A city cannot survive without a determined force of first responders. These vigilant individuals are trained to meet emergent catastrophes. A U.S. Navy aircraft carrier must be similarly self-sustaining. It requires skilled teams of technicians and tradesmen to respond to damage incurred while at sea. These first responders—damage control (DC) repair parties—are crucial to the ship’s survival. They fight fires, react to power and propulsion damage, maintain watertight integrity, and patch the flight deck to keep aircraft flying. DC teams saved the USS Yorktown (CV-5) multiple times during and after the Battle of the Coral Sea and during the Battle of Midway, but details of their actions are rarely highlighted in battle accounts.
Evolution of Yorktown Damage Control
The focus on damage control and related characteristics within the design of carriers can be seen in specifications issued by the Bureau of Construction and Repair. Under the titles “Damage Control—Flooding and Sprinkling Systems” and “Fire Systems,” the Yorktown’s 1934 specifications indicate attention to the details of damage control for magazine flooding, hangar sprinkling, and water curtain deluge systems, as well as firefighting on board the ship.1
Along with design improvements, emphasis on ship survival during and after an enemy action was taught to U.S. Naval Academy midshipmen in the interwar years. One book available to them was Principles of Warship Construction and Damage Control, which was published while the Yorktown was being built. It contained the maxim “A comprehensive understanding of the principles of damage control is an essential part of the training of the young, as well as the experienced, naval officer.”2
