In the new war zone, the first task of "York City" is to escort a fleet carrying reinforcements to Samoa, USA. 1942 65438+1October 6, many warships left Santiago to send naval forces to Tutuila Island and Pago Pago on the island to strengthen the garrison troops already deployed on the island.
After the safe completion of this transportation mission, the Yorktown and the sister ship Enterprise left the waters of Samoa Islands on June 25th, 65438. Six days later, the 8th mobile unit (belonging to Enterprise) and 17 mobile unit (belonging to Yorktown) parted ways. The former went to Marshall Islands, while the latter went to gilbert islands. Both men took part in the first American offensive in the war-the Marshall Islands-gilbert islands surprise attack.
At 05: 08+07 that day, under the cover of Louisville Cruiser, St. Louis Light Cruiser and four other destroyers, 1 1 Douglas ·TBD destroyer torpedo bomber and 17 Douglas ·SBD fearless dive bomber took off from Yorktown under the command of Commander Curtis W. smillie. They attacked the Japanese shore facilities and ships found on Jaluit Atoll, but the violent thunderstorm hindered the operation and seven planes crashed. Other planes aboard the Yorktown attacked Japanese facilities and ships on Makin Atoll and Milli Atoll.
17 The attack on gilbert islands by mobile forces was a surprise for the US military, because they never met any enemy surface ships along the way. Only one big ship in 1997, the Thrushcross, tried to attack the destroyer sent to the front to search for the pilot who failed to return. But before it caused damage, it was expelled by the anti-aircraft gun fire on the destroyer.
Soon, another thrush-or maybe the same plane-rushed out of the low-altitude clouds about 15000 yards (14000 meters) away from the Yorktown. At this time, the Yorktown did not start anti-aircraft fire in order not to hinder the flight of the aircraft performing the combat patrol mission. Soon, the thrush chased by two F4F fighters disappeared into the clouds. In less than five minutes, the plane rushed out of the clouds and crashed into the sea. Although the 17 mobile unit originally planned to carry out the second attack on Jaruit Atoll, it was cancelled due to thunderstorm and nightfall. At this point, the formation withdrew from this sea area.
Admiral chester nimitz later praised Marshall-gilbert islands's raid as "wonderful from conception to planning to execution". However, in his subsequent report, he also pointed out that due to the lack of intelligence data of the Japanese-occupied islands, the attacks of the two formations were blind to some extent.
Later, the Yorktown entered Pearl Harbor for replenishment, and went to sea again on February 14 for the Coral Sea. On March 6th, it joined the 1 1 mobile unit centered on the aircraft carrier Lexington and commanded by Major General Wilson Brown, and marched in the direction of rabaul and Gasmata, with the purpose of attacking Japanese ships, blocking Japan's advance, and at the same time covering the allied landing in Noumea, New Caledonia. However, when these two aircraft carriers-supported by as many as eight heavy cruisers (including the Royal Australian Navy Australian heavy cruisers) and 14 destroyer-advanced towards New Guinea, the Japanese army continued to attack Australia and landed in Xiuen Bay in Salamawa-Laicheng area at the eastern end of New Guinea on March 7.
The news of the Japanese attack prompted Major General Brown to change the target of 1 1 mobile troops from rabaul to Salamawa-Laicheng area. On the morning of March 1942 and 10, American aircraft carriers in Papua Bay began to drop planes. Lexington began to launch its aviation formation at 7: 49; 2 1 minute later, the Yorktown was also launched on the plane. Although choosing the drop point of the plane in the Gulf will make the plane have to cross the Owen-Stanley Mountains-the flight conditions in this area are not good-and fly about 125 miles (200 kilometers), this arrangement will ensure the safety of the mobile forces and the concealment of the attack.
In the next attack, the SBD fearless dive bomber (VS-2) of the second reconnaissance squadron took off from the Lexington at 9: 22 to dive bomb the Japanese ship. At 0938 hours, squadrons of torpedo planes and bombers (VT-2 and VB-2) on the aircraft carrier launched an attack on Japanese ships in the Salamawa area. Its fighter squadron (VF-2) was divided into four attack groups, one attacking Laicheng and the other attacking Salamawa. The plane on the Yorktown followed the attack wave of "Ms. Lex". Lexington's nickname. At 9: 50, the 5th Bomber Squadron (VB-5) and the 5th Torpedo Squadron (VT-5) attacked the Salamawa area, while the 5th Reconnaissance Squadron (VS-5) destroyed the auxiliary equipment along the coast of Laicheng area. Aircraft of the 42nd Fighter Squadron (VF-42) conducted combat patrols over the Salamawa area. After confirming that there was no enemy air power in the area, they attacked the ground targets in the area and small ships in the port.
