The Wreck of USS Yorktown - A Fighter Until the Very End

[@jimmykelly4138]

My grandfather served on the Yorktown in the battle of midway as a boiler operator, he abandoned ship with 2200 men , the next morning it was still afloat, 29 officers and 140 men went back aboard trying to save the ship, including my grandpa, they got it going again and got rid of the 27 degree list, the Japanese sub came the next morning and went under the perimeter of the us ships and hit it with 4 torpedoes, it was going down and my grandfather got off a second time! God blessed him, he was awarded the silver star for bravery under enemy attack, he was a true hero and never spoke of this event, I am truly blessed to have his last name as Kelly!

[@angelf3365]

Awesome !!!!!!!!!!!!

[@Peace2U-ec6es]

I recall a documentary filmed not long after the wreck was discovered that featured a sailor who was stationed on the bridge of Yorktown. His comment was "That's the door to my ready room. My locker is just inside that door so if you ever go back there, I Ieft my wallet with $20 bucks in there."

[@AlM-tz8yx]

I remember reading that somewhere. That would be about $355 today. Not a trivial sum for a young Sailor.

[@freedomisntfree_44]

I thought he said 40$ but I said it. Incredible story 🤙

[@wdavis2700]

It was Richard Nowatzki a gunner on the uss hornet. Still awesome he got to see his ship again tho

[@PhantomP63]

Another sailor said a similar thing about his dress sword on Quincy in Ballard’s Iron Bottom Sound documentary.

[@ph89787]

It’s sad that because of their wrecks. Yorktown and Hornet are the only intact (more or less) examples of the class. Whereas Enterprise was cut up for scrap.

[@saparotrob7888]

I was about to post the same thought.

[@JohnnySmithWhite-wd4ey]

Sadly no one thought about saving her as a museum.

[@wahoo236]

CV-6 should have been preserved as a museum.

[@Ranger_Brutus]

You can thank NYC for that, when organizations and Admiral Halsey tried preserving Enterprise the only spot available was NYC, the politicians and people of NYC claimed Enterprise had no value and "would have stole public space being an eyesore", they also said the same thing about USS Coral Sea CVA-43 when organizations tried preserving that too... what saved Intrepid and a Submarine was a wealthy business man bought the pier Intrepid and the sub are placed at for both of them in particular, so NYC and its people had no say in that position. It's not just NYC either, politicians and journalists in Buffalo NY tried to derail museum ships being placed in Buffalo too, and it doesn't even end there already existing museums were nearly destroyed by politicians in Galveston Texas until the Navy got involved to tell them they're not allowed to touch the ships

[@jacobmullins3644]

​@JohnnySmithWhite-wd4ey admiral Halsey tried but the NYC politicians thought differently

[@General.Longstreet]

This has got to be one of the most fascinating channels on KZbin! Thank you for the effort you put into these videos.

[@alephalon7849]

Yorktown's wreck has held up rather admirably since Ballard found her. Hopefully, we'll get another visit to her in the future that covers the other parts of her hull that got glossed over.

[@IRNHYD]

Her wreck has held up because it’s 3 miles below the surface of the pacific. The water down there is mostly anoxic (very little to no oxygen) and is conducive to preserving what’s left of her.

[@jerardnorgren3411]

​@@IRNHYDgood job. I had to look up the depth myself. It sits in water deeper than the Titanic, which was at 12,000 feet.

[@warhog258]

My great grandfather Rear Admiral (then lt. commander) Clarence C Ray was among some of the many who volunteered to reboard Yorktown in its crippled state to go and retrieve items of value. My great grandfather knew where a lot of the valuable gathered intel and information was and retrieved it. I only found this out because I found a 1943 navy newspaper which featured him in the awards and commendations section.

[@jimmykelly4138]

Please read my posts about my grandfather, he served with your great grandfather, Jimmy kelly

[@AGallion]

Nice shipwreck video Skynea! Good to see you finally cover the wreck of USS Yorktown, especially because of how intact her wreck is, mostly because she took the least amount of damage compared to Lexington, Wasp, and Hornet. Lexington and Wasp were both torn apart by internal explosions caused by ruptured fuel lines and magazine detonations from Japanese torpedo and bomb damage, while Hornet was hit by 6 bombs, three torpedoes, and two Val Dive bombers who decided to be the first planes in the Pacific War to invent the Kamikaze.

[@Burninhellscrootoob]

15:15, wow, i got spooked, it looks like an officer with his hat and uniform coat looking out at you from the window!!! 😮😮😮😮😮

[@timorvet1]

I saw that too! very eerie, looks like full dress uniform with shirt, tie and ribbons, less cap, and a terribly bloated blackened face that appears to be looking straight ahead, with another face looking over its shoulder......eyes playing a trick on me?

