Nickname of Yorktown, Hornet and Lex

[EwenS]

My readings tell me that her crew were gathered on the flight-deck during or shortly after a ceremony for lowering the colors and offloading the Emperor's portrait, a ceremony lasting above half-an-hour, which if true strikes me as terribly dumb.

Even without that, it's very notable that Japanese ship losses throughout the war were occasioned with very high human loss percentages. Hard to say why. Reluctant to pull the plug, perhaps? Poor escape accommodations? High casualties in Allied sinkings seem to result mostly from magazine explosions (HMS Barham and Hood, USS Arizona and Liscome Bay, and so on). But there are so many IJN ships which take 99+% of their crew down as well, but without a massive fireball and flinging of metal. Of course Shokaku had that had that from what sources I've read and watched.

An awful lot depends on the circumstances the surrounding the loss. Were ships under continuing attack or not? Other dangers in the area?

HMS Neptune ran into a minefield in Dec 1941 with just one survivor. She hit 4 mines over a period of some hours before going down. The destroyer Kandahar lost her stern in the same minefield that night and had to be sunk. Cruisers Penelope & Aurora were also damaged on mines. Only 3 other destroyers escaped damage.

Cruiser Gloucester had only 82 survivors from a crew of about 800. Due to continuing air attacks Fiji couldn't stop to pick up survivors.

Ship design also played a part. Smaller vessels with large engineering spaces often sank quickly if torpedoed there. Cruiser Charybdis hit by two 21in TT at night in Oct 1943 sank in 30 minutes with a loss of 426 with 107 survivors, while accompanying destroyers set off in pursuit of the enemy.

And we have the sad story of HMAS Sydney lost with all hands after engaging a German raider

 

[Skywalker Jin]

Hornet (CV‑8) does not have a well‑documented, widely used wartime nickname in the surviving historical record. Unlike Enterprise (Big E) or Lexington (Lady Lex), Hornet's fame came from: launching the Doolittle Raid, fighting at Midway, and her loss at the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands.

Her identity was tied strongly to those operations rather than to a crew‑adopted moniker. Postwar sources and museum materials emphasize her "sting" metaphorically, but not as a formal nickname. Some later writers refer to her informally as "The Fighting Hornet" or "The Gallant Hornet," but these are retrospective and not documented as crew‑used wartime nicknames.

Also informative！Thank you

 

[Skywalker Jin]

Indeed and the damage was such, that she sank quickly, taking all but 570 out of a crew of 1,660 down with her.

Not wanting to stray too far from topic, but my Uncle Fred literally had a hand in Shokaku's fate as he was a Torpedoman's Mate First Class and stationed foreward.

He literally handled the torpedoes that sank Shokaku.

Could you share more about the decision that sink that carrier(why they chose Shokaku) and what they've done to avoid jap's anti-sub methods? Thank you.

 

[Deleted member 82436]

USS Enterprise (CV-6) one of her nicknames was the Big E.

The USS Saratoga (CV-3) had the nickname of Sara Maru. She could have been named the Torpedo Magnet as she was torpedoed several times by Japanese submarines but not sunk.

 

[SaparotRob]

...

The USS Saratoga (CV-3) had the nickname of Sara Maru. She could have been named the Torpedo Magnet as she was torpedoed several times by Japanese submarines but not sunk.

I know I read somewhere Saratoga had the nickname Torpedo Junction. Where I read it, I can't remember. Definitely pre-internet.

 

[Thumpalumpacus]

USS Enterprise (CV-6) one of her nicknames was the Big E.

The USS Saratoga (CV-3) had the nickname of Sara Maru. She could have been named the Torpedo Magnet as she was torpedoed several times by Japanese submarines but not sunk.

Twice, to be exact -- and then kamikazed off Iwo IIRC.

 

[GrauGeist]

Could you share more about the decision that sink that carrier(why they chose Shokaku) and what they've done to avoid jap's anti-sub methods? Thank you.

Cavalla left Pearl Harbor in 31 May 44 to her station off the Philippines.

While enroute, she spotted a large Japanese taskforce and shadowed it for several days, providing numbers of ships and their direction. The first sighting was on 17 June.

As it turns out, this was the Japanese operation "A-Go" that was enroute to counter-attack the US Navy during the Marianas campaign and the Cavalla's encounter and intelligence reports enabled the USN to prepare for the Japanese Navy's approach.

On 19 June, as the Battle of Philippine Sea was raging, Cavalla was able to identify and approach the Shokaku with a favorable firing solution, as the Shokaku was recovering aircraft and was committed to a predictable course of speed and direction.

After delivering the fatal strike, Cavalla dove to escape nearby IJN Destroyers, three of which attacked Cavalla with a savage depth-charging, but only receiving minor damage for the effort.

