OF FORTY-ONE TORPEDO PLANES LAUNCHED ALMOST...

Of forty-one torpedo planes launched almost simultaneously by the three American carriers, only six returned.  However, their sacrificial effort was not in vain, for the Japanese carriers, maneuvering desperately, had to concentrate their fighter and firepower on the torpedo planes–with the result that the Zero fighters were at low altitude when the incoming Dauntless dive-bombers from Hornet screamed down to the attack virtually unopposed; also the Japanese carrier decks were loaded with refueling planes which proved to be a boon to Lieutenant Commander Clarence McCluskey's thirty-six Enterprise dive-bombers, next over the targets.
     This phase of the battle is told by Lieutenant Clarence E. Dickinson, by the war's end a three-time Navy Cross winner.  His collaborator, Boyden Sparkes, was a free lance magazine writer.

--S. E. Smith
From: The United States Navy in World War II
Preface to Part III: Chapter 9: The Target Was Utterly Satisfying

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U.S.S. Hornet: CV-8 Brief History

Written by Bob Fish, USS Hornet Museum Trustee

New Ship, Secret Orders The eighth aircraft carrier of the American Navy, USSHornet (CV-8), was the third and final member of the Yorktown class of ships. As a pre-World War II vessel, her size was fixed in accordance with naval treaties of the 1930s: • displacement (empty) - 19,800 tons • flight deck length - 824 feet • flight deck width – 114 feet • draft - 24 feet Identified initially as Hull #385, she was built at the Newport News shipyard in Norfolk, Virginia, starting in September of 1939. Launched in late 1940, Hornetwas commissioned on October 20, 1941 just 6 weeks before the attack on Pearl Harbor. Her commanding officer was Captain Marc “Pete” Mitscher, who would become a recognized master of carrier warfare during WWII. Most of her 2,200 crewmen were young recruits fresh from boot camp. With an average age of 18, few had any shipboard experience and some had never seen an ocean before. Hornet was in the middle of her sea trial period along the Virginia coast when the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, suddenly plunging America into WWII. Due to German submarine activity along the Atlantic seaboard, her final shakedown cruise took place in the Gulf of Mexico. Immediately after she returned to the Norfolk Navy base, her crew witnessed an unusual event. On February 2, two Army Air Force B-25 Mitchell bombers were hoisted onto her flight deck. She sailed out to sea and launched them successfully, the first time Army bombers had ever taken off from a Navy carrier. Little did Hornet’s crew understand what this experiment might portend, but fate had now become a plank owner in this brand new ship. Hornet departed Norfolk on March 4, heading for the Panama Canal and then on to Pearl Harbor to help staunch the Japanese threat. Her immediate orders were to head to San Diego where she arrived on March 20, mooring at the carrier berth on North Island. In preparation for combat, three of the Air Group 8 squadrons were provided with upgraded aircraft. Fighting 8 (VF-8) received the F4F-4 Wildcat, while Bombing 8 (VB-8) and Scouting 8 (VS-8) received the SBD-3 Dauntless. Torpedo 8 (VT-8) remained stuck with the antiquated TBD-1 Devastator due to a delay in the delivery of the new TBF-1 Avenger. Hornetspent the next week qualifying the pilots for carrier launches and landings. On March 28, Hornet was again tied up at North Island to give her crew a final weekend of liberty in the US mainland. Captain Mitscher received a new set of Top Secret orders that would take the brand new ship on a very circuitous route to Pearl Harbor. Two days later Hornet sailed north, heading towards Alameda Naval Air Station, where she arrived on March 31 and moored at pier 2. The Doolittle Raid Meanwhile, twenty-two USAAF B-25 Mitchell bombers were flying into Alameda. On March 31 and April 1, with Hornet’s aircraft stored in the hangar deck, sixteen of the bombers were craned aboard and tethered to the flight deck. Shortly thereafter, 134 Army pilots and aircrew, led by LtCol Jimmy Doolittle, boarded the ship and Hornet slipped out to a mooring in SF Bay to spend the night. At mid-morning on April 2, Hornet and her escorts (Task Force 16.2) steamed under the Golden Gate Bridge, beginning the legendary mission known as the Doolittle Raid. Eleven days later, Hornet rendezvoused with Task Force 16.1 under the command of Admiral William Halsey aboard the USS Enterprise (CV-6). For another week, they sailed west until running into Japanese picket boats roughly 650 miles east of Tokyo. ADM Halsey was concerned about this early discovery of his ships, which represented half of the US carrier strength in the Pacific. He decided to launch the bombers early on April 18, 