USS Yorktown ( CV - 5 ) Early career . " Yorktown " was laid down on 21 May 1934 at Newport News , Virginia , by the Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Co . ; launched on 4 April 1936 ; sponsored by Eleanor Roosevelt ; and commissioned at the Naval Operating Base ( NOB ) , Norfolk , Virginia , on 30 September 1937 , Capt . Ernest D . McWhorter in command . After fitting out , the aircraft carrier trained in Hampton Roads , Virginia and in the southern drill grounds off the Virginia capes into January 1938 , conducting carrier qualifications for her newly embarked air group . " Yorktown " sailed for the Caribbean on 8 January 1938 and arrived at Culebra , Puerto Rico , on 13 January . Over the ensuing month , the carrier conducted her shakedown , touching at Charlotte Amalie , St Thomas , U . S . Virgin Islands ; Gonaïves , Haiti ; Guantanamo Bay , Cuba , and Cristóbal , Panama Canal Zone . Departing Colon Bay , Cristobal , on 1 March , " Yorktown " sailed for Hampton Roads , arrived on 6 March , and shifted to the Norfolk Navy Yard the next day for post - shakedown availability . After undergoing repairs through the early autumn of 1938 , " Yorktown " shifted from the navy yard to NOB Norfolk on 17 October and soon headed for the Southern Drill Grounds for training . " Yorktown " operated off the eastern seaboard , ranging from Chesapeake Bay to Guantanamo Bay , into 1939 . As flagship for Carrier Division 2 , she participated in her first war game - Fleet Problem XX - along with her sister - ship in February 1939 . The scenario for the exercise called for one fleet to control the sea lanes in the Caribbean against the incursion of a foreign European power while maintaining sufficient naval strength to protect vital American interests in the Pacific . The maneuvers were witnessed , in part , by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt , embarked in the heavy cruiser . The critique of the operation revealed that carrier operations - a part of the scenarios for the annual exercises since the entry of into the war games in 1925 - had achieved a new peak of efficiency . Despite the inexperience of " Yorktown " and " Enterprise " - comparative newcomers to the Fleet - both carriers made significant contributions to the success of the problem . The planners had studied the employment of carriers and their embarked air groups in connection with convoy escort , antisubmarine defense , and various attack measures against surface ships and shore installations . In short , they worked to develop the tactics that would be used when war actually came . Pacific Fleet . Following Fleet Problem XX , " Yorktown " returned briefly to Hampton Roads before sailing for the Pacific on 20 April 1939 . Transiting the Panama Canal a week later , " Yorktown " soon commenced a regular routine of operations with the Pacific Fleet . The Second World War started on 1 September 1939 , but the USA was not yet involved . Operating out of San Diego , California into 1940 , the carrier participated in Fleet Problem XXI that April . " Yorktown " was one of six ships to receive the new RCA CXAM RADAR in 1940 . Fleet Problem XXI - a two - part exercise - included some of the operations that would characterize future warfare in the Pacific . The first part of the exercise was devoted to training in making plans and estimates ; in screening and scouting ; in coordination of combatant units ; and in employing fleet and standard dispositions . The second phase included training in convoy protection , the seizure of advanced bases , and , ultimately , the decisive engagement between the opposing fleets . The last pre - war exercise of its type , Fleet Problem XXI contained two exercises ( comparatively minor at the time ) where air operations played a major role . Fleet Joint Air Exercise 114A prophetically pointed out the need to coordinate Army and Navy defense plans for the Hawaiian Islands , and Fleet Exercise 114 proved that aircraft could be used for high altitude tracking of surface forces - a significant role for planes that would be fully realized in the war to come . With the retention of the Fleet in Hawaiian waters after the conclusion of Fleet Problem XXI , " Yorktown " operated in the Pacific off the west coast of the United States and in Hawaiian waters until the following spring , when the success of German U - boat s preying upon British shipping in the Atlantic required a shift of American naval strength . Thus , to reinforce the U . S . Atlantic Fleet , the Navy transferred a substantial force from the Pacific including " Yorktown " , Battleship Division Three ( the s ) , three light cruisers , and 12 