[@Normandy1944]

As great as a video this is, it seemed to turn into a battle of who had the better pics. I'm glad both expeditions were able to provide wonderful shots of her.

[@danduffy7974]

Great video! Thank you for sharing!

[@rumplestilskin5776]

Amazing sights. Thanks for sharing.

[@jimmykelly4138]

Loved your comment, thanks to your great grandfather’s service. I am proud to say my grandfather also was one of the 140 men and 29 officers who went back aboard the sinking ship. He was a boiler engineer, he with the help of others got the boiler running again, it was moving at a slow speed, when the Japanese came back with a submarine at hit it with 4 torpedoes, my grandfather got off a second time, he was awarded the silver star for bravery under enemy attack, he was also awarded the Purple Heart, plus he also serving ww1, god bless him he never talked about this event, he was 47 years old during midway. I am so fascinated with anything midway or the Yorktown, do you have any pictures or books that you recommend? Thanks Jimmy kelly, grandson of Dennis kelly

[@HandyMan657]

Thanks, Skynea. Take care, keep safe.

[@tobiasGR3Y]

Can't think of a better way to describe the early Pacific War outside of Guadalcanal, and maybe an Admiral or two, than the wreck and history of Yorktown. She held up all the way to her bitter, climactic, and somewhat fitting, end.

[@robertpapalia]

If it were possible to raise one ship out of the ocean Yorktown would be my pick. Courageous , bold, resilient by the men who fought her she will always be remembered as the ship who won the battle of Midway.

[@jasonmcculley1980]

The Yorktown is in South Carolina

[@jacksons1010]

@@jasonmcculley1980 And yet in this video we see CV-5 _Yorktown_ lying on the ocean floor. How do you suppose that is possible, Mr.SmartyPants?

[@christopherreaves691]

She is a war grave...

[@arkwill14]

@@jasonmcculley1980 USS Yorktown CV-10 is located in South Carolina. She's a different ship and was actually named in honor of USS Yorktown CV-5 which was sunk, and is seen here as the subject of this clip.

[@royceiscool554]

My Cousin, Garfield Shipman was on the Yorktown at Midway. He survived the war and told us some stories about Midway and his service. His brother was there too, but on a different ship. Garfield was tasked with closing the doors to the boilers on 50 men. He could hear them screaming until the day that he died.

[@m.jeanlorsbach6464]

WOW!!!!!!!!!!

[@isaidwhatisaid8470]

Fantastic content as usual 👏

[@b3j8]

One tough carrier and crew! Took a pounding, twice, and survived! Had it not been for that Japanese sub they likely would either got her under way, or towed her to where she could be repaired.

[@dennisvandermarkt8263]

Awesome video

[@ricksadler797]

Great video thank you 😊

[@Montana_horseman]

I always enjoy your presentations and history.👍 At 7:54 you show the gun gallery and posit that it may have bullet marks from strafing. The consistency of the location of each mark shown would suggest to me those are the main shield bolts that held the rest of the now missing circular shield in place. Those bolts likely sheared off while it was sinking due to water forces. They would have been large bolts and when they sheared off it would have damaged the metal and removed all paint from each spot causing them to rust out faster, much like fire damage does. I was in the steel workers union for many years but still, it's just my opinion. I really enjoy the calm and methodical way you cover these ships.

[@gavinpadilla4019]

Those holes that looked like strafing bullet holes are actually the holes that the safety chain would hook on to . If it was strafing the holes wouldn’t have been placed in same spots on each side

[@markrix]

It would be great if they could develop an underwater completely autonomis sub that would cover every inch of the wreck inside and out and store all the images in a google street view style environment to preserve and for everyone to explore! Come on smart young people, do it!

[@michaelbyars8004]

I remember seeing this on the news when it was found

[@Toonseskat]

My uncle, George Hall, flew off the Yorktown during WWII.

[@alexanderleach3365]

May the sailors and aviators of the carriers rest in peace.

[@AKATenn]

on the picture at 10:30 there's a wing pointing up at the sky there, you can see the circle with the star on it, and the aileron... i bet when the ship fell it rolled a bunch of times and shook everything up inside the hangar like a blender.

[@jerardnorgren3411]

That would have been something to see the mighty ship's spiral down, down, down to the sea floor.

[@matthewmilam286]

If you zoom in on one of the hanger photos, you can see an aircraft wing sticking up out of the silt. You can clearly make out the star on the wing. It is on the right side of the photo.

