On April 26, 1952 USS Wasp (CV-18) collided with destroyer minesweeper Hobson (DMS-26) while conducting night flight operations in the Atlantic, en route to Gibraltar. Hobson was cut in two and sank. Rapid rescue operations saved 61 men, but Hobson lost 176 of her crew, including her skipper. Although Wasp sustained no personnel casualties her hull was severely damaged, with a 30 x 50-foot bite gouged out of the bow. With the carrier urgently needed for duty in the Mediterranean, preparations for repairs were begun immediately.

Wasp carefully proceeded to Bayonne, N.J., entered drydock there on 8 May and her damaged bow was cleared out with blow torches. The following day, the bow of aircraft carrier Hornet (CV-12) —then undergoing conversion in Brooklyn, N.Y.— was cut off and floated by barge across the bay. It was fitted into position under Wasp that afternoon, with steel plates to close any remaining gaps, and workers began round-the-clock welding operations. This remarkable repair task, which including replacing 61 lifeboats and refitting the carrier's anchor chain, was completed in only 10 days, enabling the carrier to get underway on 21 May. Shifting south to Norfolk, the crew spent a short three days preparing for deployment and Wasp sailed east across the Atlantic on 24 May.

(NS021294) Bow from Hornet has been cut by acetylene torch and rests on rolling scaffolding.

(NS021294a) Section of Hornet's bow has been moved clear of the Hornet and workmen attach crane hooks so that the section can be hoisted onto a barge.

(See also NS021863.)

From "All Hands" magazine, July 1952 issue.

USS Hornet (CVA-12) just after her SCB-27A modernization at the New York Naval Shipyard, May 12, 1951 – September 11, 1953. From "Our Navy" magazine, mid-February 1954.

Leaving Brooklyn Navy Yard, Fall 1953.

En route to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, 10 January 1954, during shakedown following completion of her SCB-27A modernization.

Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives (photo # 80-G-K-17108).

McDonnell F2H-3 "Banshee" jet fighters parked on the carrier's flight deck, during Seventh Fleet operations in the Far East, 1 October 1954. Plane closest to the camera is Bureau # 127542.

Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives (photo # 80-G-663584).

USS Hornet (CVA-12), circa 1957, during an UNREP with USS Castor (AKS-1) and an unidentified destroyer.

As CVA-12, heading to Westpac during her January 21 – July 25, 1957 cruise. Official US Navy Photograph # CVA-12-3905 (L) 5-57, from the Naval Photographic Center, Naval District, Washington DC.

Yokosuka, Japan, circa August–September 1959.

The ship to the right is USS Thetis Bay (LPH-6). "In August 1959, Thetis Bay was serving with the 7th Fleet when floods on Taiwan left thousands homeless. On the 12th, she was ordered to proceed from Hong Kong to Taiwan and use her 21 large troop-carrying helicopters to aid the flood victims. By the end of the assistance operation, at noon of the 20th, the ship had delivered a total of 1,600,540 pounds of supplies to the destitute Chinese. In addition, her helicopters had lifted 850 passengers to and from various sites in the flooded area." (Quoted from DANFS, "Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.")

"Sailors and aircraft are loaded aboard the antisubmarine carrier Hornet CVS-12. Hornet, which came from Long Beach for the loading, is one of 19 ships which left today for a seven month deployment to the Western Pacific." United Press International photograph #KMP-060701-6/7/62, San Diego, CA.

With Antisubmarine Carrier Air Group 57 (CVSG-57) aboard, Hornet deployed on June 6, 1962 and returned home on December 21.

USS Hornet (CVS-12) at the Hunters Point Naval Shipyard. The photo may have been taken in late January–mid-February 1965, at the end of her FRAM II modernization.

Bow of USS Ticonderoga (CVA-14) is visible on the right-center of the picture, stern of USS Braine (DD-630) on the bottom, and USS Chicago (CG-11) on the left-center.

An SH-3A Sea King ASW helicopter and an A-4C Skyhawk stand ready to take-off in defense of USS Hornet (CVS-12) while operating in the South China Sea, circa 1965–1966. (USN photo.)

From "Aircraft Carriers," by Norman Polmar.

USS Cimarron (AO-22), with USS Hornet (CVS-12), and USS Nicholas (DD-449), during underway replenishment activities off the coast of North Viet Nam, circa 1966. At that time these three ships had accumulated nearly 75 years of Navy service between them.

US Navy photo # USN 1115952, from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center.

USS Hornet (CVS-12) receives fuel and ordnance from USS Sacramento (AOE-1), during replenishment operations in the South China Sea, June 1967. Photographed by JOC R.D. Moeser.

As CVS-12 underway in the Gulf of Tonkin, September 5, 1967. Official US Navy Photograph # KN-15561 by PHCM W.M. Cox. From the Naval Photographic Center, Naval District, Washington DC.

