Ghosts of the USS Yorktown

by Bruce Orr

  The next day, October 29, with scout planes patrolling overhead, USS Yorktown (CV-5) and USS Savannah (CL-42) fueled their escorting destroyers. On October 30, USS Yorktown (CV-5) was preparing to fuel three destroyers when other escorts detected sound contacts indicating they were being monitored by an enemy U-boat. In response, the convoy made ten emergency turns. While the USS Hughes (DD-410) assisted in developing the contact, USS Morris (DD-417) and USS Anderson (DD-411) dropped depth charges with no success in locating the enemy submarine. The USS Anderson again made two additional depth charge attacks after which they observed a considerable oil slick, but no wreckage.

  Elsewhere on that very same day, the USS Reuben James (DD-245) became the first American warship lost to hostile enemy action during World War II. The German submarine U-552 violated Hitler’s supposed orders and torpedoed the destroyer, sinking her with heavy casualties. Of the 159 man crew, only 44 survived. This occurred almost two months before the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, forcing the United States to enter the war.

  After having conducted another Neutrality Patrol in November, the USS Yorktown (CV-5) fortunately put into port at Norfolk on December 2, 1941. She was fortunate because she was there five days later on December 7, 1941, when the Japanese did attack Pearl Harbor, decimating the majority of the U.S. Navy’s Pacific Fleet.

  Once the Japanese forces had inflicted heavy damage to the United States Navy at Pearl Harbor, the role of the aircraft carriers that remained took on new importance. USS Yorktown (CV-5) quickly left the Atlantic and sped toward the Pacific Ocean to join what was left of the nearly decimated Pacific Fleet. She soon became the flagship for Rear Admiral Frank Jack Fletcher’s newly formed Task Force 17 (TF17).

  On May 6, 1942, she engaged in her first confrontation with the Japanese during the Battle of the Coral Sea. The carrier seemed almost invincible as she managed to dodge eight torpedoes. After that initial attack, she was then attacked by Japanese dive bombers. The ship again miraculously managed to evade all the bombs…except one. Her invincibility ended when that one bomb hit its mark. The bomb penetrated the Flight Deck and exploded below decks, killing several and seriously injuring many more.

  Though the Yorktown was damaged, there was little time for repairs. Allied intelligence had decoded Japanese naval messages and determined that the Japanese were about to begin a major operation aimed at two islets in a low coral atoll. This location was known as Midway.

  Having obtained this intelligence, Admiral Nimitz began planning for Midway’s defense. He rushed all possible air and land reinforcement to Midway in anticipation of the attack. In addition, he began gathering his naval forces to meet and engage the enemy at sea.

  On May 27, USS Yorktown (CV-5) arrived at Pearl Harbor after having received orders to briefly return there for repairs. Shipyard workers hastily made enough repairs to enable the ship to turn around and head back to Midway. In fact, the repairs were made in such a short time that the Japanese naval commanders had mistaken Yorktown for another vessel. They thought that she had been sunk after being damaged at the Battle of the Coral Sea and were greatly surprised that she had not been. Now with her air group augmented by planes and crews from USS Saratoga (CV-3), Yorktown returned and sailed as the core of TF17 on May 30.

  USS Yorktown (CV-5), now flying Rear Admiral Fletcher’s flag, rendezvoused with TF16 under Rear Admiral Raymond A. Spruance. She arrived northeast of Midway and maintained a position ten miles to the north.

  Scout patrols, both land-based from Midway and ocean-based from the carriers, were flown during early June. At dawn on June 4, Yorktown launched a ten-plane group of Dauntlesses from group VB-5 to join in the patrols but found nothing.

  Later, planes flying from Midway sighted the approaching Japanese and broadcast the alarm for the defending forces. Admiral Fletcher, the tactical commander, ordered Admiral Spruance’s TF16 to locate and attack the approaching Japanese carrier force.

  United States Douglass SBD Dauntless aircraft. Patriots Point photograph.

  When the last of Yorktown’s search group returned at 0830 (8:30 a.m), the Flight Deck was immediately regrouped for the launch of the ship’s fighter attack group.

