A Pretty Rare Picture

[Wyandot Jim]

I have never seen this picture before. Pretty cool
The Hornet leaving San Francisco in 1942 with Jimmy Doolittle's B-25's on board. The first strike against Japans mainland.

 

[Fox Mike]

The first two or three off didn't have a lot of 'runway' . WOW!

 

[Mus408]

Wow...that is awesome! My son took me to see the new Midway movie yesterday and the Doolittle raid was great!

 

[powder smoke]

Thing looks like an over sized wash tub! LMAO. The troop had some Mustard!
No doubt about it. My dad was in the Navy in the Pacific during WWII. They
had a tough time! Their ship took a Kamikaze Strike killed a lot of sailors and
took out the refrigeration they lost most their grub. ps

 

[Merle1948]

excellent! I had never seen it either. Thanks!!!

 

[Ale-8(1)]

Thanks, Jim.

S'pose that photo was CLASSIFIED at the time it was taken? I mean, no sense letting Japan or anyone else know what's coming into the game.

:shock: :shock: :shock:

 

[Jeepnik]

Not much deck indeed. And Doolittle was first off. Not many lead by example anymore. Too many college types with small stones.

 

[Wyandot Jim]

It looks like the planes were moved to a different position before takeoff which gave them a little more deck run.

Taking off still not a lot of deck.

In transit as seen in the picture at the Golden Gate

 

[eveled]

Great pictures. Thanks for posting them.

 

[Colonialgirl]

Great Pictures;
Thanks Wyandot Jim !!

 

[tinman]

Cool photo, thanks.

 

[BDM1]

Impressive, i also have never seen those pictures, thanks!

 

[Don Lovel]

The average age on that ship was probably not much more than 28yrs old and they were badasses. And now our the vast majority of our country's young men cannot decide if waxing a mustache will show their toxic masculinity too much and cannot handle stressful situations.

 

[blackhawknj]

Plenty of friction in the military back then, the "old salts" thought the new recruits were pansies and momma's boys with no respect for "tradition", the new recruits thought the old salts were alcoholic losers who couldn't hold down an honest job. The best and the brightest flocked to the colors back then.

 

[WendyZXZ]

Those are great pictures!

 

[Bob Wright]

I'm guessing that the way the planes were parked on the deck as they were was to indicate they were probably ferrying the planes, as that was common at the time. I believe the Hornet later delivered some P-40s to North Africa.

Bob Wright

 

[redhawker]

Seems some here are taking that as a photograph. It's actually a painting...

http://www.artbarbarians.com/gallery2/main.asp?artist=21&pic=12014

...and a damn good one too.

 

[Ale-8(1)]

Sure fooled me. Just looked like a slightly fuzzy period aerial photo.

:lol:

 

[tom black]

So how did they get the planes on board the carrier? Crane?
Thanks for the great old pics.
Tom Black

 

[Jeepnik]

Plenty of friction in the military back then, the "old salts" thought the new recruits were pansies and momma's boys with no respect for "tradition", the new recruits thought the old salts were alcoholic losers who couldn't hold down an honest job. The best and the brightest flocked to the colors back then.

If my maternal grandfather was any indication they were old salts, and he was an alcoholic. But that "loser" fought on the Yangtze and in Nicaragua in 1928. Oh yea, and there was that little dust up called WWI. Medically discharged due to a heart attack he managed to get reinstated when his last ship was seriously damaged at a tiny place called Pearl Harbor. The USS Vestal was tied along side that forgotten hulk the USS Arizona. Yea, those old salts were exactly the kind of loser our nation has always called upon in time of need. And I for one am damned glad they answered.

As to they "new recruits" if either of my maternal uncles had made a disparaging remark about old salts after they enlisted in 1942 either their dad or one of his friends would have disabused them of that notion right quick.

Uncle Sams Yacht Club was a pretty small place prior to WWII. If your dad was Navy anyone you served under may well have known him personally. A son's behavior reflected on his father and bad behavior (drinking and chasing women didn't count as bad behavior back then) was harshly dealt with.

 

[Jeepnik]

So how did they get the planes on board the carrier? Crane?
Thanks for the great old pics.
Tom Black

Yep, dockside crane. Heck those were "light" lifts compared to some.

 

[wunbe]

Just asking...

Did they actually deploy an aircraft carrier with its decks loaded in that unconventional way from a major metropolitan area in broad daylight in wartime? On a secret mission?

wunbe

 

[Wyandot Jim]

Just asking...

Did they actually deploy an aircraft carrier with its decks loaded in that unconventional way from a major metropolitan area in broad daylight in wartime? On a secret mission?

wunbe

From what I have found out the Hornet left at night.

Painting fooled me. Still looks good and what it would have looked like in the daytime.

 

[Bull Barrel]

This Hornet was CV-8, a Yorktown class ship, launched in 1940 and sunk in 1942.
The 8th Hornet, CV-12, an Essex class ship, was launched in 1943. It was originally to be named Kearsarge but when CV-8 was sunk they renamed CV-12.

 

[SteveRuger]

Love the pictures thanks for sharing!

 

[vito]

Great picture, that I too thought was a photo. I really wonder how the first planes were launched. I wonder if there is film showing the planes taking off. I assume that they used some type of catapult since obviously there was not enough deck for a normal takeoff.

I was not yet born at the time of the Doolittle raid, but I was told by family that the boost to morale in the nation was enormous when the news was released about our bombing of Tokyo. Militarily it did little damage to Japan, but between the positive U.S. morale, and the shiver it must have put through the Japanese population to know that weakened America could still punch through the might Japanese Empire and strike at the heart of their nation. Brave men that should never be forgotten.

 

[redhawker]

Great picture, that I too thought was a photo. I really wonder how the first planes were launched. I wonder if there is film showing the planes taking off. I assume that they used some type of catapult since obviously there was not enough deck for a normal takeoff.

Here ya go...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NPGq7IYQHCM

...no catapult, just raw power and lightened aircraft and a carrier doing something like 20 knots into something like a 30+ knot wind. They even removed most of the defensive 50 cal machine guns from the aircraft to lighten them further. BTW - the movie "30 Seconds Over Toyoko" is pretty accurate on how it was done. I'm sure not totally accurate but probably pretty close.

 

[Colonialgirl]

The Doolittle Raid DID raise morale in the USA and ALSO had the great sie effect in forcing the Japanese to deploy MORE of the naval resources closer to the their homeland and NOT out to the Pacific battle zones.

 

[caryc]

This Hornet was CV-8, a Yorktown class ship, launched in 1940 and sunk in 1942.
The 8th Hornet, CV-12, an Essex class ship, was launched in 1943. It was originally to be named Kearsarge but when CV-8 was sunk they renamed CV-12.

I spent some time on CV-12. I even drove the thing when I pulled a helm watch. That was scary.

 

[WestTex]

Not trying to be crass, just truthful -

But those men (although I am sure scared) had Balls of Steel.

R.I.P to them all.