250 miles further from land than planned. During the launch,Hornet was lashed by gale force winds, driving rain and white cap waves. Within an hour, however, all sixteen aircraft successfully took off, bound for the Japanese homeland. The daring raid caused limited physical damage but raised American morale and stung the Japanese military. While America tried to keep the name of the ship that launched the raid a secret, the Japanese found out shortly after the attack and Hornet became a marked ship. Read more about the Doolittle Raid over Tokyo. Only minutes after the final B-25 struggled offHornet’s flight deck, the ships turned and headed for Hawaii at high speed. Admiral Chester Nimitz, Commander of the Pacific Fleet, had decided to disrupt an upcoming Japanese invasion of Port Moresby in New Guinea. He had already dispatched the USS Lexington (CV-2) and USS Yorktown (CV-5) to the south Pacific area. While supportive of the Doolittle Raid initiative, he badly wanted Enterpriseand Hornet to be involved in this first major naval battle. Both ships raced back to Pearl Harbor, arriving one week later. Hornet was quickly refitted for major combat operations and departed for the Coral Sea on April 30. Unfortunately, Hornet and Enterprise arrived too late to participate in the Battle of the Coral Sea, which took place on May 7 and 8. Both sides had traded severe blows in history’s first naval engagement where the opposing ships never saw, nor fired directly on, each other. The Lexington was sunk andYorktown suffered serious bomb damage. The IJN light carrier Shoho was sunk while the fleet carrierShokaku was heavily damaged and Zuikaku lost a significant number of pilots. Both were removed from fleet operations for a period of time, a major loss of Japanese striking power. The Japanese invasion of Port Moresby was called off so the three Yorktown-class carriers - Yorktown, Hornet and Enterprise - steamed back to Pearl Harbor. Japanese military leaders were shocked by the Doolittle Raid and stung by the failure to take Port Moresby. They decided to expand their control eastward into the central Pacific. At the same time, they wanted to lure the US carrier fleet into a decisive battle for supremacy of the seas. They made a reasonably hasty decision to launch an early-June invasion of Midway Atoll, which is located only 1,300 miles northwest of Pearl Harbor. The Battle of Midway The US Navy had broken a major communications code used by the Japanese Navy. Once he learned about this upcoming attack, Admiral Nimitz decided to ambush the IJN carrier strike force. In only two days,Hornet was replenished and prepared for the battle. During this time, Captain Mitscher was promoted to Admiral and Captain Charles Mason was selected to take command of Hornet. It was decided not to make the change just before a major engagement, however, so both remained onboard. In an ironic twist, both ofHornet’s skippers – its first one and its last one - stood side by side on the bridge during the most important naval battle of the war. At the end of May, the three Yorktown-class carriers sortied from Pearl Harbor, the only time they would fight as a team. The American ships placed themselves at a location (call-sign Point Luck) 325 miles northeast of Midway Atoll and waited for the invasion fleet to arrive. Early on June 4, four Japanese fleet carriers launched an air raid against Midway’s naval base. During this time, American reconnaissance aircraft located the Japanese fleet. Soon thereafter, all three US carriers launched full strike groups of torpedo, dive bombing and fighter aircraft. Just before the Navy airplanes arrived, the Japanese carriers had recovered their airplanes and were rearming and refueling them for another attack against the land-based installations on Midway. They were shocked to see carrier aircraft coming in to attack. The first unit to spot the Japanese carriers was Torpedo Squadron 8 (VT-8) launched from Hornet. The fifteen old and slow TBD Devastator torpedo bombers were no match for the high performance Japanese Zero fighters. Flying just above the sea surface, all of the aircraft were shot down without causing damage to the Japanese ships and all but one of the aircrew was killed. The men of VT-8 were awarded the Presidential Unit Citation for their gallant efforts. Other torpedo planes met a similar fate – most were shot to pieces and none scored any “hits.” These included a second contingent of VT-8 pilots flying the new TBF Avengers from Midway. However, this harassment meant the Japanese carriers could not launch very many aircraft. It also resulted in the Japanese combat air patrol being brought down to the ocean’s surface to make their attacks. The skies were relatively undefended when, at 10:20am, the American SBD Dauntless dive bombers began their runs from 15,000 feet.

