That Gallant Ship USS Yorktown CV-5) / Robert Cressman

Launched in April of 1936 the USS Yorktown (CV-5) was luckily not a Pearl Harbor when the Japanese attacked on December 7, 1941. Instead she was nearly half a world away operating out of Norfolk, VA. At the time, the U.S. Navy had only three carrier units operating in the Pacific; USS Enterprise (CV-6), USS Lexington (CV-2) and USS Saratoga (CV-3).

Nicknamed the "Fighting Lady," Yorktown's first major engagement of World War II came in May of 1942 at the Battle of the Coral Sea. The carrier USS Lexington was lost in that epic battle and Yorktown too suffered major damage. Racing back to Pearl Harbor the carrier was repaired in record time, then pressed back into action to fight the Japanese at Midway. Out-numbered and out-gunned the U.S. Navy managed to win the battle and turn the Japanese fleet away. However Yorktown was bombed by enemy planes on June 4th. As her crew struggled for two long days to save the stricken vessel, the Japanese submarine I-168 found the wounded carrier on June 6th. Firing a salvo or torpedoes at Yorktown the enemy sub's fish also struck the assisting destroyer USS Hammann (DD-412) and managed to sink both ships.

Author Robert Cressman digs deep in his research to bring the entire true story of this famous carrier to print. In May of 1998 renowned oceanographer Dr. Robert D. Balland (who also discovered the wreck of the RMS Titanic) found the sunken wreckage of the USS Yorktown. That discovery information is included in this impressive book.

New large 8 1/2 by 11 inch Softbound book. 196 pages, and a whopping 242 black and white photographs. Seven maps and an index.

New Book --- $14.95

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That GALLANT SHIP

USS Yorktown (CV-5)

by Robert Cressman

New Softbound edition 8 1/2 X 11

196 pages, 242 black and white photographs, 7 maps

New $14.95

"My father, still alive, was a member of the crew on the CV-5 Yorktown when it shipped out from the east coast. He told me they changed the numbers on the ship going through the Panama Canal to "confuse" the enemy, and then repainted when it joined the Pacific group. He was in Pearl Harbor a few weeks after the attack and said there were still large oil slicks and the occasional body still floating up at that point. A horrible scene to ship into when you are only about 17. The battles at Coral Sea left the ship in bad shape and the quick turnaround to Midway did not help. This book adds to the list of good books on the subject. Rendezvous at Midway, written by a sailor on the ship with many shipmates including my father is another good one. Too bad most Americans do not know much about these ships and the crews who were so very young and so instrumental in turning the war with Japan. At 84, my dad is one of the few survivors still alive. I hope we talk to all of them before their memories and souls leave us forever." Jeffry J. Schanbacher