The USS Yorktown (CV-5) was an aircraft carrier of the United States Navy that served during World War II. It was the lead ship of its class and played a significant role in various key battles, including the Battle of the Coral Sea and the Battle of Midway. The ship was commissioned in 1937 and participated in training exercises and fleet operations in the years leading up to the war. During the Battle of the Coral Sea in May 1942, the USS Yorktown was heavily damaged but managed to return to Pearl Harbor for repairs. Just a month later, it was again in action at the Battle of Midway, where it was hit by Japanese bombers and ultimately sank. The ship's crew was evacuated, but efforts to save the Yorktown failed, and it eventually went down. The USS Yorktown earned a reputation for its resilience and played a crucial role in turning the tide of the war in the Pacific. Its legacy lives on in the annals of naval history as a symbol of American naval power and determination in the face of adversity.

This description has been generated using GPT-3.5-TURBO based on the Vessel's wikidata information and then modified by ShipIndex.org staff.