Within five minutes, two of the four Japanese carriers had been mortally wounded with a third following soon thereafter. Later that day, aircraft from the Japanese carrier Hiryu managed to severely damageYorktown before being destroyed herself. Yorktownwas later hit by two torpedoes fired by from an enemy submarine and sank. Hornet’s dive bombing group struck the final blow in this epic battle by sinking the heavy cruiser Mikuma and seriously damaging her sister Mogami. Read more about the Battle of Midway. There is no doubt the battle of Midway was a major turning point in the war. While the Japanese still occupied a vast empire in the western Pacific, it was no longer the dominant naval power in the Pacific. The loss of her carrier striking capability removed any thoughts of invading new lands and they switched to defensive strategy. It was now time for America and her allies to start chipping away at the far-flung Japanese empire. Simultaneously with the aborted attempt to invade Port Moresby, the Japanese had captured a few remote islands in the Solomon Islands chain intending to harass the supply route between the US mainland and Australia. They built a seaplane base on Tulagi and began construction of a large airfield on Guadalcanal. Guadalcanal The shattering blow suffered by the Japanese at Midway allowed US war planners to press their advantage and start recapturing Japanese-occupied lands. On August 7, 1942, the First Marine Division assaulted both Tulagi and Guadalcanal. Neither American nor Japanese strategists predicted the bitter six month contest of attrition that would take place on and around these remote jungle islands. To maintain the Marine’s desperate toehold around Henderson Field on Guadalcanal, the Navy eventually invested most of its combat and supply assets in the Pacific. There were many surface and air engagements, with both sides inflicting significant losses on the other. On August 24th, Enterprise was put out of action by bomb damage from an enemy air attack. One week later, the USS Saratoga (CV-3) was heavily damaged by an enemy submarine. On September 15, the USS Wasp (CV-7), sailing only a few miles away from Hornet, was hit by three torpedoes from a submarine. Two other nearby ships were also torpedoed at the same time. Hornet had always been considered a lucky ship and had never sustained any major damage, with most of her losses occurring in the air groups. Now, many of the ship’s crew watched in shock as Wasp went through her death throes, suffering massive explosions from onboard munitions and raging fires from aviation fuel stores. When Wasp sank, a feeling of mortality began to settle over the young CV-8 sailors. At this point, Hornet was the only operational American carrier left in the south Pacific, while the Japanese had five carriers in the area. The Japanese were aware of this and, wanting revenge for the Doolittle Raid, sent a message to all commands saying “destruction of Blue Base (the code name forHornet) was now a primary objective of the Imperial Fleet.” The message was intercepted by US code breakers and forwarded to Hornet where it was passed on to the ship’s crew. The whirlwind of fate was about to swirl Hornet’s way. For the next five weeks, Hornet was the nerve center for the Task Force 17, the cruiser-destroyer force protecting Guadalcanal. Her schedule continued at a hectic pace, dictated by the demands of the combat situation on Guadalcanal. She provided combat air patrol for the ship’s of TF-17, air escort for the movement of supply ships into Guadalcanal and conducted long range searches for enemy forces trying to attack the island. In addition to these normal “Navy related” functions, Hornet’s air groups also flew many ground force suppression mission, strafing enemy barges, troop concentrations and supplies stacked on beaches. The Battle of Santa Cruz Islands On October 22, the Japanese decided to launch a major offensive on Guadalcanal while at the same time “sweeping” the American fleet from the Solomon Islands. Even though the ground offensive was halted by the Marines, the IJN battleship-carrier-cruiser striking group