SEATTLE (AP) — A research vessel funded by the late Seattle billionaire Paul Allen has discovered the wreckage of an American aircraft carrier sunk in the South Pacific during World War II.
Allen's Vulcan Inc. announced this week that an autonomous submarine sent by the crew of the research vessel Petrel found the USS Hornet nearly 17,500 feet (5,400 meters) deep near the Solomon Islands.
The Hornet was best known for its part in the Doolittle Raid in April 1942, the first air attack on Japan.
The ship suffered severe damage from Japanese dive-bombers and torpedo planes during the Battle of Santa Cruz Island in October 1943. Most of the crew of 2,170 men had been evacuated by the time it sank.
The Vulcan project has located about 20 vessels to date.
