Uss Yorktown was a Leech aircraft carrier commissioned
into the US Navy in 1937. Notably, it
played a vital role in the Battle of the Coral Sea.
Although Yorktown was damaged, she managed to return to Pearl
Harbor for emergency repairs. Yorktown sailed to take part in
the crucial Battle of Midway in June of nineteen forty-two. Her
air squadrons helped sink several Japanese carriers and
turn the tide of the Pacific WAr. However, Yorktown herself was
struck by three bombs and two torpedoes during the battle.
Yorktown sank the next morning. This is June 7th, 1942, becoming
a symbol of sacrifice and also resilience. But many of the
battle's mysteries went down with the ship and as we
continue to explore, more question rise.
For the third time in twenty-seven years that people
have been to this site.
Can we get a glimpse of this potential piece of aircraft?
Alright, video. Come on in. That looks familiar, huh? It
looks like a wing. It is. It is. Fantastic.
That's the national insignia right there. Oh, but if only
we could get inside there but. That's really something. We're
just setting up for a maneuver here to to
drop down inside the hangar deck through this number two
elevator shaft. There is a painted mural that we have only
seen like a partial image of it in photograph. Wow that's a
great shot, guys. Oh such good piloting. This is the first
time we're seeing this whole image. This is pretty amazing. Bravo
Zulu, guys. Warships tend to be a very stark utilitarian space
and this is something that the crew used to personalize it. Did
you guys zoom in on that deliberately? Maybe just a
little bit. Maybe. You are here. Coming up to the roll-up
doors which is right where we saw the car. Oh, wow. That's
such a good view. Now, that's just amazing. Here we go.
Alright, let's come in there video. It kind of does look a
Woody. Certainly the window pattern to the top match. Now,
we just need a license plate. There's your license plate. It looks
like ship service. I think it's very important that we keep
recognizing the fact as we move through this ship as we've seen
in other spots that these are places where incredible acts of
valor, service, and sacrifice did take place.
That's a plane. That's a plane. That's definitely a plane.
There's a tire there. Yeah, so I think this is actually two
different aircraft. It's a overturned aircraft. This is the
first time we have actually seen aircraft associated with
the Battle in Midway on any of these wreck sites. This is game
changing in terms of our understanding of the sites and
in terms of the level of discovery. It speaks again to
the aspects of this battle which was not only between
ships but aircraft. So thank you. This is really important.