After completing the attack mission, the American plane began to return home. By noon, 103 of the 104 aircraft was safely recovered, and the other SBD fearless dive bomber was shot down by Japanese anti-aircraft fire. This attack on the Saramawa-Laicheng area was the first attack mission carried out by pilots on two aircraft carriers. Although the torpedo and bomb hit accuracy of this attack still needs to be improved compared with the follow-up actions, at that time, this attack still provided inestimable and valuable experience for pilots, which will enable them to play a better role in the Coral Sea Campaign and the Midway Island Campaign.
After the attack, 1 1 the mobile unit took 20 knots (23 mph; 37 km/h) from the southeast of the theater, until nightfall, and then turn to the east, with 15 knots (17 mph; 28 km/h), and finally joined the 1 1.7 mobile unit, which included four heavy cruisers and four destroyers, under the command of Australian Major General John Crace, who provided cover for the aircraft carrier formation on its way to New Guinea.
After that, the "York City" continued to patrol the Coral Sea far from the attack range of Japanese land-based aircraft, preparing to attack the enemy once a fighter plane appeared; This situation continued until April. After the raid of Salamawa-Laicheng, the situation in the South Pacific was temporarily stable, so 17' s "York City" and other warships entered the unfinished port on East Gatap Island in tonga islands for the first maintenance since 14 left Pearl Harbor in February.
However, it didn't take long for the Japanese army to move again. For Admiral Nimitz, this is "an excellent sign that the Japanese army intends to attack the port moresby transportation line in the first 1 week of May". So the Yorktown left East Gatap Island on April 27th 1942 and sailed into the Coral Sea again. 1 1 mobile unit-now Rear Admiral Aubrey W. Fischer took over Brown's command on the Lexington-also left Pearl Harbor and joined the 17 mobile unit, and arrived in the southwest of New Hebrides on May1day, near the battle group of Yorktown. The next afternoon 15 and afternoon 17, two SBD intrepid dive bombers of the second reconnaissance squadron found a floating Japanese submarine. Three torpedo bombers of destroyer TBD immediately took off from Yorktown and rushed to the scene, and attacked the submarine after diving.
On the morning of May 3rd, the distance between 1 1 mobile unit and 17 mobile unit was 100 miles (160km), and they were all refueling. Shortly before midnight, Fletcher received a message from an Australian plane that Japanese transport ships were transporting troops and equipment to Tulaji Island in Solomon Islands. Not long ago, Australians just evacuated from the area. As soon as the Japanese landed, they began to build seaplane bases to support their offensive in the south.
To this end, the "York City" is 27 knots (3 1 mile/hour; 50 km/h). At dawn on May 4, the beachhead position just built by the Japanese army entered the attack range of the "York City". 7: 1, 18 fighter of 42nd fighter squadron, 12 TBD destroyer torpedo bomber of 5th torpedo squadron, 28 SBD fearless dive bombers of 5th reconnaissance squadron and BY-5 took off from Yorktown. The Yorktown's aviation formation carried out three uninterrupted attacks on enemy ships and coastal facilities in Watto, Tulaji Island and the south coast of Florida Island in Solomon Islands. * * * It took 22 torpedoes and 7,665,438+0,000 pounds of bombs to sink the Japanese destroyer Juyue, 4 ore carriers and 4 barges. In addition, the 5th Air Corps destroyed five Japanese seaplanes, and lost two F4F fighters (the pilots were rescued) and 1 TBD destroyer torpedo bombers (the crew was missing).
At the same time, the 44th mobile unit, a cruiser-destroyer task force, under the command of Rear Admiral Crixus, joined the 1 1 mobile unit in Lexington. At this time, the allies gathered on the eve of the decisive Coral Sea Battle.
At this time, in the north, the 1 1 troop carrier full of soldiers was escorted by a destroyer, and was covered by the light aircraft carrier Xiangfeng, four heavy cruisers and a destroyer, heading for port moresby. In addition, there is a mobile unit with two heavy cruisers and six destroyers, which provides additional air cover around the two aircraft carriers involved in the attack on Pearl Harbor-Xianghe and Ruihe.
