1775- The first HORNET christened what would become one of the most distinguished names in American naval history with her performance in the Revolutionary War. The first two ships in the new Continental Navy were HORNET and WASP.

1805 - The second HORNET carried Marines to the shores of Tripoli. In a one hour gun battle she silenced the Citadel at Djerna and landed the Marines thus deciding the war with the Barbary Pirates.

1942- The seventh HORNET (CV-8) launched 16 Army B-25s to strike the Japanese home islands in one of the most daring raids in the history of warfare -- the "Doolittle Raid." She went on to fight at the Battle of Midway and was lost to an overwhelming air attack at the Battle of Santa Cruz.

USS HORNET CV-12: THE LEGACY CONTINUES

1943 - The eighth HORNET (CV-12) was commissioned just 16 months after her keel was laid.

• For 16 continuous months she was in action in the forward areas of the Pacific combat zone, sometimes within 40 miles of the Japanese home islands.
• Under air attack 59 times, she was never hit.
• Her aircraft destroyed 1410 Japanese aircraft, only ESSEX exceeded this record.
• Her air groups destroyed or damaged 1,269,710 tons of enemy shipping.
• 10 HORNET pilots attained "Ace in a Day" status.
• 30 of 42 VF-2 Hellcat pilots were aces.
• 72 enemy aircraft shot down in one day.
• 255 aircraft shot down in a month.
• Supported nearly every Pacific amphibious landing after March 1944.
• Scored the critical first hits in sinking the super battleship YAMATO.
• In 1945 launched the first strikes against Tokyo since the 1942 Doolittle Raid.

"A HERITAGE OF EXCELLENCE" is the ship's creed:

• Earned 9 battle stars for her service in WWII
• Awarded the Presidential Unit Citation for her WWII operations (only nine carriers so cited).
• Flawlessly recovered the Apollo 11 and Apollo 12 astronauts, the first men on the moon; 1969
• USS HORNET (CVS-12) is designated a National Historic Landmark; 1991
• HORNET opens to the public as an aircraft carrier museum in Alameda; 1998California.
• USS HORNET is designated a State Historic Landmark; 1999.
• The F/A-18 strike fighter carries on the name of HORNET in today's NAVY.

HORNET IS A TREASURE OF OUR NATION