accompanying destroyers . Neutrality patrol . " Yorktown " departed Pearl Harbor on 20 April 1941 in company with destroyers , , and ; headed southeast , transited the Panama Canal on the night of 6 – 7 May , and arrived at Bermuda on 12 May . From that time until the United States entered the war , " Yorktown " conducted four patrols in the Atlantic , ranging from Newfoundland to Bermuda and logging steamed while enforcing American neutrality . Although Adolf Hitler had forbidden his submarine s to attack American ships , the men who manned the American naval vessels were not aware of this policy and operated on a wartime footing in the Atlantic . On 28 October , while " Yorktown " , battleship , and other American warships were screening a convoy , a destroyer picked up a submarine contact and dropped depth charges while the convoy itself made an emergency starboard turn , the first of the convoy ' s three emergency changes of course . Late that afternoon , engine repairs to one of the ships in the convoy , " Empire Pintail " , reduced the convoy ' s speed to . During the night , the American ships intercepted strong German radio signals , indicating submarines probably in the vicinity reporting the group . Rear Admiral H . Kent Hewitt , commanding the escort force , sent a destroyer to sweep astern of the convoy to destroy the U - boat or at least to drive him under . The next day , while cruiser scout planes patrolled overhead , " Yorktown " and fueled their escorting destroyers , finishing the task as dusk fell . On 30 October , " Yorktown " was preparing to fuel three destroyers when other escorts made sound contacts . The convoy subsequently made 10 emergency turns while and dropped depth charges , and assisted in developing the contact . Anderson later made two more depth charge attacks , noticing " considerable oil with slick spreading but no wreckage . " The short - of - war period was becoming more like the real thing as each day went on . Elsewhere on 30 October , more than a month before Japanese planes attacked Pearl Harbor , " U - 552 " torpedoed the destroyer , sinking her with a heavy loss of life , the first loss of an American warship in World War II . After another Neutrality Patrol stint in November , " Yorktown " put into Norfolk on 2 December and was there five days later during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941 which triggered full US entry into the Second World War . World War II . The early news from the Pacific was bleak : the Pacific Fleet had taken a beating . With the battle line crippled , the undamaged American carriers assumed great importance . There were , on 7 December , only three in the Pacific : , , and . , , and the recently commissioned remained in the Atlantic , " Yorktown " departed Norfolk on 16 December 1941 for the Pacific , her secondary gun galleries studded with new Oerlikon 20 mm guns . She reached San Diego 30 December 1941 and soon became flagship for Rear Admiral Frank Jack Fletcher ' s newly formed Task Force 17 . The carrier ' s first mission in her new theater was to escort a convoy carrying Marine reinforcements to American Samoa . Departing San Diego on 6 January 1942 , " Yorktown " and her consorts covered the movement of marines to Pago Pago in Tutuila to augment the garrison already there . Having safely covered that troop movement , " Yorktown " , in company with sister ship " Enterprise " , departed Samoan waters on 25 January . Six days later , Task Force 8 ( built around " Enterprise " ) , and TF 17 ( around " Yorktown " ) parted company . The former headed for the Marshall Islands , the latter for the Gilberts , each to take part in some of the first American offensives of the war , the Marshalls - Gilberts raids . " Yorktown " was being screened by and and four destroyers , seemingly provided by Destroyer Squadron 2 . At 05 : 17 , " Yorktown " launched 11 Douglas TBD - 1 Devastators and 17 Douglas SBD - 3 Dauntlesses , under the command of Comdr . Curtis W . Smiley . Those planes hit what Japanese shore installations and shipping they could find at Jaluit , but severe thunderstorms hampered the mission , and seven planes were lost . Other " Yorktown " planes attacked Japanese installations and ships at Makin and Mili Atolls . The attack on the Gilberts by Task Force 17 had apparently been a complete surprise since the American force encountered no enemy surface ships . A single four - engined Kawanishi H6K " Mavis " patrol flying boat attempted to attack American destroyers sent astern in hope of recovering the crews of planes overdue from the Jaluit mission . Antiaircraft fire from the destroyers drove off the intruder before he