| Original caption: “Task Force Fifty-Eight raid on Japan. Forty millimeter guns firing aboard USS Hornet on February 16, 1945, as the carrier’s planes were raiding Tokyo. Note expended shells and ready-service ammunition at right.” Firing Bofors L/60 40 millimeter (1.57 inch) Automatic Gun on board USS Hornet (CV-12), circa February 1945, probably during gunnery practice. The original picture caption identifies the photo as having been taken during Task Force 58’s raid on Japan. However, helmetless members of the gun crew and rolled-up shirt sleeves strongly indicate that the occasion was in warmer climes rather than in combat. View looks aft on the port side, with the carrier’s port quarter 5-inch (127 millimeter) 38 caliber dual-purpose guns just beyond the 40mm mount. Note ready-service ammunition and spent shell casings at right; men passing 4-round clips to loaders at left. Other photos from the same time period and place show the crew similarly dressed. Hornet and the rest of Task Force 58 left Ulithi on February 10, 1945. Hornet was part of Task Group 58.1, now commanded by Admiral Joseph J. “Jocko” Clark (November 12, 1893 – July 13, 1971), flying his flag once again on Hornet. A week later, Hornet pilots of Carrier Air Group 17 (CAG-17) bombed targets in Tokyo, the 1st time carrier-based aircraft had attacked that city since the Doolittle raiders had been launched from the 1st USS Hornet (CV-8) in April 1942. Photo by Lieutenant Charles E. Kerlee (March 28, 1907 – January 23, 1981), United States Naval Reserve. Kerlee was already well-known as a professional, award-winning commercial photographer. As such, he was approached by a United States Navy Reservist, Lieutenant Commander Edward Steichen (March 27, 1879 – March 25, 1973), himself a famous commercial photographer from New York. Steichen had a simple proposal – that Kerlee consider joining the United States Navy, not as a sailor or soldier, but as a cameraman. The top brass within the United States Navy, realizing that Steichen’s talents could help foster public support, had tasked him with assembling a special naval unit composed of the world’s best photographers and videographers to document the war effort. Steichen, in turn, called on his circle of friends, associates, and competitors, including Kerlee. Within a few months, Charles Kerlee found himself on board the aircraft carrier USS Yorktown (CV-10) and headed out to sea and into battle. His camera remained at work until the last days of the war. | |
| Image Filename | wwii1631.jpg |
| Image Size | 890.60 KB |
| Image Dimensions | 2422 x 2916 |
| Photographer | Charles Kerlee |
| Photographer Title | United States Navy |
| Caption Author | Written or Adapted by Jason McDonald |
| Date Photographed | February 10, 1945 |
| Location | |
| City | |
| State or Province | |
| Country | China Sea |
| Archive | National Archives and Records Administration |
| Record Number | NWDNS-80-G-413915 |
| Status | Caption ©2026 MFA Productions LLC Please Do Not Duplicate or Distribute Without Permission; Image in the Public Domain |
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