On the morning of May 6, Fletcher concentrated all the allies under his tactical command and formed the 17 mobile unit. At dawn on the 7th, he urgently dispatched Crixus to lead destroyers and cruisers to the Louisiana Islands in order to intercept any enemy who tried to March into port moresby.
Fletcher, on the other hand, led two aircraft carriers and the rest of the active ships north to search for the enemy. At this time, the Japanese reconnaissance plane found the oil supply ship of Neoshaw Fleet and its frigate Sims destroyer, and mistook the former for an aircraft carrier. Two waves of Japanese planes-the first was a high-altitude bomber, and the second was a dive bomber-attacked the two ships. Sims was directly hit three times and sank quickly when the anti-aircraft gun group could not operate due to machine gun failure, and a large number of crew members were killed. The neoshaw is much luckier. It didn't sink after seven direct hits and eight dangerous hits. It was not until the survivors were sent to the destroyer 1 1 that they were sunk.
Niosho and Sims attracted Japanese planes that were supposed to attack the aircraft carrier Fletcher, while planes taking off from Yorktown and Lexington found and sank the aircraft carrier Xiangfeng. A carrier-based pilot on the Lexington described the victory in a radio communication: "We have caught this aircraft carrier!"
In the afternoon, Xianghe and Ruihe launched 27 bombers and torpedoes for further search, but Fletcher's fleet was not found. These planes were safe all the way until they met fighters taking off from Yorktown and Lexington. In the ensuing battle, nine Japanese planes were shot down.
Towards dusk, three Japanese planes mysteriously mistook the Yorktown for their own aircraft carrier and tried to land. Anti-aircraft fire from the warship drove them away, and three planes passed by the bow of the Yorktown, then turned around and fled. Two minutes later, three more Japanese planes made the same mistake and tried to enter the landing circle of the Yorktown. The gunner on the aircraft carrier shot down one of them.
However, the fighting is far from over. The next day, on the morning of May 8, a reconnaissance plane on the Lexington discovered the carrier attack fleet of Japanese Admiral Takeo Takagi, including the Xianghe and Ruihe. "York City" immediately dispatched a plane to attack, and two bombs hit the "Xianghe", destroying its flight deck and making it impossible to get on the plane again; In addition, the bomb also caused the gasoline storage tank to explode and destroyed an engine maintenance workshop. Then the SBD fearless dive bomber on the Lexington launched another wave of attacks. In these two attacks, 108 Japanese officers were killed and more than 40 people were injured.
When American planes bombed the Japanese aircraft carrier, Yorktown and Lexington intercepted a message, which indicated that the Japanese had known their approximate location, so the US military began to prepare to repel and launch retaliatory attacks. The news arrived shortly after 1 1.
American wildcat fighters in charge of combat air patrol shot down 17 Japanese planes, but some Japanese planes still successfully broke through the defense network. In 1997, the carrier-based attack aircraft (also known as "Kates") fired torpedoes on both sides of the bow of Lexington, and two of them tore the port side of Lexington; The bombers on the 99 ship dropped several more bombs. The three engine rooms of Lexington were partially flooded, and several fires raged under the deck, making the elevator of the aircraft carrier unable to work.
The Yorktown is also in trouble. Under the control of its captain Elliot buckmaster, the aircraft carrier escaped eight torpedoes; Later, under the attack of the bomber on the' 99' ship, it successfully escaped several bombs, but it was still hit by a bomb. The bomb penetrated the flight deck and exploded under the deck, causing 66 casualties.
The damage control department in Lexington finally controlled the fire and the aircraft carrier was able to continue its aircraft operation. The air battle ended early before noon on the 8 th; Within an hour, the aircraft carrier restored the stability of the hull, and only the bow of the ship dropped slightly. However, the explosion caused by the ignition of gasoline vapor in the ship triggered another fire and caused serious damage to the interior of the aircraft carrier. 17: 07, Lexington was declared abandoned and sunk by the destroyer Phelps.
The Japanese army won a tactical victory, and the allied losses were relatively more serious; For the allied forces, this campaign blocked the Japanese offensive in the South Pacific and Southwest Pacific and achieved strategic success. The Yorktown failed to escape unscathed. It was badly damaged in this battle, and experts estimate that it will stay at the dock for three months before returning to the battlefield. In fact, however, the Yorktown didn't have much time to repair it, because the allied forces had obtained enough information by deciphering the information of the Japanese navy. It is estimated that the Japanese army will soon launch a large-scale operation, targeting the northwest end of the Hawaiian island chain-two small islands located on low coral atolls-called "midway island". With this information, Nimitz began to systematically plan the defense of Midway Island. He increased the number of people, planes and guns on Midway Island as much as possible, and concentrated most of the naval forces to prepare for a decisive battle with the enemy at sea. In addition, he also recalled the 16 mobile units, including Enterprise and Hornet, to Pearl Harbor for short-term replenishment.