  The torpedo planes from the three American carriers—Yorktown, Enterprise and Hornet—located the Japanese force. Of the forty-one planes launched, only six returned to Enterprise and Yorktown. Not a single plane made it back to the Hornet.

  Yorktown’s dive bombers attacked the Japanese aircraft carrier Sry. Three lethal hits with one-thousand-pound bombs set her on fire. Meanwhile Enterprise’s planes attacked the Japanese aircraft carriers Akagi and Kaga, destroying both of them. Timing could not have been better. The attacking Dauntlesses had caught all of the Japanese carriers in the midst of refueling and rearming operations. Their bombs ignited the fuel and caused devastating fires and explosions.

  Three of the four Japanese carriers had been destroyed. The fourth Japanese aircraft carrier, the Hiry, separated from the others. She launched eighteen Japanese aircraft, which soon located Yorktown.

  At approximately 1329 (1:29 p.m.), the attacking Japanese aircraft were detected by the Yorktown’s radar. In preparation for the attack, she immediately discontinued fueling her fighters, and her dive bombers were moved to open up the area for antiaircraft fire. An auxiliary eight-hundred-gallon gasoline tank was pushed overboard in an effort to eliminate one potential fire hazard. The crew quickly drained fuel lines to prevent additional fire hazards and closed and secured all compartments.

  All of Yorktown’s fighters were sent out to intercept the Japanese aircraft. The Wildcats countered an organized attack by eighteen Japanese “Vals” and six Japanese “Zeroes.” Despite their best efforts, three “Vals” scored hits prior to being destroyed. Two of them were able to drop their bombs prior to being shot down while the third lost control just as his bomb left the plane’s rack. The enemy aircraft began tumbling in flight and hit on the starboard side, exploding on contact. The explosion of both bomb and aircraft blasted a hole about ten feet square in the Flight Deck. The exploding bomb killed most of the crews of the two 28-millimeter gun mounts it had struck and several others on the Flight Deck below. Other fragments penetrated the Flight Deck and struck three planes on the Hangar Deck, starting fires. One of the burning aircraft, a Yorktown Dauntless, was fully fueled and still carrying a one-thousand-pound bomb. Swift action extinguished the fire and prevented what could have been a secondary deadly explosion.

  The second Japanese bomb to hit the ship came from her port side. It also pierced the Flight Deck and exploded. This one did extensive damage to the ship’s boilers. The explosion ruptured the uptakes for three boilers, disabled two boilers and extinguished the operating fires in five additional boilers. In addition, smoke and gases began filling the fire rooms of six boilers. Despite the danger, the crew at number one boiler remained at their post and kept it operating. This created enough steam pressure to allow the auxiliary steam systems to function.

  A third bomb hit the carrier from the starboard side, pierced the side of number one elevator and exploded on the fourth deck. It started a fire adjacent to the forward gasoline stowage and magazines. The pre-attack preparation technique of smothering the gasoline system with carbon dioxide prevented the gasoline from igniting.

  The Island Structure burns during the Battle of Midway.

  Her speed dropped drastically. At 1440 (2:20 p.m.), about twenty minutes after the enemy bomb exploded, shutting down most of the boilers, USS Yorktown (CV-5) slowed to a complete stop.

  Repair crews began working frantically, and at about 1540 (3:40 p.m.), Yorktown prepared to get moving again.

  Simultaneously as Yorktown began refueling the fighters on the Flight Deck, the ship’s radar picked up an incoming attack group at a distance of thirty-three miles. The ship once again prepared for battle as she had before. She also redirected four of the six fighters in the air to intercept the incoming Japanese aircraft. There were ten fighters on board,
but eight had as little as twenty-three gallons of fuel in their tanks. Despite the limited fuel, they were launched and also headed out to intercept the rapidly approaching Japanese planes.

  At 1600 (4:00 p.m.), USS Yorktown (CV-5) began gaining speed. The fighters that had originally been in flight and redirected by Yorktown intercepted the enemy. The Wildcats shot down at least three, but the rest made it past and began their attack while the carrier and her escorts mounted a heavy antiaircraft barrage.

  Yorktown maneuvered radically, avoiding two torpedoes before another two struck the port side within minutes of each other. The attack left the carrier crippled and dying. She soon lost power and went dead in the water. She began to develop an increasing list to her port side. Her rudder was also jammed during the attack.