[@jehb8945]

When Ballard found the rock he was absolutely shocked on how good of condition it was in Granted it's beat up but the amount of paint on the ship considering its age is absolutely shocking in a good way Yorktown wasn't killed by one catastrophic hit it was killed buy lots of smaller hits any one of which the carrier would have shrugged off Lego bruise but unfortunately she was stabbed multiple times and eventually bled out and ended up on the bottom of the ocean with the Japanese carriers we sank

[@Red-rl1xx]

I've got a nice model of the Yorktown!

[@godlynewbie]

it really is amazing how well preserved these ships can be even while being at the bottom for so long

[@PhantomP63]

I wasn’t expecting to see the director imploded. Water pressure is powerful

[@AdmiralYeti8042]

You can definitely tell that everything not nailed down was tossed over the side when the sailors were ordered to “lighten ship” during their efforts to save her. That hull is clean of damn near every last trace of weaponry.

[@BaCkOuTaNdJoIn]

The tanks at 9:30 are one of the aircraft gasoline stations for the flight deck

[@MrGoesBoom]

Thanks for the info

[@robertpapalia]

I wonder how Nimitz must have felt sending out a half broken ship to help beat the Japanese. He must have known there was a good chance that Yorktown along with some of her crew would not come back. Just a terrible conscience raising moment. This is why war is so terrible.

[@marekstanek112]

Making tough decisions gets easier as you run out of options.

[@scottrichardson8158]

That is war. The United States has sent out, on other occasions, men who were not likely to return. NOT suicide missions, as such, but still very risky missions.

[@robertsolomielke5134]

TY. The stack, with the balcony , still seems like a special place to me. The array of .50 cal's are gone , and bomb damage, and death happened there.

[@jfangm]

Had that sub not found her, Yorktown would have survived the battle. And if one TBD squadron hadn't gotten lost, all four Japanese carriers would have been crippled on the same day.

[@dennislewis9400]

I agree

[@RichardKroboth]

It wasn’t a TBD squadron, all three from the 3 carriers made attack runs. Out of 41 planes only 5 returned. You’re thinking about the Hornets SBD squadrons. They would get in the fight the next day helping sink the cruiser Mikuma

[@jfangm]

@user-ff2iz5qc6l It was an SBD squadron, thank you. Don't know how I botched that. In any case, I think the squadron I mentioned went completely the wrong way and was never seen again.

[@arkwill14]

I believe all 4 Japanese carriers _were_ crippled on the same day. Akagi, Kagi, and Soryu on the morning of June 4th, and Hiryū in the early evening of the same day. But I know what you mean - if the Hiryū had been located and attacked at the same time as the other 3 - she may never have been able to launch her own strike on Yorktown.

[@davidponseigo8811]

My father in law served on the USS Hornet CV-12

[@mikedicenso2778]

I'm surprised there's no photos or video published of the flight deck areas and the aircraft elevators, especially given the Ken Marshall paintings done after the Ballard 1998 expedition shows those details.

[@briancooper2112]

Civilian repair men were abord her when sunk.

[@jiri6691]

i fucking love this content bro. never change. There is nobody doing this. you could do some commercial ships too

[@Jarlerus]

10:30, above the red arrow, at the back of the hangar, a wing can be seen. The star with the red dot can be seen on it.

[@eskee1]

I cant see it

[@Jarlerus]

@@eskee1 It's there. Maybe you're on a phone or something, then it might be difficult to see because it'd be quite small.

[@bruceb4349]

@eskee1 It's in the top center of the dark hanger door area. Well above the red arrow.

[@bruceb4349]

Good eye.

[@leroysgamesandmore2226]

The one part of the wreck you called a mast is actually her large crane that the yorktowns were known to have

[@jimsweeney7339]

Great video, I wonder if anyone will ever go back to find the USS Hammann

[@dennislewis9400]

Good luck with that 😮

[@loonowolf2160]

Dude that ship got split into two pieces with one torpedo, then her depth charges exploded which turn the ship into tiny pieces

[@dennislewis9400]

Yorktown was and still is the hero ship of Midway was abandoned too soon and paid the price remember she went two back to back battles not properly repaired and still fought to the very end and died very stubbornly.

[@johndyson4109]

Those are oxygen replenishing tanks for the pilots, in the pic. where he shows the 3 tanks on the wall of the hanger.. They could of been used for welding oxygen also.. The English quad or Octo 37 m.m. POM, POM, set up, was called the 'Chicago piano' not the quad Bofor's 40 m.m. guns

[@Jarlerus]

7:54 The consistency of the holes, just at the edges of the cut gun shields, indicate that they might not be bullet holes. Perhaps related to the ditching of the guns? Maybe mounting points for winches that might have been used to push/flip the guns overboard?

