Source: R/V Petrel / Vulcan
Source: Naval History & Heritage Command
HISTORIE
Wildcat of the Hornet on the seabed
22
INFO Eduard
to the rescue teams in an hour the fires were
put out and the flight operations resumed. The
American aviators managed to locate Shōkaku
and Zuikaku and ultimately the enemy fleet
retreated from the area.
Wasp rushed to help Enterprise and Saratoga.
Her airplanes shot down two Jake floatplanes
and one flying boat, but they failed to locate
the Japanese aircraft carriers. The disaster
struck in the coming days. First, on August 31,
1942, Saratoga was hit by a torpedo and had
to withdraw for repairs. She was hit by I-26
submarine which later sank the cruiser USS
Juneau about which we spoke in the previous
article. On September 15, 1942, ever bigger loss
occurred. I-19 submarine launched six torpedoes
against the American group of ships. One hit the
battleship USS North Carolina, and another hit
the destroyer USS O’Brien, which sank later.
Three torpedoes struck Wasp and caused large
fires and a series of explosions below the deck.
When it became clear that the fires could not
be put out the ship evacuation commenced. In
the end 193 crew members and 45 aircraft went
down to the bottom of the ocean.
Source: R/V Petrel / Vulcan
aircraft carriers withdrew to refuel. Between
August 15 and 20, 1942, Enterprise and
Saratoga returned to cover the aircraft
delivery to Henderson airfield on Guadalcanal.
Simultaneously the Japanese navy tried to
transport the reinforcements to the island.
Several task forces set sail with the mission not
to only cover the transportation ships but also
counterattack and destroy the American ships
around the island. The large aircraft carriers
Shōkaku, Zuikaku and light carrier Ryūjō were
assigned to this mission. On August 24 and
25, 1942 the encounter at the eastern Solomon
Island took place which came down in the
history as the third aircraft carriers’ battle ever.
Similar to the Battle of Corral Sea the Americans
first discovered the light aircraft carrier. Ryūjō
was sailing ahead of the main force with the task
of attacking the Henderson airfield. Saratoga
launched 38 aircraft against her and scored
several bomb hits and possibly a torpedo one.
The seriously damaged ship sank during the
night. The main Japanese force in the meantime
attacked the American carriers. They focused
on Enterprise which was hit by three bombs
dropped by Val dive bombers. However, thanks
127 mm gun aboard the USS Hornet
The International Harvester tractor for towing aircraft
remained aboard the USS Hornet after her sinking.
Source: R/V Petrel / Vulcan
A Japanese Val bomber shot down directly over the bridge of the USS Enterprise on August 24, 1942.
Source: R/V Petrel / Vulcan
Source: Naval History & Heritage Command
Source: R/V Petrel / Vulcan
A damaged Val dive bomber rushes at the USS Hornet on October 26, 1942. The torpedo bomber Kate takes
off after launching a torpedo.
28 mm four-barrel cannon on the wreck of the Hornet
May 2023