USSYorktownPatriotsCorner01

A Blast From The Past!

USS Yorktown - CV-10 at Patriots Corner with WF2 (E-1B) Tracer (Grumman) NL 604 on deck at right - Sullivan's Island, Charelston, South Carolina, USA - June 27, 1984

USS Yorktown (CV/CVA/CVS-10) is one of 24 Essex-class aircraft carriers built during World War II for the United States Navy. She is named after the Battle of Yorktown of the American Revolutionary War, and is the fourth U.S. Navy ship to bear the name. Initially to have been named Bon Homme Richard, she was renamed Yorktown while under construction to commemorate USS Yorktown (CV-5), lost at the Battle of Midway in June 1942. Yorktown was commissioned in April 1943, and participated in several campaigns in the Pacific Theater of Operations, earning 11 battle stars and the Presidential Unit Citation.

Decommissioned shortly after the end of the war, she was modernized and recommissioned in the early 1950s as an attack carrier (CVA), and then eventually became an antisubmarine carrier (CVS). She was recommissioned too late to participate in the Korean War but served for many years in the Pacific, including duty in the Vietnam War, in which she earned five battle stars. Late in her career she was used in the movie Tora! Tora! Tora! which recreated the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, and also served as a recovery ship for the Apollo 8 space mission.

Yorktown was decommissioned in 1970 and in 1975 became a museum ship at Patriot's Point, Mount Pleasant, South Carolina. She is a National Historic Landmark.

Construction and Commissioning
Yorktown was laid down on 1 December 1941 at Newport News, Virginia, by the Newport News Shipbuilding & Drydock Company. She was renamed on 26 September 1942, and launched on 21 January 1943, sponsored by Eleanor Roosevelt. Yorktown was commissioned on 15 April 1943. with Captain Joseph J. Clark in command.

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The E-1 Tracer was the first purpose built airborne early warning aircraft used by the United States Navy. It was a derivative of the C-1 Trader and first entered service in 1958. It was replaced by the more modern E-2 Hawkeye in the early 1970s.

Design and development
The E-1 was designated WF under the old US Navy system; the designation earned it the nickname "Willy Fudd". Since the S-2 Tracker was known as S2F under the old system, that airplane was nicknamed "Stoof"; the WF/E-1 with its distinctive radome gained the nickname "Stoof with a Roof."

Radar
The Tracer was fitted with the Hazeltine AN/APS-82 in its radome. The radar featured an Airborne Moving Target Indicator (AMTI), which analyzes the Doppler shift in reflected radar energy to distinguish a flying aircraft against the clutter produced by wave action at the ocean's surface. Separating a moving object from stationary background is accomplished by suitable hardware.

General characteristics

Crew: 4, two pilots, two RADAR/Intercept Controllers
Length: 42.25 ft (12.9 m)
Wingspan: 69.6 ft (21.2 m)
Height: 16.3 ft (4.9 m)
Wing area: 499 sq ft (46,35 qm)
Empty weight: 18,750 lb (8,504 kg)
Loaded weight: 26,600 lb (12,065 kg)
Max takeoff weight: 29,150 lb (13,222 kg)
Powerplant: 2× Wright R-1820-82WA Cyclone 9-cylinder radial piston engine, 1,525 hp (1,137 kW) each
Performance

Maximum speed: 287 mph (462 km/h)
Range: 1,300 miles (2,092 km)
Service ceiling: 15,800 ft (4,800 m)
Rate of climb: 1,120 ft/min (340 m/min)