USS Yorktown (CV-5) Mural

Yorktown took part in several operations during World War II (WWII), including the Battle of the Coral Sea from May 4-8, 1942, and the Battle of Midway from June 4-7, 1942. During the Battle of Midway, Japanese Aichi D3A bombers successfully attacked Yorktown. Three bombs hit their targets: the first at the midship elevator on the starboard side; the second inside the starboard side exhaust stack, which crippled five of the nine boilers; and the third at the aft elevator on the starboard side. Despite this, Yorktown was able to recover and continue to launch aircraft. Later in the battle, Japanese Nakajima B5N torpedo bombers delivered two torpedo hits along the port side of the carrier, destroying its rudder system. Unable to move, Yorktown was towed by destroyer USS Hammann for transit back to Pearl Harbor for repairs. On the morning of June 7, 1942, while under tow, the Imperial Japanese Navy submarine I-168 attacked both vessels, sinking Hammann and striking Yorktown twice on the starboard side, causing the carrier to capsize and sink.

In May 1988, a joint U.S. Navy and National Geographic Society expedition led by Robert Ballard rediscovered Yorktown. It was sitting upright and intact on the seafloor at a depth of approximately 5 kilometers. On September 9, 2023, Ocean Exploration Trust and partners surveyed Yorktown with remotely operated vehicle (ROV) Atalanta during the Ala ‘Aumoana Kai Uli expedition on Exploration Vessel Nautilus, which was funded by NOAA Ocean Exploration via the Ocean Exploration Cooperative Institute. 

Data collected during the 2023 expedition raised additional questions, and in April 2025, NOAA Ocean Exploration and partners returned to the site for two dives during the Beyond the Blue: Papahānaumokuākea ROV and Mapping expedition. During these dives, ROV pilots from the Global Foundation for Ocean Exploration piloted ROV Deep Discoverer — equipped with an Insite Pacific Pacific Zeus Plus HD camera — into the midships elevator shaft to image the map mural “A Chart of the Cruises of USS Yorktown,” which was remarkably preserved. Little is known about this unique deep-sea artwork, and it only appears in the background of several historical photographs.