The Yorktown was also ordered to return to Hawaii. It arrived at Pearl Harbor on May 27th. The dock staff began to race against time to complete the necessary repair work in the shortest time so that the ship could go out to sea again. The aviation formation on the Yorktown-most of the pilots were battle-hardened but exhausted-was supplemented by aircraft and crew from the Saratoga aircraft carrier. Saratoga took a short break in Hawaii and went to the west coast of the United States for modern maintenance. After the rest, the Yorktown, as the core of the 17 mobile unit, went to sea again on May 30th.
After arriving in the northeast of Midway Island, Yorktown raised the flag of Major General Fletcher and joined the 16 mobile unit under the command of Major General Raymond A. spruance. The 17 mobile unit is located in the north of the latter, and the distance between them is 10 mile (16 km).
Reconnaissance planes and aircraft carriers taking off from midway have been searching the surrounding areas since the beginning of June. At dawn on June 4th, Yorktown dispatched a fleet of 10 SBD intrepid dive bombers from the Fifth Bomber Squadron, and searched in a semicircular area with a radius of 100 miles (160 kilometers), but found nothing.
But at the same time, a Catalina seaplane that took off from midway found the approaching Japanese army and notified the garrison on the island by radio. Major-General Fletcher ordered Major-General spruance's 16 mobile unit to find out the position of the enemy aircraft carrier and launch an attack immediately after finding it.
The reconnaissance fleet of Yorktown returned to the ship at 8: 30, and six planes on combat patrol just took off before landing. When the last intrepid was recovered, the flight deck immediately began to prepare to launch an attack fleet, including the 17 SBD intrepid dive bomber of the third bomber squadron, the 12 TBD destroyer torpedo bomber of the third torpedo squadron and six wildcat fighters of the third combat squadron. At the same time, the Enterprise and the Hornet also began to attack the fleet by airdrops.
Torpedo bombers of three aircraft carriers found the Japanese attack fleet, but they were in big trouble-only six of the 4 1 planes of the 6th, 8th and 3rd torpedo squadrons returned to Enterprise and York City, and none returned to Hornet.
Although the torpedo fleet suffered heavy losses, it still achieved its goal. Japan's aircraft in charge of combat air patrol stopped its high-altitude cover for aircraft carriers and turned its attention to attacking torpedo bombers. Suddenly, the sky above the aircraft carrier opened the door for the intrepid aircraft that had just arrived from Yorktown and Enterprise.
Without encountering any resistance, the dive bombers on the Yorktown began to attack the Japanese aircraft carrier Canglong continuously. In three deadly attacks, * * * dropped many bombs of 1000 pounds, turning the Canglong into a sea of fire. The aircraft on the Enterprise attacked the aircraft carriers Akashi and Kaga at the same time, and turned them into two floating wrecks in a short time. When the US military attacked, the Japanese aircraft carrier was refueling and changing bombs, and the chain explosion of bombs and gasoline made the disaster worse.
In addition to the three destroyed aircraft carriers, the Japanese army also has an aircraft carrier "Dragonfly", which has not yet been discovered. After being separated from its sister ship, Longfei dropped the 18 99 bomber on the ship, and soon they found the Yorktown.
13: 29, the radar on the "York City" found the attacking fleet, and the fleet immediately stopped the refueling operation of the combat patrol aircraft on the deck and began to clean the deck quickly. The intrepid plane, which was preparing to land, withdrew from the landing circle to make room for anti-aircraft fire. The intrepid was ordered to form a combat patrol formation. An 800-gallon oil storage tank on the deck was pushed to the rear of the aircraft carrier to eliminate the fire hazard. The crew put the refueling pipeline in place and locked each cabin.
A fighter on the Yorktown, Their Nest, tried to stop the Japanese fleet from attacking, and they met him at 15 to 20 miles away. Wildcat fighters launched a powerful sniper attack, breaking up the fleet consisting of about 18 99 bomber and 18 Zero aircraft. "There are planes in all directions," Captain buckmaster wrote. "Many planes crashed because of smoke." Captain Joichi Tomonaga, commander of the Type 99 carrier-based bomber group, may have shot down his plane by Major John S Tachi, commander of the Third Fighter Squadron.