could cause any damage . Later , another " Mavis " — or possibly the same one — came out of low clouds distant from " Yorktown " . The carrier withheld her antiaircraft fire in order not to interfere with the combat air patrol ( CAP ) fighters . Presently , the " Mavis " , pursued by two F4F Wildcat s , disappeared behind a cloud . Within five minutes , the enemy patrol plane fell out of the clouds and crashed in the water . Although TF17 was slated to make a second attack on Jaluit , it was canceled because of heavy rainstorms and the approach of darkness . Therefore , the " Yorktown " force retired from the area . Admiral Chester Nimitz later called the Marshalls - Gilberts raids " well conceived , well planned , and brilliantly executed . " The results obtained by TFs 8 and 17 were noteworthy , Nimitz continued in his subsequent report , because the task forces had been obliged to make their attacks somewhat blindly , due to lack of hard intelligence data on the Japanese - mandated islands . " Yorktown " subsequently put in at Pearl Harbor for replenishment before she put to sea on 14 February , bound for the Coral Sea . On 6 March , she rendezvoused with TF11 - formed around " Lexington " and under the command of Vice Admiral Wilson Brown - and headed towards Rabaul and Gasmata to attack Japanese shipping there in an effort to check the Japanese advance and to cover the landing of Allied troops at Nouméa , New Caledonia . However , as the two carriers - screened by a powerful force of eight heavy cruisers ( including the Australian warships and ) and 14 destroyers - steamed toward New Guinea , the Japanese continued their advance toward Australia with a landing on 7 March at the Huon Gulf , in the Salamaua - Lae area on the eastern end of New Guinea . Word of the Japanese operation prompted Admiral Brown to change the objective of TF11 ' s strike from Rabaul to the Salamaua - Lae sector . On the morning of 10 March 1942 , American carriers launched aircraft from the Gulf of Papua . " Lexington " flew off her air group commencing at 07 : 49 and , 21 minutes later , " Yorktown " followed suit . While the choice of the gulf as the launch point for the strike meant the planes would have to fly some across the Owen Stanley mountains - a range not known for the best flying conditions - that approach provided security for the task force and ensured surprise . In the attacks that followed , " Lexington ' s " SBDs from Scouting Squadron 2 ( VS - 2 ) commenced dive - bombing Japanese ships at Lae at 0922 . The carrier ' s torpedo and bomber squadrons ( VT - 2 and VB - 2 ) attacked shipping at Salamaua at 09 : 38 . Her fighters ( VF - 2 ) split up into four - plane attack groups : one strafed Lae and the other , Salamaua . " Yorktown ' s " planes followed on the heels of those from " Lady Lex . " VB - 5 and VT - 5 attacked Japanese ships in the Salamaua area at 0950 , while VS - 5 went after auxiliaries moored close in shore at Lae . The fighters of VF - 42 flew CAP over Salamaua until they determined there was no air opposition , then strafed surface objectives and small boats in the harbor . After carrying out their missions , the American planes returned to their carriers , and 103 planes of the 104 launched were back safely on board by noon . One SBD - 2 had been downed by Japanese antiaircraft fire . The raid on Salamaua and Lae was the first attack by many pilots of both carriers ; and , while the resultant torpedo and bombing accuracy was inferior to that achieved in later actions , the operation gave the fliers invaluable experience which enabled them to do so well in the Battle of the Coral Sea and the Battle of Midway . Task Force 11 retired at on a southeasterly course until dark , when the ships steered eastward at and made rendezvous with Task Group 11 . 7 ( TG11 . 7 ) , three heavy cruiser s ( USS " Chicago " , HMAS " Australia " , and HMAS " Canberra " ) and four destroyers under the Australian Rear Admiral John Crace , which provided cover for the carriers on their approach to New Guinea . " Yorktown " resumed her patrols in the Coral Sea area , remaining at sea into April , out of reach of Japanese land - based aircraft and ready to carry out offensive operations whenever the opportunity presented itself . After the Lae - Salamaua raid , the situation in the South Pacific seemed temporarily stabilized , and " Yorktown " and her consorts in TF17 put into the undeveloped harbor at Tongatabu , in the Tonga Islands , for needed upkeep , having been at sea continuously since departing from Pearl Harbor on 14 February . However , the enemy was soon on the move . To Admiral Nimitz , there seemed to be " excellent