photo #7233024

In this clear and perhaps rather surprising view from 17,500’ (5,300m) beneath the surface of the Pacific, a 1941 International Harvester A14 “Shop Mule” sits still chained to the deck of aircraft carrier USS Hornet (CV-8). Most famous today for being host vessel of the successful Doolittle Raid in April of 1942, the carrier was later lost during the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands on October 27th of the same year. This and a number of other stunning photos were taken soon after the lost ship’s discovery by Paul Allen’s research vessel R/V Petrel in January of 2019 off the coast of the Solomon Islands, these being the first new images seen of Hornet in more than 76 years. Similar in form and appearance to other International Harvesters of the period used in agricultural work, this machine would have been employed aboard as a tow tractor for use in moving aircraft.