The "Grey Ghost", an American Essex class carrier launched in 1943, the eighth ship named Hornet, is 894 feet long, displaces 41,000 tons, and was built as the namesake of the USS Hornet (CV-8) which in 1942 launched the Doolittle raid on Tokyo, was involved in the battle of Midway, and was sunk later that same year by the Japanese.

The Hornet destroyed 1,410 Japanese aircraft and over one million tons of enemy shipping. Her planes stopped the largest battleship of WW2, the Japanese Yamato.

In 1969 the Hornet recovered moon astronauts Armstrong and Aldrin after the first "man on the moon" trip.

Hornet is now docked at Alameda, California (from whence Hornet (CV-8) departed for the Tokyo raid in April of 1942) and may be inspected by the public. I toured the Hornet in August, 2001, and took the following photos for your pleasure!
Hornet, bow view
Hornet, starboard view
Antiaircraft gun on starboard side
Control Room
Navigator Room
Pilot House
Captain's Sea Cabin on bridge
Bridge, with Captain's chair
Plot Room
Pilot's Ready Room
Galley
Crew Mess
Jet aircraft on hangar deck
Patrol aircraft on hangar deck
Superstructure
War record
TBF torpedo bomber, as flown by former president George Bush, Sr. in WW2.
Jet aircraft on hangar deck
Hangar deck
Memorablia from 1969 moon landing
Jet fighter (Korea era) on flight deck
F9F Panther (Korea War) Jet on flight deck