原文連結: http://tinyurl.com/y295e83o
原文影片: https://youtu.be/f_Lj1EINOvg
Chalk up another historic shipwreck discovery for the Petrel, the research
vessel funded by the late Seattle billionaire Paul Allen: This time it's
the USS Hornet, the World War II aircraft carrier that was sunk by Japanese
forces in 1942.
由已故的微軟創辦人Paul Allen所組織的海燕號沉船搜尋團隊，已於昨(12)日宣布他們發
現了美國海軍在二戰時期被日本聯合艦隊所擊沉的航空母艦，USS Hornet(大黃蜂號)。
The Hornet is best-known as the launching point for the Doolittle Raid, the
first airborne attack on the Japanese home islands after Pearl Harbor and the
United States’entry into the war. Led by U.S. Army Lt. Col. Jimmy Doolittle,
the raid in April 1942 provided a boost to American morale and put Japan on
alert about our covert air capabilities.
USS Hornet最為著名的作戰行動，是於1942/4所發動的杜立德空襲，此為珍珠港事件後美
國首次針對日本本土所展開的攻擊，在Hornet上出發的B-25機群由杜立德中將(注:時為中
校)所帶領。此次空襲極大地提振了美軍之士氣，也迫使日本投注力量用於防備美軍航空兵
的空襲。
Two months later, the Hornet was one of three U.S. carriers that surprised
and sunk four Japanese carriers during the tide-turning Battle of Midway.
兩個月後，USS Hornet參與了中途島海戰，與其他兩艘美軍航母(Enterprise/Yorktown)
一同擊沉了日本的四艘主力航母，成就了太平洋戰役的轉捩點。
The Hornet was lost near the Solomon Islands in the South Pacific on Oct. 26,
1942, during the Battle of Santa Cruz. The carrier weathered a withering
barrage from Japanese dive bombers and torpedo planes — but the crew
eventually had to abandon ship, leaving the Hornet to its sinking.
USS Hornet最終在1942/10/26於索羅門群島海域所展開的聖克魯斯海戰中被擊沉，它遭受
了日本海軍航空兵的俯衝轟炸與魚雷攻擊而被重創，船員最終決定棄艦，任其自行沉沒。
About 140 of the Hornet's nearly 2,200 sailors and air crew members were lost.
是次海戰，由2200名水手與飛行員所組成的USS Hornet艦組，有140人不幸罹難。
"With the loss of Hornet and serious damage to Enterprise, the Battle of Santa
Cruz was a Japanese victory, but at an extremely high cost," retired Rear Adm.
Samuel Cox, director of the U.S. Navy’s Naval History and Heritage Command,
said today in a news release.
美國海軍歷史暨遺產博物館之負責人，美國海軍退役准將Samuel Cox表示: "日軍藉由重創
USS Enterprise與擊沉了Hornet，取得了該次海戰之勝利，但代價十分高昂。"
"About half the Japanese aircraft engaged were shot down by greatly improved
U.S. Navy anti-aircraft defenses. As a result, the Japanese carriers did not
engage again in battle for almost another two years."
"參戰的日本海軍航空兵有近半數被強化後的美軍防空力量所擊落。由於如此戰果，日本
在兩年之內不願意再度派遣航空母艦投入交戰。"
The Petrel took on the search for the Hornet as part of its mission to
investigate scientific phenomena and historical mysteries in the South Pacific.
The 250-foot research vessel’s previous shipwreck finds include the USS
Indianapolis, the USS Lexington, the USS Juneau and the USS Helena.
USS Hornet僅是海燕號團隊在這個海域的目標之一，先前便已尋獲了重巡Indianapolis、
航母Lexington、輕巡洋艦Juneau與Helena等船艦。
The ship's latest expedition took place in January, three months after Allen's
death.
這是在發起人Paul Allen逝世三個月後所展開的首次搜尋任務。
"We had Hornet on our list of WWII warships that we wanted to locate because of
its place in history as an aircraft carrier that saw many pivotal moments in
naval battles," said Robert Kraft, who heads the Petrel project as director of
subsea operations for Vulcan. "Paul Allen was particularly interested in
historically significant and capital ships, so this mission and discovery honor
his legacy."
海燕號的水下作業指揮官Robert Kraft表示: "考慮到USS Hornet在服役期間所參與的多場
關鍵戰役，以及其歷史地位，我們決定將它列入搜尋的目標之內。由於Paul Allen十分關
注那些在歷史上具有重大意義的沉沒船艦，因此選擇了它。
The Petrel's 10-person expedition team zeroed in on the Hornet’s position by
piecing together data from national and naval archives that included official
deck logs and action reports from other ships engaged in the battle. Positions
and sightings from nine other U.S. warships in the area were plotted on a chart
to generate the starting point for the search grid.
藉由美國海軍所留下的文書資料，與當年在同個海域作戰的其他艦船之航海日誌，海燕號
的10人探索小組得以成功地將USS Honret定位。由於當年參戰的其他九艘軍艦有留下關於
Hornet的書面或目擊紀錄，探索小組方能縮小搜尋範圍。
The discovery of the Hornet was made during the first dive mission of the
Petrel's autonomous underwater vehicle, at a depth of nearly 17,500 feet, and
confirmed by video footage from the research ship's remotely operated vehicle.
執行針對Hornet的探索任務時，海燕號首先將無人水下載具投放置到5300公尺深之海床，
再透過載具上的攝影機將影像傳回至海燕號，並進行研判。
CBS News caught up with Richard Nowatzki, a 95-year-old California resident
who was a gunner on the Hornet, and showed him video of the aft gun that he
operated.
CBS新聞台尋訪到了當年曾在USS Hornet上操作防空火炮的水手，現年95歲的Richard
Nowatzki，並以衛星連線向他展示了當年他所操作的武器。
"I used to stand on the right side of that gun, and that's where my equipment
was, Nowatzki said. "If you go down to my locker, there's 40 bucks in it. You
can have it."
Nowatzki說: "我習慣於站在那火炮的右邊，並把我的裝備擺放在那。如果你找得到我的
置物箱，裡頭還有40元，拿走吧。"
That might be tough: The precise location of the wreck is not being disclosed,
to protect the underwater gravesite from being disturbed any further.
這或許十分困難－海燕號並未披露Hornet沉沒處的精準座標，只為了保護這水下的墓園不
受到更多的打擾。