rushed south from Truk. Enterprise had been patched up and rejoined Hornet just in time for this decisive sea battle. Early on October 26, when Hornet and Enterprisewere just north of the Santa Cruz Islands, search aircraft from the opposing forces found each others main fleet. Both opponents launched their air groups at about the same time and, in fact, they passed within sight of each other. The initial strikes against each fleet occurred around the same time. The IJN carriers Zuiho and Shokaku suffered significant bomb damage and were knocked out of further action. Just after 10am, Japanese torpedo planes and dive bombers found the American fleet. Enterprise had entered a protective rain squall, so the full fury of the attack was focused on Hornet. Within ten minutes, she was hit by four bombs and two torpedoes, and sustained significant damage from two Val dive bombers that crashed into her. Hornet lost her propulsion capability and was dead in the water. After most of the crew was transferred from the ship, a damage control party put out the fires and repaired some of the damage. The cruiser USS Northampton(CA-26) tried to tow her a safe distance away. Later that afternoon, she was attacked again and hit by another torpedo and two bombs. At this time, she was abandoned and sank early the next morning – one year and seven days after being commissioned. Approximately 140 of her sailors and fliers were killed that day. Read more about the Battle of Santa Cruz Islands. Hornet’s final actions, however – her air group attacks on the IJN carriers and her ship’s anti-aircraft gunnery crews – wrought significant damage on the Japanese. The massive assault on Guadalcanal had been turned back. Hornet earned four battle stars in her brief career – • Battle of Midway • Buin-Faisi-Tonolai strike • Capture and Defense of Guadalcanal • Battle of Santa Cruz Islands But her place in American history is assured by one that was never created – her key role in the immortal Doolittle Raid. On May 15, 1995, roughly fifty years after the end of WWII, Secretary of the Navy John H. Dalton issued a formal citation of recognition for all the ships and crew who were members of Task Force 16. Twenty months after CV-8 was launched from Shipway #8 at the Newport News Shipyard, the keel for a new Essex-class carrier was laid down. Construction workers knew her only as Hull #395. In November 1943, thirteen months after CV-8 sank, the new ship was commissioned as the USS Hornet CV-12. The torch was passed - it became job of the CV-12 crew to maintain the high standard of excellence set by the officers and crew that had gone before. The Legacy of Hornet CV-8 The personnel, ships, and aircraft of the US military at the beginning of WWII bore the brunt of Japanese aggression in the Pacific. Most of Hornet’s crew was composed of raw recruits fresh out of boot camp, while their opponents were battle-hardened veterans from years of fighting in Asia. Hornet’s personnel were thrust into a vicious combat environment far from home and relied on good training and a “can do” spirit to guide them. But the US Navy had not worked out carrier combat tactics and, in some cases, had inferior technology, resulting in unfortunate losses. Hornetwas a key part of this small naval aviation group that “held the line,” stopping the Japanese juggernaut while piling up “lessons learned” for naval units that would follow. One key aspect of Hornet’s legacy is the buying of time for America’s industrial and technological might to gear up and get engaged in the war. Equally important, the Yorktown-class carriers decimated the IJN naval aviation striking forces, eliminating their ability to wage offensive operations, which dramatically changed the tone of the war. After 1942, America and her Allies advanced at their will, while the Japanese had to focus on defending their “empire.” The Navy learned valuable, if painful, lessons about ship and aircraft design, damage control procedures, anti-aircraft protection, crew training, and carrier task force tactics. As a direct result, Hornet CV-8 was the last fleet carrier lost in combat during the war.