indications that the Japanese intended to make a seaborne attack on Port Moresby the first week in May . " " Yorktown " accordingly departed Tongatapu on 27 April 1942 , bound once more for the Coral Sea . TF11 - now commanded by Rear Admiral Aubrey W . Fitch , who had relieved Brown in " Lexington " - departed Pearl Harbor to join Fletcher ' s TF 17 and arrived in the vicinity of " Yorktown ' s " group , southwest of the New Hebrides Islands , on 1 May . Battle of the Coral Sea . At 15 : 17 the next afternoon , two Dauntlesses from VS - 5 sighted a Japanese submarine , running on the surface . Three Devastators took off from " Yorktown " , sped to the scene , and carried out an attack that only succeeded in driving the submarine under . On the morning of 3 May , TF11 and TF17 were some apart , engaged in fueling operations . Shortly before midnight , Fletcher received word from Australian - based aircraft that Japanese transports were disembarking troops and equipment at Tulagi in the Solomon Islands . Arriving soon after the Australians had evacuated the place , the Japanese landed to commence construction of a seaplane base there to support their southward thrust . " Yorktown " accordingly set course northward at . By daybreak on 4 May , she was within striking distance of the newly established Japanese beachhead and launched her first strike at 0701 - 18 F4F - 3 ' s of VF - 42 , 12 TBD ' s of VT - 5 , and 28 SBD ' s from VS and BY - 5 . " Yorktown ' s " air group made three consecutive attacks on enemy ships and shore installations at Tulagi and Gavutu on the south coast of Florida Island in the Solomons . Expending 22 torpedoes and 76 1 , 000 pound bombs in the three attacks , " Yorktown ' s " planes sank the destroyer " Kikuzuki " , three minecraft and four barges . In addition , Air Group 5 destroyed five enemy seaplanes , all at the cost of two F4F ' s lost ( the pilots were recovered ) and one TBD ( whose crew was lost ) . Meanwhile , that same day , TF 44 , a cruiser - destroyer force under Rear Admiral Crace ( RN ) , joined " Lexington ' s " TF11 , thus completing the composition of the Allied force on the eve of the crucial Battle of the Coral Sea . Elsewhere , to the northward , eleven troop - laden transports - escorted by destroyers and covered by the light carrier " Shōhō " , four heavy cruisers , and a destroyer - steamed toward Port Moresby . In addition , another Japanese task force - formed around the two Pearl Harbor veterans , carriers " Shōkaku " and " Zuikaku " , and screened by two heavy cruisers and six destroyers - provided additional air cover . On the morning of 6 May , Fletcher gathered all Allied forces under his tactical command as TF17 . At daybreak on the 7th , he dispatched Crace , with the cruisers and destroyers under his command , toward the Louisiade archipelago to intercept any enemy attempt to move toward Port Moresby . While Fletcher moved north with his two flattops and their screens in search of the enemy , Japanese search planes located the oiler and her escort , and misidentified the former as a carrier . Two waves of Japanese planes — first high level bombers and then dive bombers — attacked the two ships . " Sims " , her antiaircraft battery crippled by gun failures , took three direct hits and sank quickly with a heavy loss of life . " Neosho " was more fortunate in that , even after seven direct hits and eight near - misses , she remained afloat until , on the 11th , her survivors were picked up by and her hulk sunk by the rescuing destroyer . " Neosho " and " Sims " had performed a valuable service , drawing off the planes that might otherwise have hit Fletcher ' s carriers . Meanwhile , " Yorktown " and " Lexington ' s " planes found " Shōhō " and sank her . One of " Lexington ' s " pilots reported this victory with the radio message , " Scratch one flattop " . That afternoon , " Shōkaku " and " Zuikaku " - still not located by Fletcher ' s forces - launched 27 bombers and torpedo planes to search for the American ships . Their flight proved uneventful until they ran into fighters from " Yorktown " and " Lexington " , who proceeded to down nine enemy planes in the ensuing dogfight . Near twilight , three Japanese planes incredibly mistook " Yorktown " for their own carrier and attempted to land . The ship ' s gunfire , though , drove them off ; and the enemy planes crossed " Yorktown " ' s bow and turned away out of range . Twenty minutes later , when three more enemy pilots made the mistake of trying to get into " Yorktown ' s " landing circle , the carrier ' s gunners splashed one of the trio . However , the battle was far from over . The next morning , 8 