Hornet under construction, Wednesday, 3 January 1940.

NS020840: Looking forward.

NS020840a: Looking aft.

Hornet (CV-8) under construction, looking quarter stern, Newport News & Dry Dock Co., 3 March 1941.

Hornet (CV-8) under construction, 36" searchlight platform looking aft, Newport News & Dry Dock Co., 4 August 1941.

"The U.S.S. Hornet, Navy's newest aircraft carrier which was commissioned last October [1941]. She is the last word in seagoing airports."

Photo dates from 13 October 1941, while fitting out at Newport News Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co.

USS Hornet (CV-8) in dry dock at the Norfolk Navy Yard, 19 November 1941, being inspected for any defects on her hull during her shakedown, a month after being commissioned into the U.S. Navy.

USS Hornet (CV-8) photographed circa late 1941, soon after completion, probably at a U.S. east coast port. Note flight deck overhang and large crane stowed in the small boat area. A ferry boat and "Eagle Boat" (PE) are in the background.

U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph (# NH 81313).

Line drawing ©Jean Secardin.

USS Hornet (CV-8), closeup view, starboard side in way of island, showing new 20mm battery, Mk-4 (FD) radar on forward Mk-37 director, new rig for fueling at sea, hose, etc. Norfolk Navy Yard, Portsmouth, Va., Saturday, 28 February 1942. Photo serial #2788[?](42).

USS Hornet (CV-8), closeup view, starboard side in way of island, showing altered searchlight platform access ladders, docking bridge, life raft stowages, new 20mm battery, forward boat crane removed, etc. Norfolk Navy Yard, Portsmouth, Va., Saturday, 28 February 1942. Photo serial #2789[?](42).

USS Hornet (CV-8), view from island looking forward, showing forward 1.1", 20mm and 5" guns, starboard side; no. 1 1.1" director, racks for 1.1" magazines inside splinter bulwarks, etc. Norfolk Navy Yard, Portsmouth, Va., Saturday, 28 February 1942. Photo serial #2790(42).

USS Hornet (CV-8), forward end of island showing splinter protection for gunnery control station and sky lookout platform, SC radar antenna installed, port pelorus relocated to top of fly control. Norfolk Navy Yard, Portsmouth, Va., Saturday, 28 February 1942. Photo serial #2792(42).

At Norfolk Navy Yard, Portsmouth, Va., Saturday, 28 February 1942.

While at Norfolk she was camouflaged to Measure 12 with splotches; colors were Navy Blue, Ocean Gray and Haze Gray. By this time Mk.4 radar had been added to the Mk.37 directors.

(Thanks to Robert Hurst and Michael Vorrasi, who provided additional info).

Navy blimp L-8 approaches USS Hornet (CV-8) to deliver parts for the mission's B-25B aircraft. Taken shortly after the ship left San Francisco to begin the operation, circa 4 April 1942. Note package hanging below the airship.

Navy blimp L-8 hovers over USS Hornet (CV-8) while delivering parts for the mission's U.S. Army Air Force aircraft. Taken shortly after the ship left San Francisco to begin the operation, circa 4 April 1942. Note USAAF B-25B bomber parked on the flight deck.

View looking aft from the island of USS Hornet (CV-8), while en route to the mission's launching point. USS Gwin (DD-433) is coming alongside, as USS Nashville (CL-43) steams in the distance. Eight of the mission's sixteen B-25B bombers are parked within view, as are two of the ship's SBD scout bombers. Note midships elevator, torpedo elevator, arresting gear and flight deck barriers in the lower portion of the photo, and 1.1" quad anti-aircraft machine gun mount at left.

Two of the operation's sixteen USAAF B-25B bombers, parked on the flight deck of USS Hornet (CV-8), while en route to the mission launching point.

The plane at right has tail # 40-2282. It is mission plane # 4, piloted by 2nd Lieutenant Everett W. Holstrom, Jr. during the raid, in which it attacked targets in Tokyo. Note protective cover over its gun turret, and wooden dummy guns mounted in its tail cone.

The plane at left is warming up its engines, as was done periodically during the voyage.

Crewmen work on a USAAF B-25B parked at the rear of USS Hornet's (CV-8) flight deck, while en route to the mission's launching point. USS Gwin (DD-433) is in the center, approaching the carrier from astern.

USS Gwin (DD-433) approaches USS Hornet (CV-8) from astern, with USS Nashville (CL-43) beyond, while en route to the mission's launching point. The ships are framed by the tail of a USAAF B-25B, parked on the rear of the carrier's flight deck.

View looking aft and to port from the island of USS Hornet (CV-8), while en route to the mission's launching point. USS Vincennes (CA-44) is in the distance.

Several of the mission's sixteen B-25B bombers are visible. That in the foreground is tail # 40-2261, which was mission plane # 7, piloted by 2nd Lieutenant Ted W. Lawson. The next plane is tail # 40-2242, mission plane # 8, piloted by Captain Edward J. York. Both aircraft attacked targets in the Tokyo area. Lt. Lawson later wrote the book "Thirty Seconds over Tokyo."

Note searchlight at left.