U.S.S. Enterprise: 

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"The carrier that fought the most through the entire war..." Dedicatory Plaque, Enterprise Tower, U.S. Naval Academy Enterprise entered World War II on the morning of December 7, 1941, when her scout planes encountered the Japanese squadrons attacking Pearl Harbor. Not until May 14, 1945, when a Kamikaze attack off Kyushu, Japan, left a gaping hole in her flight deck, was she forced to leave the war. Of the more than twenty major actions of the Pacific War, Enterprise engaged in all but two. Her planes and guns downed 911 enemy planes; her bombers sank 71 ships, and damaged or destroyed 192 more. Her presence inspired both pride and fear: pride in her still unmatched combat record, and fear in the knowledge that Enterprise and hard fighting were never far apart. The most decorated ship of the Second World War, Enterprise changed the very course of a war she seemed to have been expressly created for.

McCluskey, Clarence, Lieutenant Commander: 

Clarence Wade McClusky, Jr
McClusky in 1943-1944
Nickname(s)	Wade
Born	June 1, 1902 Buffalo, New York
Died	June 27, 1976 (aged 74)
Allegiance	United States
Service/branch	United States Navy
Years of service	1926–1956
Rank	Rear Admiral
Commands held	VF-6 Enterprise Air Group USS Corregidor (CVE-58) NAS Glenview
Battles/wars	World War II Battle of Midway
Awards	Navy Cross Presidential Unit Citation

Rear Admiral Clarence Wade McClusky, Jr., (1 June 1902 – 27 June 1976) was a United States Navy aviator during World War II. He is credited with playing a major part in the Battle of Midway. In the words of Admiral Chester Nimitz, McClusky's decision to continue the search for the enemy and his judgment as to where the enemy might be found, "decided the fate of our carrier task force and our forces at Midway...".

Naval aviator and instructor[edit]

C. Wade McClusky, Jr. was born in Buffalo, New York, on 1 June 1902. He graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1926, the same class as Max Leslie, and became a Naval Aviator three years later. Over the next decade, he served in several air units, as well as on command staffs, as an instructor at the Naval Academy and at shore facilities. In 1940 he was assigned to Fighting Squadron Six (VF-6), based onUSS Enterprise, and assumed command of that squadron in April 1941.

Battle of Midway[edit]

Lieutenant Commander McClusky became Enterprise air groupcommander in April 1942. During the Battle of Midway, while leading his air group's scout bombers on 4 June 1942, he made the critical tactical decision that led to the sinking of two of Japan's fleet carriers, Kaga, and Akagi. When McClusky could not find the Japanese carriers where he expected them, and with his air group's fuel running dangerously low, he spotted the Japanese destroyer Arashi steaming north at flank speed. (The Arashi had stayed behind to attack the USS Nautilus, which had been harassing the Japanese fleet.) Taking the Arashi's heading led him directly to the enemy carriers. He then directed his dive-bombers into an attack which led to the destruction of both Kagaand Akagi. A squadron from the Yorktown, led by Max Leslie, had taken off an hour later, but it used a more recent, and hence more accurate, sighting for the location of the Japanese carriers. It arrived at the same moment as the Enterprise's bombers and attacked the Soryu, and within minutes, three of the four Japanese carriers had been turned into burning hulks. McClusky, through his intelligence, courage and sheer luck, had thus made a vital contribution to the outcome of this pivotal battle. For his actions, McClusky was awarded the Navy Cross. Later in World War II, he commanded the escort carrier USS Corregidor.

Dickinson, Clarence E., Lieutenant: 

Clarence Earle Dickinson , Jr.

Date of birth: December 1, 1912
Date of death: October 4, 1984
Place of Birth: Florida, Jacksonville
Home of record: Raleigh North Carolina

Clarence Dickinson graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis, Class of 1934. When Lieutenant Dickinson's Second Gold Star was presented in 1942, he became the first person in history to receive THREE Navy Crosses, a distinction he gained simultaneously with fellow pilot Lieutenant Noel A. M. Gayler. Clarence Dickinson retired as a U.S. Navy Rear Admiral.

AWARDS AND CITATIONS

Navy Cross

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Awarded for actions during the World War II

The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Navy Cross to Lieutenant Clarence Earle Dickinson, Jr., United States Navy, for distinguished service in the line of his profession, extraordinary courage and disregard of his own safety, while serving as Pilot of a carrier-based Navy Scouting Plane of Scouting Squadron SIX (VS-6), attached to the U.S.S. ENTERPRISE (CV-6), during the attack on the Fleet in Pearl Harbor, Territory of Hawaii, by Japanese forces on 7 December 1941. Returning to Oahu in a Scouting Plane, Lieutenant Dickinson and his gunner were engaged by a superior number of Japanese aircraft. Although the latter was killed, Lieutenant Dickinson continued to engage the enemy until his plane was forced down in flames. He escaped by parachute, landed near Ewa Airfield, and proceeded to the naval air station, Ford Island, Pearl Harbor. Here he was immediately assigned to a 175 mile aerial search operations at sea, his recent ordeal not having been reported to his superiors. Lieutenant Dickinson's outstanding courage, daring airmanship and determined skill were at all times inspiring and in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.