May , a " Lexington " search plane spotted Admiral Takeo Takagi ' s carrier striking force - including " Zuikaku " and " Shōkaku " . " Yorktown " planes scored two bomb hits on " Shōkaku " , damaging her flight deck and preventing her from launching aircraft ; in addition , the bombs set off explosions in gasoline storage tanks and destroyed an engine repair workshop . " Lexington " ' s Dauntlesses added another hit . Between the two American air groups , the hits killed 108 Japanese sailors and wounded 40 more . While the American planes were occupying the Japanese flattops , however , " Yorktown " and " Lexington " - alerted by an intercepted message which indicated that the Japanese knew of their whereabouts - were preparing to fight off a retaliatory strike , which came shortly after 11 : 00 . American CAP Wildcats downed 17 planes , though some managed to slip through the defenses . " Kates " launched torpedoes from both sides of " Lexington ' s " bows . Two " fish " tore into " Lady Lex " on the port side ; " Val " dive bomber s added to the destruction with three bomb hits . " Lexington " developed a list , with three partially flooded engineering spaces . Several fires raged below decks , and the carrier ' s elevators were put out of commission . Meanwhile " Yorktown " was having problems of her own . Maneuvered by Captain Elliott Buckmaster , her commanding officer , the carrier dodged eight torpedoes . Attacked then by " Vals " , the ship managed to evade all but one bomb . That one , however , penetrated the flight deck and exploded below decks , killing or seriously injuring 66 men . " Lexington ' s " damage control parties brought the fires under control , and the ship was still able to continue flight operations despite the damage . The air battle itself ended shortly before noon on the 8th ; within an hour , the carrier was on an even keel , although slightly down by the bow . However , an explosion caused by the ignition of gasoline vapors later caused a fire and tore apart the inside . " Lexington " was abandoned at 17 : 07 , and later sunk by USS Phelps . The Japanese had won a tactical victory , inflicting comparatively heavier losses on the Allied force , but the Allies , in stemming the tide of Japan ' s conquests in the South and Southwest Pacific , had achieved a strategic victory . " Yorktown " had not achieved her part in the victory without cost , and had suffered enough damage to cause experts to estimate that at least three months in a yard would be required to put her back in fighting trim . However , there was little time for repairs , because Allied intelligence - most notably the cryptographic unit at Pearl Harbor - had gained enough information from decoded Japanese naval messages to estimate that the Japanese were on the threshold of a major operation aimed at the northwestern tip of the Hawaiian chain - two islets in a low coral atoll known as Midway . Battle of Midway . Armed with this intelligence Admiral Nimitz began methodically planning Midway ' s defense , rushing all possible reinforcement in the way of men , planes and guns to Midway . In addition , he began gathering his comparatively meager naval forces to meet the enemy at sea . As part of those preparations , he recalled TF16 , " Enterprise " and " Hornet " ( CV - 8 ) , to Pearl Harbor for a quick replenishment . " Yorktown " , too , received orders to return to Hawaii ; and she arrived at Pearl Harbor on 27 May , entering dry dock the following day . The damage the ship had sustained after Coral Sea was considerable , and led to the Navy Yard inspectors estimating that she would need at least two weeks of repairs . However , Admiral Nimitz ordered that she be made ready to sail alongside TF16 . Yard workers there , laboring around the clock , made enough repairs to enable the ship to put to sea again in 48 hours . The repairs were made in such a short time that the Japanese Naval Commanders thought they had mistaken " Yorktown " for another vessel as they thought she had been sunk after the previous battle , yet she had returned . Her air group was augmented by planes and crews from which was then headed for Hawaiian waters after her modernization on the West Coast . " Yorktown " sailed as the core of TF17 on 30 May . Northeast of Midway , " Yorktown " , flying Rear Admiral Fletcher ' s flag , rendezvoused with TF16 under Rear Admiral Raymond A . Spruance and maintained a position to the northward of him . Patrols , both from Midway and the carriers , were flown during early June . At dawn on 4 June " Yorktown " launched a 10 - plane group of Dauntlesses from VB - 5 which searched a northern semicircle for a distance