[2] Because of the limit on aggregate aircraft carrier tonnage included in the Washington Naval Treaty and subsequent London treaties, the United States had intended to build two Yorktown-class aircraft carriers and use the remaining allocated tonnage for a smaller, revised version of the same design, which eventually became Wasp.

The turbines were designed to produce a total of 120,000 shaft horsepower [shp] (89,000 kW), giving her a range of 12,000 nautical miles (14,000 mi; 22,000 km) at a speed of 15 knots (17 mph; 28 km/h).

Unlike her sisters, Hornet's tripod mast and its signal bridge were not enclosed when the CXAM was installed, making her unique among the three ships.

Hornet had an armor belt that was 2.5 to 4 inches (64–102 mm) thick on a backing of 30-pound (14 kg) special treatment steel (STS).

She had two flight-deck and one hangar-deck hydraulic catapults equipped with the Mark IV Mod 3A arresting gear with a capability of 16,000 pounds (7,300 kg) and 85 miles per hour (137 km/h).

A hint of a future mission occurred on 2 February 1942 when Hornet departed Norfolk with two Army Air Forces B-25 Mitchell medium bombers on deck.

Hornet returned to Norfolk, prepared to leave for combat, and sailed for the West Coast on 4 March via the Panama Canal.

By midafternoon on 1 April, she loaded 16 B-25s on the flight deck,[14] under the command of Lieutenant Colonel James H. Doolittle, 70 United States Army Air Corps officers and 64 enlisted men reported aboard.

Eleven days later, Hornet joined the aircraft carrier Enterprise at Midway, and Task Force 16 turned toward Japan.

[17] As Hornet came about and prepared to launch the bombers, which had been readied for take-off the previous day, a gale of more than 40 kn (46 mph; 74 km/h) churned the sea with 30-foot (9.1 m) crests.

The lead plane, commanded by Colonel Doolittle, had only 467 ft (142 m) of flight deck, while the last B-25 hung its twin rudders far out over the fantail.

Doolittle, timing himself against the rise and fall of the ship's bow, lumbered down the flight deck, circled Hornet after take-off, and set course for Japan.

[5][12] On 28 May 1942, Hornet and Task Force 16 steamed out of Pearl Harbor heading for Point "Luck", an arbitrary spot in the ocean roughly 325 miles (523 km) northeast of Midway, where they would be in a flank position to ambush Japan's mobile strike force of four frontline aircraft carriers, the Kidō Butai.

[23] Hornet, Yorktown, and Enterprise launched aircraft, just as the Japanese carriers struck their planes below to prepare for a second attack on Midway.

[25][26] Further attacks from Enterprise's and Yorktown's torpedo bombers proved equally disastrous, but succeeded in forcing the Japanese carriers to keep their decks clear for combat air patrol operations, rather than launching a counter-attack against the Americans.

Hornet's aircraft, launching late due to the necessity of recovering Yorktown's scout planes and faulty communications, attacked a battleship and other escorts, but failed to score hits.

[9] Hornet spent the next six weeks replenishing her stores, having minor repairs performed, and most importantly, having additional light antiaircraft guns and the new RCA CXAM air-search radar fitted.

Hornet steamed out of harbor on 17 August 1942 to guard sea approaches to the bitterly contested Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands.

One "Val", after being heavily damaged by antiaircraft fire while approaching Hornet, crashed into the carrier's island, killing seven men and spreading burning aviation gas over the deck.

A flight of Nakajima B5N "Kate" torpedo bombers attacked Hornet and scored two hits, which seriously damaged the electrical systems and engines.

Rear Admiral George D. Murray ordered the heavy cruiser Northampton to tow Hornet clear of the action.

[5][12] American warships attempted to scuttle the stricken carrier, which absorbed nine torpedoes, many of which failed to explode, and more than 400 5-inch (127 mm) rounds from the destroyers Mustin and Anderson.

In late January 2019, the research vessel Petrel located Hornet's wreck at more than 17,500 feet (5,300 m) deep off the Solomon Islands.

[33] The expedition team, largely funded by Paul Allen, aboard the Petrel, used information from the archives of nine other U.S. warships that saw the carrier shortly before she was sunk.

[29] The carrier lies upright on the ocean floor, with her signal bridge and a section of her stern that broke away coming to rest around her.