USS Hornet (CV-8)
History of the USS Hornet Aircraft Carrier
The USS Hornet (CV-8) was ordered for the U.S. Navy on March 30, 1939. Her keel was laid down at Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company in Virginia on September 25, 1939. She was launched on December 14, 1940 and commissioned on October 20, 1941 under the command of Captain Marc A. Mitscher.
USS Hornet spent the early part of 1942 training and receiving upgrades to her armament. On April 2, the aircraft carrier left Alameda, California with sealed orders and 16 B-25s under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Jimmy Doolittle. She joined Task Force 16 off of Midway and headed for Japan in what would become known as the Doolittle Raid. Colonel Doolittle’s air crew launched the first American air strike against Japan on April 18, although the mission was kept an official secret for an entire year.
After steaming back to Pearl Harbor, the USS Hornet headed off to take part in the Battle of the Coral Sea, but she arrived too late. She made a feint toward Nauru and Banaba before joining in the Battle of Midway.
On June 4, 1942, USS Hornet joined USS Yorktown and USS Enterprise in launching air strikes against Japanese carrier-based planes destined for Midway. The dive bombers from USS Hornet did not find their targets, but Torpedo Squadron 8 (VT-8) did. Enemy opposition brought down each of the torpedo bombers; only one man out of 30 survived. Most of the task force’s torpedo bombers met the same fate, but dive bombers from the other carriers were able to sink four Japanese carriers. Two days later, aircraft from the USS Hornet helped take down and damage a number of Japanese ships. The Battle of Midway was considered the turning point of the war in the Pacific Theater.
The USS Hornet had a new CXAM radar installed at Pearl Harbor, where she completed some training before heading off to the Guadalcanal area in the Solomon Islands on August 17, 1942. Damage to other aircraft carriers left only the USS Hornet in the South Pacific until she was joined by the USS Enterprise on October 24.
Two days later, the carriers became involved in the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands. As USS Hornet aircraft struck at enemy ships, she was attacked by Japanese aircraft that scored three bomb hits. While she was being towed by the USS Northampton, she was attacked again by torpedo bombers. The order came down to abandon ship, with Captain Charles P. Mason being the last man on board, and the survivors were picked up by American destroyers.
Attempts were made to scuttle the ship before she finally sank in the early hours of October 27, 1942. USS Hornet was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on January 13, 1943. She received four battle stars for her service in World War II, and Torpedo Squadron 8 received the Presidential Unit Citation for their service during the Battle of Midway.
The use of asbestos was common in shipbuilding components for much of the 20th Century because of its resistance to heat, fire, water and corrosion. Because of their asbestos exposure onboard ship and in the shipyards, seaman, shipyard workers and longshoreman are at risk for developing asbestos-related diseases like mesothelioma .
Sources include:
John Hedley-Whyte and Debra R Milamed, "Asbestos and Ship-Building: Fatal Consequences," Ulster Med. J. 77(3):191-200 (Sep 2008)
U.S. Navy, A Brief History of Aircraft Carriers – USS Hornet