of out but found nothing . Meanwhile , PBY s flying from Midway had sighted the approaching Japanese and broadcast the alarm for the American forces defending the key atoll . Admiral Fletcher , in tactical command , ordered Admiral Spruance ' s TF16 to locate and strike the enemy carrier force . " Yorktown ' s " search group returned at 0830 , landing soon after the last of the six - plane CAP had left the deck . When the last of the Dauntlesses were recovered , the deck was hastily respotted for the launch of the ship ' s attack group : 17 Dauntlesses from VB - 3 , 12 Devastators from VT - 3 , and six Wildcats from " Fighting Three . " " Enterprise " and " Hornet " , meanwhile , launched their attack groups . The torpedo planes from the three American carriers located the Japanese striking force , but met disaster . Of the 41 planes from VT - 8 , VT - 6 , and VT - 3 , only six returned to " Enterprise " and " Yorktown " ; none made it back to " Hornet " . As a reaction to the torpedo attack the Japanese CAP had broken off their high - altitude cover for their carriers and had concentrated on the Devastators , flying " on the deck " , allowing Dauntlesses from " Yorktown " and " Enterprise " to arrive unopposed . Virtually unopposed , " Yorktown ' s " dive - bombers attacked , making three lethal hits with 1 , 000 pound bombs and setting her on fire . " Enterprise ' s " planes , meanwhile , hit and , effectively destroying them . The bombs from the Dauntlesses caught all of the Japanese carriers in the midst of refueling and rearming operations , causing devastating fires and explosions . Three of the four Japanese carriers had been destroyed . The fourth , , separated from her sisters , launched a striking force of 18 " Vals " and soon located " Yorktown " . As soon as the attackers had been picked up on " Yorktown " ' s radar at about 1329 , she discontinued fueling her CAP fighters on deck and swiftly cleared for action . Her returning dive bombers were moved from the landing circle to open the area for antiaircraft fire . The Dauntlesses were ordered aloft to form a CAP . An auxiliary 800 gallon gasoline tank was pushed over the carrier ' s fantail , eliminating one fire hazard . The crew drained fuel lines and closed and secured all compartments . All of " Yorktown " ' s fighters were vectored out to intercept the oncoming Japanese aircraft , and did so some 15 to out . The Wildcats attacked vigorously , breaking up what appeared to be an organized attack by some 18 " Vals " and 6 " Zeroes . " " Planes were flying in every direction " , wrote Captain Buckmaster after the action , " and many were falling in flames . " The leader of the " Vals " , Lieutenant Michio Kobayashi , was probably shot down by the VF - 3 ' s commanding officer , Lieutenant Commander John S . Thach . Lieutenant William W . Barnes also pressed home the first attack , possibly taking out the lead bomber and damaging at least two others . Despite an intensive barrage and evasive maneuvering , three " Vals " scored hits . Two of them were shot down soon after releasing their bomb loads ; the third went out of control just as his bomb left the rack . It tumbled in flight and hit just abaft number two elevator on the starboard side , exploding on contact and blasting a hole about square in the flight deck . Splinters from the exploding bomb killed most of the crews of the two gun mounts aft of the island and on the flight deck below . Fragments piercing the flight deck hit three planes on the hangar deck , starting fires . One of the aircraft , a " Yorktown " Dauntless , was fully fueled and carrying a 1 , 000 pound bomb . Prompt action by Lt . A . C . Emerson , the hangar deck officer , prevented a serious fire by activating the sprinkler system and quickly extinguishing the fire . The second bomb to hit the ship came from the port side , pierced the flight deck , and exploded in the lower part of the funnel . It ruptured the uptakes for three boilers , disabled two boilers , and extinguished the fires in five boilers . Smoke and gases began filling the firerooms of six boilers . The men at number one boiler remained at their post and kept it alight , maintaining 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 , starting a persistent fire in the rag storage space , adjacent to the forward gasoline stowage and the magazines . The prior precaution of smothering the gasoline system with carbon dioxide undoubtedly prevented the gasoline from igniting . While the ship recovered from the damage inflicted by the dive - bombing attack , her speed dropped to six knots ; and then at 14 : 40 , about 20 minutes after the bomb hit that had shut