Warship Pictorial 44 - USS Yorktown CV-5
by Steve Wiper


 
 Reviewed by Martin J Quinn
April 2015

Classic Warship Publishing has released a new book, the 44th in its Warship Pictorial line.   This one focuses on CV-5, the legendary USS Yorktown of Coral Sea and Midway fame.
This book features 72 pages with over 85 images of this valiant carrier, including eight in original color on the end pages, pulled from a color film shot on Yorktown’s sister Hornet. There are five drawings in this volume, three of which are reproductions from Yorktown's Coral Sea and Midway damage reports. 

The book is laid out familiar Classic Warship fashion, starting with a general history of “Old Yorky”, followed by the photographs. There are many excellent photos in this book, some of which I have never seen before, some of which I have seen, but are larger or of better quality than I’ve seen of those same photos in other books. This includes a great photo on Page 42 of Yorktown in Naval Base Norfolk in September 1941 (previously published in Cressman’s That Gallant Ship), sporting what appears to be a light grey spotting top. Steve says that is the remnants of her earlier Measure 1 camouflage.  I was unaware that CV-5 ever wore Measure 1. 

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enlarge images
While the author lists a variety of sources, it looks like many of the photos are sourced from the National Archives. I really like the inclusion of the damage report drawings, and a plan view of Yorktown’s flight deck and the placement of her non-standard .50 caliber AA guns at the time of her loss. While I know artwork probably drives Steve’s costs up, a nice color centerfold profile of Yorktown would have been a nice bonus.  Or perhaps I'm being greedy. 
Conclusions:

Ever since reading Midway: Battle for the Pacific by Capt. Edmund L. Castillo as a pre-teen, I’ve been captivated by the story of the USS Yorktown, her crew and the crucial role she played in stemming the rising Japanese tide in 1942.   Yorktown was the most efficient and battle test carrier in the US fleet by the time of the clash at Midway.  If she had survived, she may have gone on to eclipse even the Enterprise as the greatest American fighting ship of the Second World War. 

For anyone who is a fan of this noble carrier, this is another must have book from Classic Warships Publishing. With the many high quality photos, this is will be a great addition to the reference library for both historians and scale modelers. This is Warship Pictorial 44 – USS Yorktown CV-5. Published by Classic Warships Publishing, ISBN 978-0-99969199-0-6. Price is $18.00 US retail and it is available direct of from any of the vendors listed on the 
 Classic Warships website. Grab one now, before they are gone!

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