As CVS-12. SH-3A Sea King Helicopters from HS-2 "Golden Falcons" fly near the ship, during operations off the coast of San Diego, July 1968. Official US Navy Photograph # K-53328. From the Naval Photographic Center, Naval Station, Washington DC.

USS Hornet (CVS-12) underway on 9 August 1968, shortly before she began her final Seventh Fleet deployment. Photographed by PHCS W.M. Cox.

As CVS-12 during air operations off the coast of San Diego, August 23, 1968. Official US Navy Photograph # K-56723 by C.T. Elliott. From the Naval Photographic Center, Naval Station, Washington DC.

As CVS-12 in the Pacific, as an S-2E Tracker comes in for recovery, December 5, 1968. Official US Navy Photograph # KN-18759 by PHCM W.M. Cox. From the Naval Photographic Center, Naval Station, Washington DC.

"Hornet + 3", Apollo 11 Moon Flight, July 1969 — President Richard M. Nixon was in the central Pacific recovery area to welcome the Apollo 11 astronauts aboard the USS Hornet, prime recovery ship for the historic lunar landing mission. Already confined to the Mobile Quarantine Facility (MQF) are (left to right) Neil A. Armstrong, commander; Michael Collins, command module pilot; and Edwin E. Aldrin Jr., lunar module pilot. Apollo 11 splashed down at 11:49 a.m. (CDT), July 24, 1969, about 812 nautical miles southwest of Hawaii and only 12 nautical miles from the USS Hornet. The three crew men would remain in the MQF until they arrived at the Manned Spacecraft Center's (MSC) Lunar Receiving Laboratory (LRL). While astronauts Armstrong and Aldrin descended in the Lunar Module (LM) "Eagle" to explore the Sea of Tranquility region of the Moon, astronaut Collins remained with the Command and Service Modules (CSM) "Columbia" in lunar-orbit.

Apollo 12, November 24, 1969 — USS Hornet, prime recovery vessel for the Apollo 12 lunar landing mission, moves toward the Apollo 12 Command Module to retrieve the spacecraft. A helicopter from the recovery ship, which took part in the recovery operations, hovers over the scene of the splashdown.

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) photo # S69-22897.

The crew of the Apollo 12 lunar landing mission arrives aboard USS Hornet (CVS-12), 24 November 1969.

USS Hornet crewmen are greeted by the crew of the Apollo 12 lunar landing mission as the three astronauts are transferred from a US Navy helicopter to a Mobile Quarantine Facility (MQF) aboard the prime recovery vessel. Charles Conrad Jr., right, commander; Richard F. Gordon Jr., command module pilot, left front; and Alan L. Bean, lunar module pilot splashed down safely at 2:58 p.m., November 24, 1969.

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) photo # S69-22849.

Captain Carl J. Seiberlich, CO of USS Hornet (CVS-12), welcomes the Apollo 12 astronauts aboard.

The Apollo 12 Command Module is hoisted aboard USS Hornet (CVS-12).

USS Hornet (CVS-12) pulls into port, Pearl Harbor, to offload the Apollo 12 capsule, late November 1969.

Grumman E-1B Tracer aircraft on the flight deck of USS Hornet (CVS-12), during a HUKASWEX (Hunter-Killer Anti-Submarine Exercise). Photo is dated January 1970. Plane closest to the camera is Bureau # 147227.

Underway off California; date unknown.

Max Hellmueller, V-3 Division at the time, comments: "[this photo was taken] when the Hornet was going or coming from one of the Apollo Shots. I know because ABC placed it [the big white "ball" behind the island] on her for their satellite hook up. I was on board when this was done, as a member of the hanger deck crew." (Hornet recovered Apollo 11 and Apollo 12, in July and November 1969).

"Apollo Recovery Ship. USS Hornet CVS-12."

The last Official Patch for the USS Hornet CVS-12. She was towed from the San Francisco Naval Shipyard at Hunter's Point to Pier 2 at NAS Alameda on 11 May 1995. This patch commemorates that trip.

"Mothballed" at Bremerton, June 13, 1984.

This photo was taken on March 13, 1993 at Bremerton, Washington. Next to the Hornet is the battleship USS New Jersey. Reserve Fleet. Photo courtesy of Dwayne Miles.

USS Hornet Museum brochure, 2007.

This example of F-8A (formerly F8U-1) Crusader was photographed in June 1998. It badly needed restoration!

"Please do not climb, or vandalize aircraft!!! This rare F-8A Crusader is being restored for the U.S.S. Hornet Museum. Thank you for your cooperation."

Ex-USS Hornet (CVS-12) at her permanent mooring at the former Alameda Naval Air Station, San Francisco Bay, in August 1999.

Hornet Museum, Alameda, San Francisco Bay, California.

Artwork for the Hornet Museum, by Steve Whitby.

She is shown in her World War II appearance, wearing Measure 33, Design 3a camouflage.