down most of the boilers , " Yorktown " slowed to a stop , dead in the water . At about 15 : 40 , " Yorktown " prepared to get steaming again ; and , at 15 : 50 , the engine room force reported that they were ready to make or better . Simultaneously , with the fires controlled sufficiently to warrant the resumption of fueling , " Yorktown " began refueling the fighters then on deck ; just then the ship ' s radar picked up an incoming air group at a distance of . While the ship prepared for battle , again smothering gasoline systems and stopping the fueling of the planes on her flight deck , she vectored four of the six fighters of the CAP in the air to intercept the raiders . Of the 10 fighters on board , eight had as little as 23 gallons of fuel in their tanks . They were launched as the remaining pair of fighters of the CAP headed out to intercept the Japanese planes . At 16 : 00 , maneuvering " Yorktown " churned forward , making . The fighters she had launched and vectored out to intercept had meanwhile made contact with the enemy . " Yorktown " received reports that the planes were " Kates . " The Wildcats shot down at least three , but the rest began their approach while the carrier and her escorts mounted a heavy antiaircraft barrage . " Yorktown " maneuvered radically , avoiding at least two torpedoes before another two struck the port side within minutes of each other , the first at 16 : 20 . The carrier had been mortally wounded ; she lost power and went dead in the water with a jammed rudder and an increasing list to port . As the ship ' s list progressed Commander C . E . Aldrich , the damage control officer , reported from central station that , without power , controlling the flooding looked impossible . The engineering officer , LCDR . J . F . Delaney , soon reported that all boiler fires were out , that all power was lost and that it was impossible to correct the list . Buckmaster ordered Aldrich , Delaney , and their men to secure and lay up on deck to put on life jackets . The list , meanwhile , continued to increase . When it reached 26 degrees , Buckmaster and Aldrich agreed that capsizing was imminent . " In order to save as many of the ship ' s company as possible " , the captain wrote later , he " ordered the ship to be abandoned . " Over the next few minutes the crew lowered the wounded into life rafts and struck out for the nearby destroyers and cruisers to be picked up by their boats , abandoning ship in good order . After the evacuation of all wounded , the executive officer , Commander I . D . Wiltsie , left the ship down a line on the starboard side . Buckmaster , meanwhile , toured the ship one last time , to see if any men remained . After finding no " live personnel " , Buckmaster lowered himself into the water by means of a line over the stern , by which time water was lapping the port side of the hangar deck . Salvage and sinking . After being picked up by the destroyer , Buckmaster transferred to and reported to Rear Admiral Fletcher , who had shifted his flag to the heavy cruiser after the first dive - bombing attack . The two men agreed that a salvage party should attempt to save the ship , since she had stubbornly remained afloat despite the heavy list and imminent danger of capsizing . While efforts to save " Yorktown " had been proceeding apace , her planes were still in action , joining those from in striking the last Japanese carrier - " Hiryū " - late that afternoon . Taking four direct hits , the Japanese carrier was soon helpless . She was abandoned by her crew and left to drift out of control . " Yorktown " , as it turned out , floated throughout the night . Two men were still alive on board her ; one attracted attention by firing a machine gun , heard by the sole attending destroyer , " Hughes " . The escort picked up the men , one of whom later died . Meanwhile , 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 listing carrier , the fire in the rag storage still smouldering on the morning of the 6th . , summoned from Pearl and Hermes Reef , soon commenced towing the ship , although progress was painfully slow . " Yorktown " ' s repair party went on board with a carefully predetermined plan of action to be carried out by men from each department - damage control , gunnery air engineering , navigation , communication , supply and medical . To assist in the work , Lt . Cdr . Arnold E . True brought his ship , , alongside to starboard , aft , furnishing pumps and electric power . By mid - afternoon , it looked as if the gamble to save the ship was paying off . The process of reducing topside weight was proceeding well - one gun had been dropped over the side , and a