[@getserky]

Agreed, they look too regular to be bullet holes and I think you’re right about what they could have been. Maybe also holes for chains too?

[@samculper6699]

I was thinking that's were the missing sections were attached to the remaining sections. Rivet hole maybe?

[@Jarlerus]

@@samculper6699 No, gunshields were welded/one piece.

[@tomcat4195]

Looks like an aircraft in the back at 10:29. Definitely a U.S. Naval Aircraft logo on a folded up wing from the looks of it.

[@jebbohanan2626]

Very interesting.

[@RhobarEisenblut]

I always cry when I see her wreck😢

[@PhilipHollandsworth]

Dad was on CV5 at Coral Sea and Midway and was trapped in the forward elevator pump room.They barely escaped from fire and smoke from the bomb hit up forward.

[@John.S.Patton]

Do you know if there's any plan's to look for uss Langley?

[@spannerturnerMWO]

@7:59 you commented that it looked like those holes were bullet holes from the Jap attack. Based on the pattern and specific placement of the holes and the open sections, I am willing to bet those holes were for chains or ropes for safety purposes.

[@arkwill14]

I agree with you. I think the holes are too uniformly placed. Also, from the angle they are at, IF they came from strafing aircraft it probably wouldn't be a dive bomber (else they'd be in the deck not the vertical gun tubs) but rather a torpedo plane. And the B5N2 Kate torpedo planes that attacked Yorktown only had one rear-facing machine gun used for self defense -- making it even more unlikely these holes are due to strafing.

[@trail-wolf4x4]

I'm very curious as to why neither research crews tried finding Hammann and see what she looks like since she would be close by id assume

[@Ro6entX]

On that note at 3:29, has the USS Hamman wreck ever been located?

[@DD393]

Probably not much left of Hamman as her depth charges detonated. Mostly debris.

[@samculper6699]

@@DD393 Her bow section is probably ok but the stern may be blown apart.

[@bwilliams463]

7:52 I don't think that the holes you pointed out in the gun shields were bullet holes from a strafing; they're far too regular. It seems like I remember seeing open gaps in the shielding that were crossed by loosely-hanging chains, at least in non-combat situations. Could those holes be where the safety chains hung?

[@oceanhome2023]

Kaga needs to be revisited to retrieve all of pictures and videos taken from the Pearl Harbor raid !! The Kaga has all of pictures we want to see !!

[@thereissomecoolstuff]

Question. Are there more pictures of these wrecks from the survey? Are these what’s available? It blows me away that with the cost of these expeditions that they don’t have better imagery and detail. I know if they did an actual survey with good imagery and coverage the mission would be permanently over. This is just not great from the world authorities in this business.

[@MinhNguyen-cn8kx]

Fantastico Yorktown.... Respect from Vietnam.. Allahu akhbar

[@johndyson4109]

15:19, 15 minutes and 19 seconds into this clip I swear you can see an image of a officer in the window with his hat on and decorations on his jacket! Look at it!! Look if you do not believe me!!

[@jerardnorgren3411]

OMG ....I See it. And I swear I didn't take anything. Freakin crazy.

[@Scuba-cb3qt]

It’s a shame these are all gravesites, it looks like they could be raised and limped back to shore pretty easily. Amazing what high pressure and cold temperatures can do to preserve stuff

[@IRNHYD]

You do know that Yorktown is 3 miles beneath the surface of the ocean, right? No one has ever raised a vessel from anywhere near that depth. Consequently, it’s also that staggering depth that has preserved her so well.

[@randompolishguy6476]

Maybe this is nostalgia talking for me but I’ll say it I got so much more respect for Ballard then petrol dives to the wreck yes they didn’t get as many pics but he is/was a professional no shade on the new crews I just wish he had the tech we have today

[@daystatesniper01]

Good video of a still amazing condition , now if money was NO object could this still fairly intact ship be raised ?

[@IRNHYD]

Yorktown’s wreck lies 3 miles beneath the surface of the pacific. There is no feasible way of raising her to the surface. Then that begs the question: What would be the point? She was scuttled by the USN. Many men died aboard her. She is a war grave as even in being abandoned for the third time that day, she still had men aboard that she took to the bottom with her. My grandfather was aboard her at Midway. A Chief Petty Officer (ordinance) He directed anti aircraft fire from the sponsons forward of the island superstructure. He watched most of “his boys” die that day. Yorktown haunted him until the day he died.

[@CSSVirginia]

Thay bow 20mm gun tube must have been a helluva place to be.

