What was it like to live through a battle for the crew working below decks on the Yorktown?  Crewman Perkins remembers:

"We began by bombing the island. We were under attack by them as well. I learned early that when the 5-inch guns went off it meant that the planes that were coming in for an attack on us were quite a distance from us. Then when the 40s started firing, I soon learned that they were getting pretty close. But when I heard the 20s going off, I knew that they were on top of us. As I was either in the fire room or just above the fire room, I had to rely on sounds that would tell me to brace for a hit. This was our routine."  The Yorktown picture seen around the world, the famous "Flaming Kate", made from aft end of Yorktown's flight deck, late 1943, photographed by a Photographer Mate Chief Petty Officer.  Life Magazine featured this picture in full page color.

"Jap torpedo bomber explodes in air after direct hit by 5 inch shell from U.S. aircraft carrier as it attempted an unsuccessful attack on carrier, off Kwajalein." U.S.S. Yorktown. CPhoM.  Photographers Mate Chief Petty Office Alfred N. Cooperman, December 4, 1943. 80-G-415001

Above decks;  "Feelings of impending doom gripped the Yorktown's crew after the gunners had shot down or turned away up to 80 Jap warplanes.  Now a Kate/jap warplane was getting closer and closer to the port side. Doug Tripp, on the Landing Safety Officer's Platform on the flight deck, jumped off it in sheer terror and tried to reach a hatch; he missed by three feet and tried to bury himself in a steel bulkhead.  Chief Petty Officer PP Day ducked behind a F6F Navy plane spotted on the catapult, then realized that what shielded him was the plane's belly tank full of high octane gas!

page 73,  The Fighting Lady - The New Yorktown in the Pacific War - by Clark G. Reynolds says:

 

"The Number Two 5-inch gun on the port bow followed Kate's approach all the way in, firing repeatedly. But on the adjacent Number Four, witnessed by gunner Jack Gazarian, a couple of scared gunners started to leave their gun. Their officer pulled out his pistol, "Get back in there, or you'll get shot!"

 

picture: Imperial Japanese Navy Lieutenant shoulder boards and hat emblem

At 300 yards, the jap plane took a shell in its left wing and flames spurted out.  The jap pilot then veered to try to crash into the Yorktown, skimming the flight deck so close that the flames singed the beard of one of the Yorktown gunners.  The jap finally crashed into the sea 100 yards close aboard and exploded in a ball of smoke and flame."

The Fighting Lady  ©1986  page 73

Other Yorktown sailors dispute that an officer pulled a gun on retreating Yorktown gunners.  But a sailor reports that one officer wasn't there during combat; 

   "I served aboard CV10 in Mount 8 five inch gun crew during all of the kamikaze attacks she experienced. For what it's worth these are my recollections.  Mount 8 was a single open gun on the port quarter just forward of the LSO platform. It shared the gun deck with mount 6  There were five men on the gun carriage, seven if you had a sight setter and fuse setter. Besides the gun captain there were usually about four additional men on the deck serving as hotshellman and ammunition passers moving ammo from the ready box or the hoist.  While I was aboard we only had an officer on the gun deck part of the time.

  He was not armed and I never saw a ships company officer armed anywhere.

  Although I would rather not believe it, one officer was accused (by some of the men) of leaving gun deck during a fire fight. He may have had a legitimate reason for leaving.  Gun crews practiced regularly on the two loading machines on the fantail and could load about 20 to 25 rounds a minute.  Five inch guns were not effective on close in targets and were designed to open fire even before a target could be seen, which we often did.  All of our firing orders came from Air Defense Aft over the PA or through the gun captains headset. Only once do I remember being told to pick out any target and fire on it.  If anyone was in charge it was the gun captains who were usually also our good friends.  Some of our gun crew mates became our closest friends and remain so today.  The only time a gun crew other than the pointer or trainer could look at an incoming target was if we were not firing.

We all knew our jobs and no one had to tell us what to do.

  I never experienced real fear until the kamikaze's started attacking and then it took all of the concentration you could muster to do your job. Many of us harbored the thought that if it was obvious the kamikaze was going to hit on top of us, we could maybe save ourselves if we jumped over the side. In reality we knew this would never be possible and began offering up our prayers. But if a decision had been made to jump, no one with pistol could have stopped us when certain death is only milliseconds away. The idea of anyone up there with a pistol ready to kill us if we faltered is ridiculous. Had there been such a person providing that threat many of us including myself would have been tempted to kill him just for being there."

Anonymous Yorktown Gun Crew member  June 2002

Picture caption: A Japanese plane shot aflame by antiaircraft fire from American ships attempts to crash into flight deck of escort carrier

 

The Top Six Air Victories- F6F squadrons, Okinawa Campaign - 1 April to 23 June 1945....

VF83

 ESSEX

 122
VF9

 YORKTOWN

 93.5
VF17

 HORNET

 89
VF30

 BELLEAU WOOD

 77
VBF17

 HORNET

 76
VBF83

 ESSEX

 60

Yorktown plane crashing into Yorktown's Island. 
The hellcat in the frame is about to hit mount 7 twin 5" gun house.

A movie frame, taken by a photographer's mate and as seen in the movie
"The Fighting Lady."
(Thanks to Willie for providing this frame)

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