Calling all USS Hornet CV-8 fans

[Vlad]

Did Hornet have all her regular flight deck markings removed for the Doolittle raid or was there something more than the two white guide lines for the bombers?

[Angeliccypher]

There were no other flight deck markings for her. Once she was launched and they painted her MS12 Mod they stained her deck and that was it. The stripes were added for the Doolittle raid and painted over (not stained hence the shade difference I mentioned earlier) once she came back to Pearl before Midway. Which is also when they changed her radar if memory serves. They repainted the MS12 Mod on the hull after Midway (which is why parts of it changed) and added more AA.

[Vlad]

There were no other flight deck markings for her. Once she was launched and they painted her MS12 Mod they stained her deck and that was it. The stripes were added for the Doolittle raid and painted over (not stained hence the shade difference I mentioned earlier) once she came back to Pearl before Midway. Which is also when they changed her radar if memory serves. They repainted the MS12 Mod on the hull after Midway (which is why parts of it changed) and added more AA.

Thanks. That makes me realise I think I put the wrong radar on.

[Dick J]

There were no other flight deck markings for her. Once she was launched and they painted her MS12 Mod they stained her deck and that was it. The stripes were added for the Doolittle raid and painted over (not stained hence the shade difference I mentioned earlier) once she came back to Pearl before Midway. Which is also when they changed her radar if memory serves. They repainted the MS12 Mod on the hull after Midway (which is why parts of it changed) and added more AA.

The radar was changed after Midway, not before. The need only became obvious during the Midway action. It had been hoped that the higher power of the SC radar (compared to the two CXAM variants) would allow similar performance from a smaller (and lighter) antenna. But at Midway Enterprise, with her CXAM-1, was able to track both raids on Yorktown. Hornet, with her SC, could not track either. Therefore, Hornet replaced her SC with California's CXAM set, and relocated her SC to the after mast to act as a backup. Ultimately, the USN essentially combined the higher power of the SC with the antenna size of the CXAM-1 to create the later SK-1.

[Angeliccypher]

I stand correct. Thanks Dick!

[Vlad]

There were no other flight deck markings for her. Once she was launched and they painted her MS12 Mod they stained her deck and that was it.

Just want to revisit this. Both the pictures below clearly show Hornet with a complete set of flight deck markings and in Measure 12. So I ask again, were these worn off or deliberately obliterated of the Doolittle raid, or would they be present alongside the "special" lines for the bombers?

https://themuseummodeler.files.wordpres ... t-deck.png

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/ ... r_1941.jpg

[Charybdis]

The decision to change from flight deck markings to deck blue, came around the time of her commission so she would have been prepared with FD markings as indicated by your photos. They were most certainly not "worn off" and were most likely painted over when she was repainted in MS 12 mod.

USS WASP CV-7 also had similar FD markings up to her refit in Dec/Jan '41/'42 when it was painted deck blue. In some photos it's possible to see the lines under the top coat.

The unique FD markings of HORNET were only used for the Doolittle Raid. At Midway she can be seen with plain deck blue FD.

[Angeliccypher]

The decision to change from flight deck markings to deck blue, came around the time of her commission so she would have been prepared with FD markings as indicated by your photos. They were most certainly not "worn off" and were most likely painted over when she was repainted in MS 12 mod.

The unique FD markings of HORNET were only used for the Doolittle Raid. At Midway she can be seen with plain deck blue FD.

The time of her commissioning she had no deck markings other than the stain. The first statement is correct. The second paragraph is what was intended but they did not have time to sand down the painted stripes for the bombers and restrain the deck to 250N. The decision was made to simply paint of the stripes with 20B. Hence you can see in Midway launch photos the the strips were still there just not white.

[Charybdis]

The time of her commissioning she had no deck markings other than the stain.

Here's a picture of HORNET at commission and the markings can be clearly seen.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/lrnpydtqmpmtp ... n.jpg?dl=0

An important question would be; are these chrome yellow lines on mahogany deck?

[Jon C Ryckert]

I know I have seen at least one color picture of the Hornet on commissioning day and it did have a blue deck. I think the markings were mid tone gray but it has been awhile since I saw to be 100% sure.

[Vlad]

So this is as close as I could get the arrangement of the B-25s on my Trumpeter 1/700 Hornet. It's a bit messier than it looks in the photos, and I think the No.1 plane is still too far forward but I tried my best. What do you think?

[Vlad]

weave them in a bit more so the 2 bombers on the stern are not overhanging so much.

They're all glued down already the planes sit on their tails not their landing gear, and they're light so they move at the slightest touch, so there was no realistic way to test-fit the arrangement. I just started at the back and followed the pictures as closely as I could, looking down the length of the ship to get the same point of view as the photographer on the bridge to judge the angles.

[Dadeo911]

Other photos from Navsource

8 B-25 and 2 SBD's on the way to Japan

http://www.navsource.org/archives/02/020872.jpg

View of the farthest forward B-25 (Doolittle's)

http://www.navsource.org/archives/02/020825.jpg

Looking at Doolittle's plane with 5 F4F's forward of the forward elevator which is lowered.

http://www.navsource.org/archives/02/020833e.jpg

Hi guys,
I know this is a "colorized" photo but the FD in this picture looks very much like it is a non-stained wooden deck. Is this just the way it was colored?

I look forward to hearing from you,

Chris

[Dadeo911]

because it was colored incorrectly.
early 1942 http://www.navsource.org/archives/02/020860.jpg
http://www.navsource.org/archives/02/08.htm

Thank you for the answer. I thought as much but wasn't sure.

Chris

[Max61]

Building the 1/200 scale kit. Would anyone know if the inside of the hangar doors since being roller doors would be white the same as the rest of the hangar bay walls or perhaps they were left in their natural metal state? I've searched online but can't see any details pics to clarify.
Thanks in advance.

[Thomas E. Johnson]

Good question and I�m curious myself.

[Max61]

The more I investigate it's possible that the hangar bay bulkheads and overheads were in fact painted silver not white. The hangar doors are a darker shade again due to different metal. There's a photo of the hangar bay of the Wasp showing this and I wouldn't think the Hornet would be much different. I'm going with anodize silver with steel for the doors.

[Tracy White]

The silver would have been the pre-war carriers and we don't know when its use was stopped, so it's possible that Hornet was commissioned with white bulkheads and overheads. It's something the modeler is going to have to decide on their own at this point as we don't even have documentation that proves silver paint, let alone orders discontinuing its use.

[Max61]

Thanks for the feedback Tracy. Attached are a couple of photo's of the Hornet around commissioning time that I found. The overheads in both photos appear to be metal and not white. The bulkheads I'm not sure.It would be great if we could one day find the documents proving one way or the other.

[Thomas E. Johnson]

If going strictly by probabilities, what would the most likely color be? The ship was ordered late and commissioned so close to wartime, that if they new there would be a transition in colors coming, they would have for sure tried to stay a step ahead and paint it via what the new regulations would require.