[@jamesstone1493]

Someday some of Balyards pictures that was determined to be classified may be unclassified later and help describe how much damage over time by nature actually occurred!!!!!!!

[@angelaprestwood1351]

also a lot of ghostly images it looked like a captain was standing on the bridge still wearing his captains hat

[@glennyoder2983]

You mention several times that this took place in 1946. It's my understanding the battle of Midway took place in 1942. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

[@skyneahistory2306]

…no I didn’t? I even double checked the file and the upload. I pretty clearly say 1942.

[@donmears4090]

Three ships from WW2 that should have been saved but were not are USS Enterprise CV-6 because of her service throughout the war with USS South Dakota and USS Washington because of their victory in the last any where near even battleship engagement at the Second Naval Battle Guadalcanal off Savo Island.

[@josephnoland1281]

Can you find the USS Long or Hovey lost in the Philippines?

[@guynemer53]

Was the wreck of the USS Hammond ever found? If so, how far away is it in relationship to the Yorktown?

[@IRNHYD]

Hamman would be nearby Yorktown for certain, as both ships fell prey to the same spread of torpedos. I’d imagine that not much of Hamman remains. She was split in two amidships by the torpedo that sank her. Then her depth charges all began popping off as she settled. She sank in 4 minutes. No one below deck survived. I’d imagine that the bow section is likely intact. Probably not much else

[@IRNHYD]

Yorktown drifted for an hour or two after Hamman sank, before the navy finished her off. …so currents at 2 or 3 mph… couple of hours… maybe 5 or 6 miles away tops, in the direction of the prevailing currents…

[@CountryAfficianado]

My favorite American ship of the war.

[@BillyRice-kg7nk]

We should raise the Yorktown...and make it a future American monument!

[@jamesberlo4298]

The Tow Line is still there,

[@Ka9radio_Mobile9]

🥰

[@OtisMcnutt]

My father watched her sink from the deck of the Astoria

[@Liberty-tn3rs]

Skynea History; Where was the Saratoga at this same time ?????

[@dennislewis9400]

West coast

[@RichardKroboth]

Saratoga was returning to Hawaii after repairs from a torpedo attack and missed the battle by less than a week.

[@emantsrifemantsal9842]

akagi and kaga had the worst shape because probably due to materials and paint quality of japanese used(or maybe due to design flaws) since they're already critically in shortage of raw materials as opposed to the American one which had higher quality materials and paint that makes the wreck in a better conditions than kaga and akagi.

[@dallasmars2]

To bad elliot buckmaster isnt alive to see.this he was yorktowns captainat midway and coral aea

[@IRNHYD]

My grandfather was a Chief Petty Officer, ordinance man, when the war began. His first post was to Yorktown, as she was being repaired, in Pearl, after the BofCS. He went to midway. Was ordered into the water twice from Yorktown. Then he wound up aboard Hamman as she stationed alongside Yorktown. He was part of a crew providing water and power to the crews on Yorktown, trying to save her. He was positioned forward when the jap torpedo broke her in two. He watched from the water as Hamann’s depth charges began to pop off. He said sailors and pieces of sailors were being blown into the air. Pink mist. All that. My gramps was posted to Enterprise after that. Solomons, Leyte, Guadalcanal, etc etc… He was present at all of them, before being ordered stateside in spring of 1943. I heard many small (but fascinating) tales of The Big E, her gallant crew and their exploits… but He absolutely refused to talk about “The Yorkie” as many referred to her. Nor would he talk about Midway or Hamman.

[@antbrigade__]

though ship

[@randallgschwind3799]

Bull Halsey was right in Saving Entrrprise yet all that history was destroyed!!!

[@johndyson4109]

There's a debate about the bombings of Toyko by LeMay!? Look at what the Japanese did at Pearl Houbour and the sinking of the Yorktown etc, etc, etc.. There's NO debate we had to do what we had to do.. The Japanese messed with the wrong people.. All is fare in LOVE & WAR!

[@scottrichardson8158]

Huh? All is "fare"?????

[@markwilliams2620]

OMG! Can some of you accept the fact that _Enterprise_ couldn't be saved? They tried. Not enough people wanted it to happen. That's it. Quit 😢😢😢😢😢 about an event from 70 years ago and work ($$$) to keep the museum ships we have.

[@RichardKroboth]

Sorry NO, CV6 should be standing proudly for the people who served aboard her and for generations to see and learn about the history of this ship and WW2.

[@corneliakashigawi5743]

makes me wonder where the wreck of Hammann is

[@BillyRice-kg7nk]

We should raise the Yorktown...and make it a future American monument!