USS Hornet (CV/CVA/CVS-12) is an Essex-class aircraft carrier built for the United States Navy (USN) during World War II. Completed in late 1943, the ship was assigned to the Fast Carrier Task Force in the Pacific Ocean, the navy's primary offensive force during the Pacific War.
The Hornet in the Pacific Ocean in July 1969
USS Hornet docked in Alameda
Grumman F6F-3 Hellcat fighter of VF-15 being catapulted from Hornet via the hangar catapult, 25 February 1944
One of Hornet's quadruple 40 mm Bofors mounts firing under remote control, 16 February 1945
Essex-class aircraft carrier
The Essex class is a retired class of aircraft carriers of the United States Navy. The 20th century's most numerous class of capital ship, the class consisted of 24 vessels, which came in "short-hull" and "long-hull" versions. Thirty-two ships were ordered, but as World War II wound down, six were canceled before construction, and two were canceled after construction had begun. Fourteen saw combat during World War II. None were lost to enemy action, though several sustained crippling damage due to kamikaze attacks. Essex-class carriers were the backbone of the U.S. Navy from mid-1943 and, with the three Midway-class carriers added just after the war, continued to be the heart of U.S. naval strength until supercarriers joined the fleet in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. Several of the carriers were rebuilt to handle heavier and faster aircraft of the early jet age, and some served until well after the Vietnam War. Of the 24 ships in the class, four of the carriers: Yorktown, Hornet, Lexington, and Intrepid, have been preserved as museum ships.
USS Philippine Sea (CVA-47) underway in 1955
1941 design plans for the Essex class.
Leyte underway in 1948
Yorktown at sea in 1943