skyhawk, hornet

The USS Hornet is an Essex-class U.S. Navy Aircraft Carrier. It was commissioned in 1943 and served until 1970. It is now the USS Hornet Museum, anchored in Alameda, CA. The decks are filled with historic aircraft, including this A4 D Skyhawk attack bomber, seen here on the flight deck with the ship’s conning tower behind.

The Hornet recovered the Apollo 11 command module when it returned to Earth in 1969 and there is an Apollo Program exhibit on the hangar deck documenting the splashdown and featuring artifacts from several Apollo missions. Last summer I saw moonwalking astronaut Buzz Aldrin himself there on a book tour. Here he is on viewscreens, speaking to a large a crowd of fans on the hangar deck.

This post marks my one year anniversary with Urban Sketchers. Thanks to everyone for the great inspiration and comments. Here’s to plenty more sketching!