General Orders: Bureau of Naval Personnel Information Bulletin No. 301 (April 1942)

Action Date: December 7, 1941

Service: Navy

Rank: Lieutenant

Company: Scouting Squadron 6 (VS-6)

Division: U.S.S. Enterprise (CV-6)

Navy Cross

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Awarded for actions during the World War II

The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting a Gold Star in lieu of a Second Award of the Navy Cross to Lieutenant Clarence Earle Dickinson, Jr., United States Navy, for distinguished service in the line of his profession, extraordinary courage and disregard of his own safety, while serving as Flight Officer and a Pilot of a carrier-based Navy Scouting Plane of Scouting Squadron SIX (VS-6), attached to the U.S.S. ENTERPRISE (CV-6), in action near Pearl Harbor, Territory of Hawaii, on 10 December 1942. While searching for an enemy submarine reported nearby, Lieutenant Dickinson sighted a submarine on the surface and dove through a hail of anti-aircraft fire to attack the vessel and dropped a bomb. The submarine went down in a manner that indicated it had been damaged, or possibly destroyed. There was no evidence of a dive, such as a propeller wake, while a large bubble of oil and air came to the surface. Lieutenant Dickinson's outstanding courage, daring airmanship and devotion to duty were in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.

General Orders: Bureau of Naval Personnel Information Bulletin No. 301 (April 1942)

Action Date: December 10, 1941

Service: Navy

Rank: Lieutenant

Company: Scouting Squadron 6 (VS-6)

Division: U.S.S. Enterprise (CV-6)

Navy Cross

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Awarded for actions during the World War II

The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting a Second Gold Star in lieu of a Third Award of the Navy Cross to Lieutenant Clarence Earle Dickinson, Jr., United States Navy, for extraordinary heroism in operations against the enemy while serving as Pilot of a carrier-based Navy Scouting Plane and Executive Officer of Scouting Squadron SIX (VS-6), attached to the U.S.S. ENTERPRISE (CV-6), during the "Air Battle of Midway," against enemy Japanese forces on 4 - 6 June 1942. Participating in a devastating assault against a Japanese invasion fleet, Lieutenant Dickinson, with fortitude and resolute devotion to duty, pressed home his attacks in the face of a formidable barrage of anti-aircraft fire and fierce fighter opposition. His gallant perseverance and utter disregard for his own personal safety were important contributing factors to the success achieved by our forces and were in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.

General Orders: Bureau of Naval Personnel Information Bulletin No. 307 (October 1942)

Action Date: June 4 - 6, 1942

Service: Navy

Rank: Lieutenant

Company: Scouting Squadron 6 (VS-6)

Division: U.S.S. Enterprise (CV-6)

Air Medal

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Awarded for actions during the World War II

The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Air Medal to Lieutenant Clarence Earle Dickinson, Jr., United States Navy, for meritorious conduct in aerial flight while in action against the enemy. As flight officer of Scouting Squadron SIX (VS-6), Lieutenant Dickinson commanded the third division in the initial attack on Kwajalein Atoll, Marshall Islands, on 1 February 1942. This attack, made in the face of heavy anti-aircraft fire and fighter opposition, resulted in direct hits on ground installations and on a large enemy ship. His leadership and the forceful manner in which he executed his mission were in keeping with the best traditions of the Naval Service.

General Orders: Bureau of Naval Personnel Information Bulletin No. 301 (April 1942)

Action Date: February 1, 1942

Service: Navy

Rank: Lieutenant

Company: Scouting Squadron 6 (VS-6)

Division: U.S.S. Enterprise (CV-6)