 

[Skywalker Jin]

Cavalla left Pearl Harbor in 31 May 44 to her station off the Philippines.

While enroute, she spotted a large Japanese taskforce and shadowed it for several days, providing numbers of ships and their direction. The first sighting was on 17 June.

As it turns out, this was the Japanese operation "A-Go" that was enroute to counter-attack the US Navy during the Marianas campaign and the Cavalla's encounter and intelligence reports enabled the USN to prepare for the Japanese Navy's approach.

On 19 June, as the Battle of Philippine Sea was raging, Cavalla was able to identify and approach the Shokaku with a favorable firing solution, as the Shokaku was recovering aircraft and was committed to a predictable course of speed and direction.

After delivering the fatal strike, Cavalla dove to escape nearby IJN Destroyers, three of which attacked Cavalla with a savage depth-charging, but only receiving minor damage for the effort.

WOW！

 

[Skywalker Jin]

USS Enterprise (CV-6) one of her nicknames was the Big E.

The USS Saratoga (CV-3) had the nickname of Sara Maru. She could have been named the Torpedo Magnet as she was torpedoed several times by Japanese submarines but not sunk.

What about Sis Sara？

 

[Thumpalumpacus]

What about Sis Sara？

She survived all attacks. Laid up for much of 1942, in 1943 she worked with a British carrier on loan to cover SoWesPac and while doing that both learnt about British fighter-control methods and taught a little about putting together strike packages. Also worked with the British Eastern Fleet in attacks on refineries in the NEI.

By 1945 she was a night carrier back with the Americans, devoted to covering TF 58 in darkness. Her slooooooow elevators meant she wasn't good for pace-of-ops in daytime strike. She was hit by a kamikaze off Iwo Jima and after repairs relegated to being a training carrier. I think her forward elevator got knocked out by the last attack?

She was expended in an A-bomb test after the war.

Off the top of my head, corrections welcomed.

 

[Skywalker Jin]

She survived all attacks. Laid up for much of 1942, in 1943 she worked with a British carrier on loan to cover SoWesPac and while doing that both learnt about British fighter-control methods and taught a little about putting together strike packages. Also worked with the British Eastern Fleet in attacks on refineries in the NEI.

By 1945 she was a night carrier back with the Americans, devoted to covering TF 58 in darkness. Her slooooooow elevators meant she wasn't good for pace-of-ops in daytime strike. She was hit by a kamikaze off Iwo Jima and after repairs relegated to being a training carrier. I think her forward elevator got knocked out by the last attack?

She was expended in an A-bomb test after the war.

Off the top of my head, corrections welcomed.

Thank you. I mean that what about the nickname "Sis Sara"

 

[Thumpalumpacus]

Thank you. I mean that what about the nickname "Sis Sara"

I've never read she was called that, myself.

 

[SaparotRob]

Thank you. I mean that what about the nickname "Sis Sara"

I went to a Youtube channel, Skynea History. I posted the question on the community board(?). He answered that it was the nickname she was mostly called. He has a quality channel and he is a big fan of U.S.S. Saratoga CV 3.

 

[GrauGeist]

"Sister Sarah" was the actual term.

 

[Skywalker Jin]

"Sister Sarah" was the actual term.

Why she was called "Sis"？ Younger sister of Lady Lex？

 

[GrauGeist]

Saratoga was called "Sister Sarah" because she was identical her sister ship, the USS Lexington.

A large black stripe was painted on her funnel as a visual identity aid to tell the difference between the two.

 

[Skywalker Jin]

Saratoga was called "Sister Sarah" because she was identical her sister ship, the USS Lexington.

A large black stripe was painted on her funnel as a visual identity aid to tell the difference between the two.

After entering service, USS Saratoga encountered a destroyer of the "Blue Fleet", the USS Blake, during an exercise. However, it is because the Saratoga is almost exactly the same as her "sister" Lexington. Therefore, the Blake mistook her for her own "Lexington" aircraft carrier.
I remember the origin of that black stripe.

 

[Skywalker Jin]

I went to a Youtube channel, Skynea History. I posted the question on the community board(?). He answered that it was the nickname she was mostly called. He has a quality channel and he is a big fan of U.S.S. Saratoga CV 3.

"Sister Sarah" was the actual term.

I think that you could consult him about this term.

 

[Thumpalumpacus]

Saratoga was called "Sister Sarah" because she was identical her sister ship, the USS Lexington.

A large black stripe was painted on her funnel as a visual identity aid to tell the difference between the two.

It's the only way I can tell them apart, pre-war.

 

[GrauGeist]

I think that you could consult him about this term.

Perhaps he should consult me - both my uncles served in the US Navy, Pacific Theater, during WWII, one a submariner and the other aboard surface ships.

Actually, I had two other uncles who served in the Pacific as well, but they were USAAF.