Under the intensive anti-aircraft artillery fire and the ingenious evasive action of the aircraft carrier, three Type 99 carrier bombers still hit the "York City". Two of them were shot down after dropping bombs; After dropping the bomb, the third plane lost control and rolled down, hitting the No.2 elevator at the rear of the aircraft carrier near the port side, and then exploded, tearing a square hole with a side length of 3 meters. The debris splashed by the bomb explosion killed the crew who operated the 28 mm caliber machine gun at the stern and under the flight deck. Debris also pierced the flight deck and hit three planes parked on the hangar deck, causing a fire. One of the intrepid planes has been filled with oil and loaded with 1 1,000 pounds of bombs. A C Emerson, a hangar official and navy major, started the sprinkler in time to control the fire and finally put it out.
The second bomb hit the port side of the aircraft carrier, penetrated the flight deck and exploded at the bottom of the chimney, causing the flue of three boilers to rupture, two boilers to fail to work, and the fires of five boilers were extinguished. Smoke and gasoline filled the combustion chambers of six boilers. Regardless of the danger and discomfort, the staff in charge of boiler 1 still insisted on keeping the fire in the boiler alive, thus maintaining sufficient steam pressure and ensuring the normal operation of the auxiliary steam system.
The third bomb hit the starboard side of the aircraft carrier, penetrated the elevator 1, and exploded on the fourth deck, causing the clothes storage room to catch fire. It is close to the gasoline storage room and ammunition depot, but the preventive measures of isolating the gasoline system with carbon dioxide undoubtedly effectively prevent the gasoline from being ignited.
When repairing the damage caused by dive bombing, the speed of "York City" has dropped to 6 knots; 14: 40-About 20 minutes after the bomb attack caused most boilers to stop working, the Yorktown slowly stopped and stood quietly in the sea.
At about 15: 40, "York City" is ready to restart the boiler; 15: 50 engine room report can reach 20 knots or even faster. At this time, the Yorktown had not quit the battle.
At the same time, because the fire was effectively controlled, the Yorktown began to refuel the plane on the deck. At this time, the ship's radar found that a flying formation was invading 33 miles (53 kilometers) away. The aircraft carrier re-entered the combat state, the gasoline system was shut down again, and the refueling operation stopped. Four of the six combat patrol planes were sent to intercept the intruders. The 10 aircraft on the flight deck has only 23 gallons of gasoline in eight fuel tanks, and immediately takes off as a reserve for the combat patrol aircraft group that intercepts Japanese aircraft.
16, "York city" began to break the waves at a speed of 20 knots. The plane it dropped has already met the enemy plane. The "York City" received a report that the incoming plane was a 97-type attack aircraft. Wildcat fighters shot down at least three enemy planes, but the remaining enemy planes still pounced on the aircraft carrier and its frigates.
The Yorktown dodged two torpedoes, but the other two hit the left and right sides of the hull in a few minutes. The first hit time was 16: 20. The aircraft carrier suffered a fatal blow; It lost power, the rudder was stuck, so it had to stay where it was, and the hull began to lean to the left.
With the aggravation of hull inclination, C. E. aldridge, the head of the damage control department and the navy lieutenant colonel, issued a report from the inside of the hull, saying that the influx of seawater could not be controlled without power. Captain J. F. Delaney, the director of the engine room, quickly reported that although all the fires were put out, the hull lost power and the inclination of the hull could not be controlled. Buckmaster ordered aldridge, Delaney and others to ensure their own safety, put on life jackets and enter the upper deck.
The inclination of the hull continues to increase. When it reached 26 degrees, buckmaster and aldridge confirmed that the ship capsized. "In order to save as many crew members as possible," the captain later wrote, "I declare abandoning the ship."
In the next few minutes, the crew put the wounded into life rafts and sent them to nearby destroyers and cruisers. The whole abandonment process was orderly. After all the wounded were evacuated, Lieutenant Colonel I D Wilts, the executive officer of the operation, left through a rope placed on the starboard side of the aircraft carrier. Buckmaster searched the ship for the last time to see if there were any survivors missing. After finally determining "no one lives", he left the aircraft carrier through the rope lowered from the stern. At this point, the seawater has flooded to the left side of the hangar deck. Buckmaster was rescued by the destroyer Harman (DD-4 12 USS Hammann) and transferred to the heavy cruiser astoria to report to Major General Fletcher, who changed the flagship to astoria after the first dive bombing. The two agreed that the rescue department should try to save the warship, because although it has been seriously tilted and may capsize at any time, it is still stubbornly floating on the sea.