  As the ship’s list increased, Commander C.E. Aldrich, the damage control officer, reported that without power, controlling the flooding would be impossible. Likewise, the engineering officer, Lieutenant Commander J.F. Delaney, soon reported that all boilers were out, all power was lost and that it was impossible to correct the rapidly increasing list. Upon hearing these reports, Captain Elliot Buckmaster ordered Aldrich, Delaney and their men to evacuate to the Flight Deck and put on life jackets.

  The list continued to increase. When it reached twenty-six degrees, Captain Buckmaster and Aldrich agreed that capsizing was moments away. “In order to save as many of the ship’s company as possible…” the captain later wrote, he “ordered the ship to be abandoned.”

  The USS Yorktown (CV-5)’s list intensifies.

  Over the next few minutes, the crew lowered the wounded into life rafts and headed for the nearby Allied destroyers and cruisers. After the evacuation of the wounded, the executive officer, Commander I.D. Wiltsie, left the ship down a line on the starboard side. Captain Buckmaster, meanwhile, toured the ship one last time to see if any crew remained. After finding no “live personnel,” Buckmaster lowered himself into the water by means of a line over the stern. By this time, water was crashing at the port side of the Hangar Deck of the listing carrier.

  After being picked up by the destroyer USS Hammann (DD-412), Captain Buckmaster transferred to the USS Astoria (CA-34), where he reported to Rear Admiral Fletcher. After briefing Fletcher, the two men agreed that a salvage party should attempt to save the ship. Yorktown had surprised them all. She had not capsized and had remained afloat despite the heavy list.

  While efforts to save the Yorktown were being made, her planes were still in action. They had joined those from USS Enterprise (CV-6) in striking the last Japanese carrier Hiry and inflicting serious damage upon her. Having taken four direct hits, the Japanese carrier soon became totally helpless. Just like the Yorktown, she too was soon abandoned by her crew and left to drift out of control.

  Yorktown continued to remain afloat through the night. Despite the earlier evacuation, two men were still alive onboard her. One of the two survivors attracted attention by firing a machine gun, which was heard by the destroyer USS Hughes. The escort picked up the two men. Unfortunately, one died soon after his rescue.

  Meanwhile, Captain Buckmaster had selected 29 officers and 141 men to return to the ship in an attempt to save her. Five destroyers formed an antisubmarine screen while the salvage party boarded the badly damaged and listing carrier. The USS Vireo (AT-144) soon commenced towing the ship.

  Yorktown’s salvage party went on board with a carefully predetermined plan of action to be carried out by men from each of the ship’s departments. Lieutenant Commander Arnold E. True brought his ship, the USS Hammann (DD-412), alongside, furnishing pumps and electric power in an effort to assist the salvage crew.

  By mid-afternoon, it looked as if the attempt to save the ship was going to succeed. One 5-inch (127-mm) gun had been dropped over the side, and a second was being positioned to be likewise. Planes had also been pushed over the side. All of this was done in an effort to reduce top-side weight. The submersible pumps, powered by electricity provided by the Hammann, had actually been successful in pumping a lot of the water out of the engineering compartments. The efforts of the salvage crew were actually working, and they had reduced the carrier’s list by about two degrees. It appeared as if the aircraft carrier might be saved.

  While all this was transpiring, the Japanese submarine I-168, unknown to Yorktown and the six nearby destroyers, had achieved a favorable firing position and waited. At 1536 (3:36 p.m.), lookouts spotted four torpedoes approaching the ship from the starboard side.

  Hammann went to general quarters and turned a twenty-millimeter gun in their direction to intercept the torpedoes in an attempt to explode them in the water. Her propellers also came to life and churned the water beneath her Fantail as she tried to get underway.

  It was too late. One torpedo hit Hammann directly in the middle and broke her back. The destroyer folded like a jackknife and went down rapidly.

  Two of the torpedoes struck Yorktown. The fourth torpedo passed just behind the carrier.

  About a minute after Hammann sank, there was an enormous underwater explosion. This was possibly caused by the destroyer’s depth charges going off beneath the ocean’s surface. The blast killed many of Hammann’s men and a few of Yorktown’s who had been thrown into the water during the torpedo attack. The concussion battered the carrier’s already badly damaged hull and caused tremendous shockwaves that resulted in even further damage to the ship.

