USS Hornet CV-8 being commissioned at Naval Station Norfolk with Captain Marc A. Mitscher in command – October 20, 1941
The third and last Yorktown-Class Aircraft Carrier built, USS Hornet was only in active service for a year and six days before being sunk during the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands on October 26, 1942
She was awarded four Battle Stars, a citation for the Doolittle Raid, and her Torpedo Squadron 8 received a Presidential Unit Citation for extraordinary heroism for the Battle of Midway
In January 2019, RV Petrel located the wreck of USS Hornet more than 17,500 feet deep off the Solomon Islands
LIFE Magazine Archives – Thomas Mcavoy Photographer WWP-PD