Some of the mission's B-25B bombers parked on the flight deck of USS Hornet (CV-8), while en route to the raid's takeoff point. Note use of the flight deck tie-down strips to secure the aircraft.

Army Air Forces B-25B bombers parked on the flight deck of USS Hornet (CV-8), while en route to the mission's launching point. The plane in the upper right is tail # 40-2242, mission plane # 8, piloted by Captain Edward J. York. Note use of the flight deck tie-down strips to secure the aircraft. Location is near the forward edge of the midships aircraft elevator.

Lieutenant Colonel James H. Doolittle, USAAF (left front), leader of the raiding force, talks with Captain Marc A. Mitscher, USN, Commanding Officer of USS Hornet (CV-8), on board Hornet sometime before the 18 April 1942 launch of the raiding airplanes. Members of the Army Air Forces flight crews, and the wing of one of their B-25B bombers, are in the background.

Lieutenant Colonel James H. Doolittle, USAAF (front), leader of the raiding force, wires a Japanese medal to a 500-pound bomb, during ceremonies on the flight deck of USS Hornet (CV-8), shortly before his force of sixteen B-25B bombers took off for Japan. The planes were launched on 18 April 1942.

The wartime censor has obscurred unit patches of the Air Force flight crew members in the background.

Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives (photo # 80-G-41191).

Lieutenant Colonel James H. Doolittle, USAAF, wires a Japanese medal to a bomb, for "return" to its originators in the first U.S. air raid on the Japanese Home Islands, April 1942. Photographed on board USS Hornet (CV-8), shortly before LtCol. Doolittle's B-25 bombers were launched to attack Japan.

Naval Historical & Heritage Command photo (# NH 102457).

View looking aft from the island of USS Hornet (CV-8), while en route to the mission's launching point. USS Nashville (CL-43) is in the distance.

Photo taken off a 16mm film.

View looking aft from the island of USS Hornet (CV-8), while en route to the mission's launching point. USS Nashville (CL-43) is in the distance. Eight of the mission's sixteen B-25B bombers are visible on the carrier's flight deck. Aircraft at right is tail # 40-2250, which was mission plane # 10, piloted by 2nd Lieutenant Richard O. Joyce, which attacked targets in the Tokyo area.

Naval History & Heritage Command photo (#NH 53421).

USAAF B-25B bombers and Navy F4F-3 fighters on the flight deck of USS Hornet (CV-8), while she was en route to the mission's launching point. Note wooden dummy machine guns in the tail cone of the B-25 at left.

Naval History & Heritage Command photo (#NH 53422).

USAAF B-25B bombers tied down on the flight deck of USS Hornet (CV-8), while the carrier was en route to the mission's launching point. The plane in the center (second from the camera) is tail # 40-2283. It was mission plane # 5, piloted by Captain David M. Jones, which attacked targets in the Tokyo area.

Naval History & Heritage Command photo (#NH 53425).

USAAF B-25B bombers tied down on the flight deck of USS Hornet (CV-8), while the carrier was en route to the mission's launching point. View looks aft from the rear of Hornet's island.

The plane in the foreground is tail # 40-2203 (mission plane # 9). Partially visible at far right is tail # 40-2250 (mission plane # 10). Piloted respectively by Second Lieutenants Harold F. Watson and Richard O. Joyce, these B-25s attacked targets in the Tokyo area.

Naval History & Heritage Command photo (#NH 53426).

Nose art on B-25B "Hari Carrier" (USAAF serial # 40-2249), photographed while the plane was parked aboard USS Hornet (CV-8), en route to the raid launching point. This aircraft was mission plane # 11, piloted by Captain C. Ross Greening. It attacked targets in the Yokohama area.

Photo taken off a 16mm film.

Nose of one of the raiding force's B-25B bombers, which is tied down on the flight deck of USS Hornet (CV-8) while en route to the takeoff point. This aircraft is mission plane # 11 (USAAF serial # 40-2249), nicknamed "Hari Carrier" and decorated accordingly. The plane's pilot was Capt. C. Ross Greening. It attacked targets in Yokohama. Note slippage mark on the nosewheel and tire, and inscription on the wheel cover: "Inflating instructions inside — check tire pressure daily".

U.S. Naval History & Heritage Command photograph (# NH 53287).

B-25s prepare to take off from USS Hornet (CV-8) on April 18, 1942. The Americans bombed the cities of Tokyo, Nagoya and Kobe.

Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the U.S. National Archives (photo # 80-G-324199).

An Army Air Forces B-25B bomber awaits the takeoff signal on the flight deck of USS Hornet (CV-8), as the raid is launched, 18 April 1942. Note Flight Deck Officer holding launch flag at right, and white stripes painted on the flight deck to guide the pilot's alignment of his plane's nose and port side wheels.

An Army Air Force B-25B bomber takes off from USS Hornet (CV-8) at the start of the raid, 18 April 1942. Note men watching from the signal lamp platform at right.

Not very sharp but interesting stills taken from the color movie film showing USS Hornet launching the Doolittle raid.

