japanese ship that they found earlier. Holy shit! Battle report stated that an attack disabled the steering resulting in her slowly circling “for another day” while U.S. Army Air Force relentlessly attacked. Sounds like one hell of a drawn out nightmare.

WWII nautical finds have resulted in some of the most fascinating threads going all the way back to HF.

[TwiceHorn 31412]

3 hours ago, Armybrat said:

And one Exocet sank the Sheffield in the Falklands war.

Slightly OT, but some interdasting facts about the HMS Sheffield:

An explosion during construction killed two dockyard workers and damaged a section of hull which was replaced with a section from an identical ship, Hércules, being built for the Argentine Navy.

As Sheffield's crew were waiting to be rescued, Sub-lieutenant Carrington-Wood led the crew in singing "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" from Monty Python’s Life of Brian

[Eastwood 4394]

There’s a pretty cool short video titled “The Life and Death of the Aircraft Carrier U.S.S. Hornet” on Youtube.

Also...that Japanese ship that they found earlier. Holy shit! Battle report stated that an attack disabled the steering resulting in her slowly circling “for another day” while U.S. Army Air Force relentlessly attacked. Sounds like one hell of a drawn out nightmare.

WWII nautical finds have resulted in some of the most fascinating threads going all the way back to HF.

The whole concept of being in the Navy during an open conflict is equal parts terrifying and exciting. Parts of the Pacific are literally some of the most remote locations on Earth. Penalty for failure out there is very high.

[TwiceHorn 31412]

21 minutes ago, Eastwood said:

2 hours ago, Texas_Rocks said:

There’s a pretty cool short video titled “The Life and Death of the Aircraft Carrier U.S.S. Hornet” on Youtube.

Also...that Japanese ship that they found earlier. Holy shit! Battle report stated that an attack disabled the steering resulting in her slowly circling “for another day” while U.S. Army Air Force relentlessly attacked. Sounds like one hell of a drawn out nightmare.

WWII nautical finds have resulted in some of the most fascinating threads going all the way back to HF.

The whole concept of being in the Navy during an open conflict is equal parts terrifying and exciting. Parts of the Pacific are literally some of the most remote locations on Earth. Penalty for failure out there is very high.

My Dad served three years on a DD in the PTO.  Although he experienced pretty severe conditions and combat (kamikazes off Okinawa, the Great Typhoon, constant threat of air attack or engagement with submarines or superior armed warships), I always kind of thought he had it "easy," with air conditioning, decent to good food, and a bed to sleep in.

Then a Marine friend of mine said something that kind of hit home.  "When the shit starts, you got no place to go."  He had spent a couple of years as mardet on vessels in the same part of the world (swpac) and contemplated what wartime conditions may have been like.

Edited February 15, 2019 by TwiceHorn

[RollLeft 5040]

On 2/12/2019 at 9:56 AM, Brisketexan said:

That's just badass.  And three miles.....FUUUUUUCK that's deep.

Obligatory, that's what your mom said last night.  

[Pato del Muerto 52460]

14 hours ago, Hornstrader said:

I. Conclusions

65. HORNET did, in spite of admitted deficiencies in machinery arrangement, survive extreme punishment to the hull. The fact that damage from three torpedo hits, four bombs and two plane crashes did not result in sinking Is impressive. Despite such punishment, the hull was still in condition to allow towing from the scene of action if the tactical situation had permitted. In an attempt to sink HORNET, destroyers fired 369 rounds of 5" ammunition into the hull and a number of torpedoes. This still did not result in immediate sinking and HORNET was left "blazing furiously and in a slowly sinking condition". HORNET'S resistance to damage, as well as YORKTOWN's, exceeded reasonable expectations.

How many sailors survived, and how many families are here today, because she could take that kind of punishment?

its got to be demoralizing for the enemy to put that much into a ship, and take all of the losses, and you cripple her but you just can’t sink her. 

Did she stay in the fight the entire time?

[Chad Fuck 17631]

1 hour ago, Pato del Muerto said:

How many sailors survived, and how many families are here today, because she could take that kind of punishment?

its got to be demoralizing for the enemy to put that much into a ship, and take all of the losses, and you cripple her but you just can’t sink her. 

Did she stay in the fight the entire time?

Quote

With power knocked out to her engines, Hornet was unable to launch or land aircraft, forcing its aviators to either land on Enterprise or ditch in the ocean. Rear Admiral George D. Murray ordered the heavy cruiser Northampton to tow Hornet clear of the action. Since the Japanese planes were attacking Enterprise, this allowed Northampton to tow Hornet at a speed of about five knots (9 km/h; 6 mph). Repair crews were on the verge of restoring power when another flight of nine "Kate" torpedo planes attacked. Eight of these aircraft were either shot down or failed to score hits, but the ninth scored a fatal hit on the starboard side. The torpedo hit destroyed the repairs to the electrical system and caused a 14-degree list. After being informed that Japanese surface forces were approaching and that further towing efforts were futile, Vice Admiral William Halsey ordered Hornet sunk, and an order of "abandon ship" was issued. Captain Mason, the last man on board, climbed over the side, and the survivors were soon picked up by the escorting destroyers.^[3][9]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Hornet_(CV-8)

Edited February 15, 2019 by Chad Fuck

[pyrohornIII 4814]

On 2/14/2019 at 12:38 PM, Judge Roybeanbag said:

My great grandfather worked for them in the first half of the 20th century.  Traveled all over selling them, including India..

 

On 2/14/2019 at 11:40 AM, Shoxthemonkey said:

I half-assed collect IHC stuff so that caught my eye. Looks like a modified W-4 tractor but nothing I could find spelled it out exactly. I did find an interesting page listing many of IHCs contributions to the war effort. I never knew they produced torpedoes.

http://usautoindustryworldwartwo.com/internationalharvester.htm

 

 

On 2/14/2019 at 10:52 AM, Eastwood said:

International Harvester image is awesome. My dad used to work for them. Get a little free pub out of that, I'm sure.

A little off topic, and you guys might already know this, but there is a great read on IHC titled "Corporate Tragedy" 

Here's a link for a free download site:

https://storage.googleapis.com/echttleba.appspot.com/Corporate-Tragedy-International-Harvester-Company-PDF-281b235a0.pdf