Aircraft Carrier USS Hornet Museum - Alameda, CA
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USS Hornet Museum - Aircraft Carrier |
707 W Hornet Ave Visited November 2008: The USS Hornet (CV12) is an Essex class aircraft carrier named after the USS Hornet (CV8) that participated in the Doolittle raid in April of 1942 and was later sunk in October of 1942 by the Japanese. The USS Hornet (CV12) entered combat in the Pacific in March of 1944, and participated in the Marianas Turkey Shoot, the invasions of the Philippines, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa. The USS Hornet made numerous air strikes against Japanese installations in the Western Pacific including Japan itself, and participated in the sinking of the Japanese battleship Yamamoto. In 1955 an angled flight deck was added and the modernized ship participated in the Vietnam conflict. The USS Hornet also retrieved the Apollo 11 moon astronauts that were greeted on board by President Nixon. The USS Hornet (CV12) was retired in June of 1970, and opened as a museum in October of 1998. The museum hosts a restored SBD Dauntless dive bomber and other postwar aircraft. The original Apollo moon quarantine trailer and other space exhibits are present, along with a wonderful collection of model aircraft carriers. The ship is huge, and it is a challenge to see everything within a six hour visit. |
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