When the rescue operation of "York City" was launched rapidly, all the planes on "York City" had been transferred to "Enterprise" and participated in the attack on the last Japanese aircraft carrier "Dragonfly" that afternoon. After being directly hit four times, the Japanese aircraft carrier fell into despair and was quickly abandoned by the crew and floated alone on the sea.
The Yorktown did not sink all night. In the meantime, two survivors were found on board, and one of them caught the attention of the nearby destroyer Hughes through machine gun operation. The warship rescued two crew members, but one of them died soon after.
At the same time, buckmaster selected 29 officers and 14 1 crew to return to Yorktown in an attempt to save it. When the rescue department returned to the aircraft carrier, four destroyers formed an anti-submarine warning network. The crew found that the fire in the clothes storage room was still burning slowly until the early morning of the 6 th. The US Navy aircraft carrier Verio (AT- 144) summoned from Pearl and Hermes Atoll soon began to tow the York City, but the speed was very slow.
After boarding the ship, the rescue department on the "York City" began to act according to the previous plan. The crew of each department, including the damage management department, anti-aircraft gun engineers, pilots, correspondents, suppliers, medical staff, etc., all performed their duties. In order to assist in the rescue work, Major Arnold E. Tru docked his destroyer Harman on the starboard side of Yorktown near the stern, providing water pump equipment and power support.
By about three o'clock in the afternoon, the rescue work seemed to have achieved results. The work of reducing the upper weight of the aircraft carrier is progressing smoothly. One 127mm naval gun has been transferred to other ships, and the second one will be dismantled soon. The plane was also transferred to other ships; Submersible pumps (powered by the destroyer Harman) have pumped a lot of seawater from the engine room. Thanks to the efforts of the staff, the inclination of the aircraft carrier has been reduced by 2 degrees.
However, at this time, the "York City" and six destroyers failed to find that the Japanese submarine I- 168 had sneaked into the scene and reached a favorable shooting position. Although unusual, it may be due to the debris and wreckage in the nearby waters that no destroyer found the submarine. 15: 36, security personnel found four salvo torpedoes approaching the starboard beam of the aircraft carrier.
The destroyer Haman tried to attack the torpedo with a 20 mm gun and make it explode in the water. But one of the torpedoes hit the middle of the Haman, causing it to break from the middle and sink quickly.
Two torpedoes hit the end of the island structure at the bottom of the Yorktown. The fourth torpedo passed through the rear of the aircraft carrier.
About a minute later, the sunken Haman exploded underwater, probably caused by the automatic detonation of the deep-water bomb carried on the destroyer. The explosion killed several crew members on the Harman, and some crew members on the Yorktown were thrown into the sea. The explosion violently impacted the badly damaged hull of the aircraft carrier, causing severe vibration, which led to the separation of the auxiliary generator on the Yorktown, the rupture of many fixing devices on the deck of the hangar, the breakage of wicker nails for fixing the bottom column of the starboard front mast, and several crew members were thrown out, resulting in fractures or minor injuries.
All destroyers began to search for enemy submarines (escape) and rescue the crew of Haman and Yorktown. Captain buckmaster decided to postpone the next rescue of the Yorktown until the next day.
Lu Juan cut off the towing cable and returned to the vicinity of Yorktown, and began to search for survivors. On the one hand, search and rescue the crew who are still on the aircraft carrier, on the other hand, search and rescue the crew who fell into the water. Despite the huge impact caused by the shaking of the aircraft carrier next to it, this minesweeper still insisted on carrying out the rescue mission. Later, on the tugboat, buckmaster personally presided over a funeral. Two officers of Haman and 65,438+0 soldiers were buried in the sea.
Since then, the second rescue operation for the "York City" has never been launched. On the evening of the 6th and the early morning of the 7th, the Yorktown was still floating on the sea. By 5: 30 on June 7, the crew on the surrounding destroyers noticed that the aircraft carrier began to tilt sharply to the port side. At 7: 1, the hull capsized to the left and sank into the water at a depth of 5500 meters, and its battle flag also sank into the water.