John W. wrote:
Corrado -
I really enjoyed living in Bella Napoli and saw a lot of the country while there. I would do it again in a heartbeat.
I have looked at USN blueprints I have for HORNET, drawn in November, 1939, and they show "hinged life nets" in place over the forward and aft 5" gun galleries. Of course, this does not mean they were actually installed by the time the ship was completed. I have still not found any pictures of the nets in place, but the best bet would be in pictures of HORNET prior to commissioning (late 1941). Her configuration in those pictures is different than was her in-service configuration in early 1942 (many items removed prior to her departure for the Pacific). I will look at what I have to see if the nets show up, possibly in their folded-up position. Mike Vorrasi or Dick J. often post here and may have some additional info I don't. Don't toss the P/E just yet . . . .
Update:
I have looked through all the pictures I have and do not see any definite indication of these nets on HORNET. In fairness, most pictures that show that area are at such an angle the nets wouldn't show anyway. I did find this picture of ENTERPRISE clearly showing the nets were not fitted when the picture was taken at sea, most likely in 1942 would be my guess.
Attachment:
Enterprise_5inch_DP_guns.jpg
You can see the nets could be a pain for both the gun crews (blocking some overhead vision) and in parking aircraft (if they were folded upward near vertical). The drawing shows them to be as wide as the catwalks, about 2 - 3 feet wide. I'd bet they were discarded very early if they ever made it on the ship in the first place.
No nets were installed around Hornet's 5 inch batteries in any photos I have. Here is a close up of the starboard forward battery from the series taken 28Feb42 at Norfolk. No netting is present. (This is a zoomed in cut. Same photo does show netting around the forward LSO platform, but that is all I can see.)