  All destroyers immediately commenced searches for the enemy submarine and commenced rescuing men from Hammann and Yorktown. Captain Buckmaster decided to discontinue any further salvage attempts until the following day.

  Vireo cut the towline and doubled back to Yorktown to pick up survivors. She took on board many of the men of the salvage crew who had remained on the carrier while simultaneously picking up other men from the water. The tug took a tremendous beating as the sea battered it against the sinking carrier.

  In the frenzy, the Japanese submarine, I-668, escaped.

  Any additional attempts at salvage of USS Yorktown (CV-5) were never made. Throughout the night of June 6 and into the morning of June 7, the stubborn ship did her best to stay afloat in defiance of the mortal wounds inflicted upon her by the Japanese forces. By 0530 (5:30 a.m.), the crews of the ships nearby noted that the carrier’s list was rapidly increasing to port. At 0701 (7:01 a.m.), the ship turned over onto her port side, rolled upside-down and sank, stern (rear) first, in three thousand fathoms of water, where she now remains over three miles below the surface.

  The USS Yorktown (CV-5) still rests on the ocean floor after the Battle of Midway. Courtesy of Patriots Point.

  USS YORKTOWN (CV-10)

  Any efforts to list all of the achievements of the USS Yorktown (CV-10) are bound to come up lacking, but in order to explore the possibility of a paranormal aspect of her, one must first understand all that she faced and accomplished in her service. The following is an attempt to briefly cover her stellar naval career and the events she encountered prior to her arrival at Patriots Point.

  USS Yorktown (CV-10) was initially intended to have received another name. She was to have been named the USS Bon Homme Richard in honor of Revolutionary War hero John Paul Jones’s frigate. John Paul Jones was a Scottish sailor who became the United States’ first well-known naval fighter after joining the Continental navy during the Revolutionary War. Jones is most famous for uttering the words, “I have not yet begun to fight” when taunted to surrender by the British captain of the HMS Serapis.

  Jones had named his frigate in honor of Benjamin Franklin, who was the U.S. ambassador to France at the time. The name Bon Homme Richard is derived from the pen name of Benjamin Franklin who was, among many things, the author of Poor Richard’s Almanac.

  The aircraft carrier was renamed Yorktown while under construction to commemorate her predecessor, the USS Yorktown (CV-5), destroyed by the Japanese at the Battle of Midway in June 1942.

  USS Yorktown (CV-10) was commissioned in April 1943, with Captai
n Joseph J. Clark in command. She would participate in several campaigns in the Pacific Theater of Operations and distinguish herself by earning eleven battle stars and the Presidential Unit Citation.

  USS Yorktown (CV-10). Courtesy of KOP.

  On August 22, she left out of Pearl Harbor, bound for her first combat of World War II, where she would play a significant role in the Pacific Offensive against Japan in late 1943. Yorktown (CV-10) was the tenth aircraft carrier to serve in the United States Navy, and the 888-foot ship displaced 27,100 tons during World War II and carried a crew of 380 officers, 3,088 enlisted men and ninety aircraft. As she departed, she also had a unique passenger onboard that Captain Joseph “Jocko” Clark would soon discover.

  Not long after departure, Captain Clark found a small gray dog that some of the pilots had smuggled onto the ship. The dog was dressed in a life jacket and was barking on the Flight Deck. The captain responded to the discovery by stating, “There is a (expletive deleted) dog barking on the deck! What in the hell is going on here?” Although the dog’s name was Scrappy, the pilots responded, “We call him Jock.” Apparently the quick thinking worked, and the captain allowed the dog to stay. He became the ship’s mascot.

  An aircraft carrier such as the USS Yorktown is basically a floating city with over three thousand people living there. There are doctors’ offices, dental offices and even stores just like any other city. The one thing it did not have was a park for Scrappy to relieve himself in. Scrappy went wherever nature called…much to the displeasure of the Yorktown’s executive officer.

  Scrappy, the ship’s mascot, in the cockpit of one of the Yorktown’s aircraft. Courtesy of Patriots Point.