second was ready to be cast loose ; planes had been pushed over the side ; the submersible pumps ( powered by electricity provided by " Hammann " ) had pumped a lot of water out of the engineering spaces . The efforts of the salvage crew had reduced the list about two degrees . Unknown to " Yorktown " and the six nearby destroyers , had achieved a favorable firing position . Remarkably - but perhaps understandably due to the debris and wreckage in the water in the vicinity - none of the destroyers picked up the approaching I - boat . At 15 : 36 lookouts spotted a salvo of four torpedoes approaching the ship from the starboard beam . " Hammann " went to general quarters , a 20 millimeter gun going into action in an attempt to explode the torpedoes in the water , her screws churning the water beneath her fantail as she tried to get underway . One torpedo hit " Hammann " directly amidships and broke her back . The destroyer jackknifed and went down rapidly . Two torpedoes struck " Yorktown " just below the turn of the bilge at the after end of the island structure . The fourth torpedo passed just astern of the carrier . About a minute after " Hammann " sank there was an underwater explosion , possibly caused by the destroyer ' s depth charges going off . The blast killed many of " Hammann ' s " and a few of " Yorktown ' s " men who had been thrown into the water . The concussion battered the already - damaged carrier ' s hull and caused tremendous shocks that carried away " Yorktown ' s " auxiliary generator , sent numerous fixtures from the hangar deck overhead crashing to the deck below , sheared rivets in the starboard leg of the foremast , and threw men in every direction , causing broken bones and several minor injuries . All destroyers immediately commenced searches for the enemy submarine ( which escaped ) and commenced rescuing men from " Hammann " and " Yorktown " . Captain Buckmaster decided to postpone further attempts at salvage until the following day . " Vireo " cut the tow and doubled back to " Yorktown " to pick up survivors , taking on board many men of the salvage crew while picking up men from the water . The little ship endured a terrific pounding from the larger ship but nevertheless stayed alongside to carry out her rescue mission . Later , while on board the tug , Buckmaster conducted a burial service , and two officers and an enlisted man from " Hammann " were buried at sea . The second attempt at salvage was never made . Throughout the night of the 6th and into the morning of the 7th , " Yorktown " remained stubbornly afloat . By 05 : 30 on 7 June , however , the men in the ships nearby noted that the carrier ' s list was rapidly increasing to port . At 07 : 01 , the ship turned over onto her port side , rolled upside - down , and sank , stern first , in 3 , 000 fathoms ( 5 , 500 m ) of water . Honors and rediscovery . " Yorktown " ( CV - 5 ) earned three battle star s for her World War II service , two of them for the significant part she had played in stopping Japanese expansion and turning the tide of the war at Coral Sea and at Midway . On 19 May 1998 , the wreck of " Yorktown " was found and photographed by renowned oceanographer Dr . Robert D . Ballard , discoverer of the wrecks of the and the . The remains of the " Yorktown " , beneath the surface , were surprisingly intact after having been on the sea bottom since 1942 ; much paint and equipment were still visible . As of 2013 , no subsequent expeditions to the " Yorktown ' s " wreck have been made . In culture . In the 2001 science fiction novel by Connie Willis entitled " Passage " , one character , a loquacious elderly man named Ed Wojakowski , claims to be a World War II veteran in the United States Navy who served on the " Yorktown " . While unreliable ( something of a psychopathical liar ) , Wojakowski is charming and full of truthful anecdotes , whether they happened to himself or otherwise . Willis has written extensively about war , particularly World War II , in her novels , and through her character Ed Wojakowski she celebrates numerous acts of war - time bravery . Among the stories he tells are of John James Powers and his self - sacrifice during the Battle of the Coral Sea , of the Japanese aircraft carrier Shōhō , of Malakula , and of being attacked by Mitsubishi A6M Zero fighters . In the " Star Trek " universe , there are at least two ships named USS " Yorktown " . " Yorktown " plays a prominent role in the 2007 real - time tactics / action game , were the player gets to control her in three of the game ' s primary missions ; The Strike on Tulagi , the Battle of the Coral Sea , and the opening of the Battle of Midway .