原文连结: 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.
由已故的微软创办人Paul Allen所组织的海燕号沉船搜寻团队，已于昨(12)日宣布他们发
现了美国海军在二战时期被日本联合舰队所击沉的航空母舰，USS Hornet(大黄蜂号)。
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最为著名的作战行动，是于1942/4所发动的杜立德空袭，此为珍珠港事件后美
国首次针对日本本土所展开的攻击，在Hornet上出发的B-25机群由杜立德中将(注:时为中
校)所带领。此次空袭极大地提振了美军之士气，也迫使日本投注力量用于防备美军航空兵
的空袭。
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.
两个月后，USS Hornet参与了中途岛海战，与其他两艘美军航母(Enterprise/Yorktown)
一同击沉了日本的四艘主力航母，成就了太平洋战役的转捩点。
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最终在1942/10/26于所罗门群岛海域所展开的圣克鲁斯海战中被击沉，它遭受
了日本海军航空兵的俯冲轰炸与鱼雷攻击而被重创，船员最终决定弃舰，任其自行沉没。
About 140 of the Hornet's nearly 2,200 sailors and air crew members were lost.
是次海战，由2200名水手与飞行员所组成的USS Hornet舰组，有140人不幸罹难。
"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.
美国海军历史暨遗产博物馆之负责人，美国海军退役准将Samuel Cox表示: "日军借由重创
USS Enterprise与击沉了Hornet，取得了该次海战之胜利，但代价十分高昂。"
"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."
"参战的日本海军航空兵有近半数被强化后的美军防空力量所击落。由于如此战果，日本
在两年之内不愿意再度派遣航空母舰投入交战。"
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仅是海燕号团队在这个海域的目标之一，先前便已寻获了重巡Indianapolis、
航母Lexington、轻巡洋舰Juneau与Helena等船舰。
The ship's latest expedition took place in January, three months after Allen's
death.
这是在发起人Paul Allen逝世三个月后所展开的首次搜寻任务。
"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."
海燕号的水下作业指挥官Robert Kraft表示: "考虑到USS Hornet在服役期间所参与的多场
关键战役，以及其历史地位，我们决定将它列入搜寻的目标之内。由于Paul Allen十分关
注那些在历史上具有重大意义的沉没船舰，因此选择了它。
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.
借由美国海军所留下的文书资料，与当年在同个海域作战的其他舰船之航海日志，海燕号
的10人探索小组得以成功地将USS Honret定位。由于当年参战的其他九艘军舰有留下关于
Hornet的书面或目击纪录，探索小组方能缩小搜寻范围。
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.
执行针对Hornet的探索任务时，海燕号首先将无人水下载具投放置到5300公尺深之海床，
再透过载具上的摄影机将影像传回至海燕号，并进行研判。
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新闻台寻访到了当年曾在USS Hornet上操作防空火炮的水手，现年95岁的Richard
Nowatzki，并以卫星连线向他展示了当年他所操作的武器。
"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说: "我习惯于站在那火炮的右边，并把我的装备摆放在那。如果你找得到我的
置物箱，里头还有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.
这或许十分困难－海燕号并未披露Hornet沉没处的精准座标，只为了保护这水下的墓园不
受到更多的打扰。