Discovery on the USS Yorktown
A civilian Ford Super Deluxe Woody from 1941 has been found during an exploration of the sunken aircraft carrier USS Yorktown. The vessel went down on June 7, 1942, after being struck by torpedoes from a Japanese submarine during the Battle of Midway. Marked with the inscription SHIP SERVICE and the codes CV-5 NAVY or US NAVY, this find has sparked considerable interest among specialists, as it may indicate the car was used for official purposes.
Expedition Documentation
The research expedition also recorded a wall mural inside the ship’s elevator shaft. On the hangar deck, several Douglas SBD Dauntless dive bombers were discovered, one of which rests upside down. Beneath the wing of one bomber, a live aerial bomb remains attached, suggesting the aircraft was combat-ready at the time the carrier was sunk.
NOAA Senior Maritime Archaeologist Phil Hartmeyer described this discovery as a true time capsule.
The Ford vehicle may have been loaded aboard during emergency repairs after battle damage or used for service tasks at the Pearl Harbor shipyard. Ongoing study of the sunken USS Yorktown continues to reveal new chapters of history, preserving the memory of key World War II events.
This finding holds significance not only for historians but also for military archaeologists, as it confirms details about various aspects of life aboard an aircraft carrier during wartime. The uncovered items could help improve understanding of the crew’s daily needs and the conditions under which they operated. Continued research into such sites may yield fresh insights into the technologies and tactics employed during World War II.