A USAAF B-25B bomber flies over USS Hornet (CV-8) while on its way to attack targets in Japan, just after it was launched on the morning of 18 April 1942.

Naval History & Heritage Command photograph (#NH 53419).

USAAF B-25B bomber lines up for takeoff from USS Hornet (CV-8), on the morning of 18 April 1942. Note white lines painted on the flight deck, below the plane's nose and port side wheels, to guide the pilot during his takeoff run. This is the 3rd or 4th plane to be launched.

Naval History & Heritage Command photograph (#NH 53420).

USAAF B-25B bombers prepare to take off from USS Hornet (CV-8), on the morning of 18 April 1942. These are the last five or six planes to be launched.

Naval History & Heritage Command photograph (#NH 53435).

Doolittle Raid, 18 April 1942.

USS Hornet (CV-8) arrives at Pearl Harbor after the Doolittle Raid on Japan, 30 April 1942. Two Squadron 1, 77' Elco boats, PT-28 and PT-29 are speeding by in the foreground.

Lt. General James H. Doolittle and 25th Anniversary Plaque, U.S. Naval Air Station Alameda, 18 April 1967 (color photo taken in 1974).

"The last CO of NAS Alameda THANK GOD had the foresight in the waning days of the base to have his troops cut it off at the angle irons and put it in storage until a base museum could be established and it was eventually put on display in the old passenger terminal bldg now called the NAS Alameda Base Museum."

Washington, D.C., Nov. 9, 2006 — Surviving members of the Doolittle Raiders paid tribute to the U.S. Navy and USS Hornet (CV-8) during a wreath laying ceremony at the Navy Memorial. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Madelyn Waychoff (# 061109-F-0000X-001).

USS Hornet (CV-8) underway in the Southern Pacific, 15 May 1942, a week after the Battle of Coral Sea and the day before she was recalled to Pearl Harbor to prepare for the Battle of Midway.

USS Hornet (CV-8) enters Pearl Harbor, 26 May 1942. She left two days later to take part in the Battle of Midway. Photographed from Ford Island Naval Air Station, with two aircraft towing tractors parked in the center foreground.

USS Hornet (CV-8) at Pearl Harbor, 26 May 1942, just after the Battle of Coral Sea, and just before the Battle of Midway. Harbor tug Nokomis (YT-142) is underway alongside her. Note paint chipped off Hornet's waterline area by wave action while at sea.

"The Battle of Midway," directed by John Ford and narrated by Henry Fonda, is comprised mostly of authentic footage from the battle. This documentary, produced in 1942, won an Academy Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Award (Oscar). Then Commander (later Rear Admiral) John Ford, USNR, in civil life wrote, directed or produced more than 130 films in a career spanning four decades.

Format: MP4 (.mp4)  Duration: 18' 7"  Size: 320 x 240

Download a free MP4 player.

Pearl Harbor, Oahu, Territory of Hawaii. View looking eastward from over Pearl City, with Ford Island in the middle of the view and Diamond Head in the distant center, 1 August 1942.

USS Long Island (AVG-1) and USS Hornet (CV-8) are moored along Ford Island's western side, protected by anti-torpedo nets. The capsized hull of USS Utah (AG-16), a victim of the 7 December 1941 Japanese air raid, is astern of Long Island.

Courtesy of the Naval Historical Foundation. Collection of The Honorable James V. Forrestal.

Official U.S. Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center (# NH 83996).

A Japanese Type 99 shipboard bomber (Allied codename "Val") trails smoke as it dives toward USS Hornet (CV-8), during the morning of 26 October 1942. This plane struck the ship's stack and then her flight deck. A Type 97 shipboard attack plane ("Kate") is flying over Hornet after dropping its torpedo, and another "Val" is off her bow. Note anti-aircraft shell burst between Hornet and the camera, with its fragments striking the water nearby.

Damage to the smokestack and signal bridge of USS Hornet (CV-8) after it was struck by a crashing Japanese dive bomber, during the morning of 26 October 1942. Smoke at bottom is from fires started when the plane subsequently hit the flight deck. Note ship's tripod mast, with CXAM radar antenna in top left and the flag still flying above the damaged structure.

USS Northampton (CA-26), at right, attempting to tow USS Hornet (CV-8) after she had been disabled by Japanese air attacks on 26 October 1942.

Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives (# 80-G-33897).

October 26 1942, Hornet in tow. Cruiser Northampton (CA-26) made three attempts to take the carrier in tow, but additional Japanese attacks frustrated these efforts.

The "X" above the bridge and the CXAM radar antenna indicates where T.R. Archer was wounded by a Japanese dive bomber in a suicide attack (see photos "020808" and "020809", above).

October 26 1942, Hornet being abandoned.

October 26 1942, Hornet being abandoned. About 900 crewmen had been transferred to accompanying destroyers when, at 1523, Hornet took another torpedo on her starboard side. At 1550 the order to abandon ship was passed.

Chief Parachute Rigger, Theo. R. Archer, USN, on flight deck of USS Hornet (CV-8), 1942. He was on her from commission till sunk.

Model on display at the National Naval Aviation Museum, Pensacola, Florida. Photos taken on 13 June 2008.