USS Yorktown Impacted By Nor'easter Storm - The U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS Yorktown (CA/CVA/CVS-10) participated in several campaigns in the Pacific Theater of Operations during the Second World War, earning 11 battle stars and the Presidential Unit Citation.

Now it would seem that Mother Nature attempted to take on the warship.

Meet the USS Yorktown Aircraft Carrier 

One of the 24 Essex-class carriers built during the war, she was the fourth U.S. Navy vessel named for the 1781 Battle of Yorktown and was built in an amazing 16 and a half months at Newport News, Virginia. She was commissioned on April 15, 1943. She was launched from Naval Station Norfolk, Maryland, in May 1943 in a ceremony with First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt presiding.

The carrier's first actions involved strikes against Japanese positions with Task Force 15 in August 1943. During the Battle of Iwo Jima, the carrier came under repeated attacks. On March 18, 1945, three Yokosuka D4Y "Judy" dive-bombers launched attacks on the carrier.

While the first two failed in their attacks and were shot down in their attempts, the third succeeded in planting its bomb on the signal bridge. That bomb passed through the first deck and exploded near the ship's hull, where it punched two large holes through her side. Five sailors were killed and wounded another 26.

After the formal Japanese surrender aboard the battleship USS Missouri (BB-63) on September 2, 1945, USS Yorktown was part of the Allies' "show of strength" and entered Tokyo Bay on September 16.

Decommissioned shortly after the end of the Second World War, USS Yorktown was modernized and recommissioned in February 1953 as an attack carrier (CVA) and served with distinction during the Korean War. In addition to 11 Battle Stars earned during World War II, CVN-10 went on to earn five Battle Stars for her service off Vietnam (1965-68).

Nor'easter Shifted the Warship

After being decommissioned in 1970, the USS Yorktown was placed in the reserve fleet. In 1975, the historic warship was towed from Bayonne, New Jersey, to Charleston, South Carolina, and became the centerpiece of Patriots Point Naval & Maritime Museum.

Today, the Essex-class aircraft carrier is preserved as a museum ship and was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1986.

USS Yorktown is just one of five U.S. Navy aircraft carriers to be preserved as a museum ship, honoring those brave men who served on them in wartime.

Moving a retired warship is no easy feat, but the Patriots Point Naval & Maritime Museum announced that it was forced to temporarily close last weekend's record-setting Nor'easter storm did shift the vessel!

The museum says since the former USS Yorktown arrived in Mount Pleasant in 1975, the ship has only moved one other time, during Hurricane Hugo in 1989, when the ship lifted an estimated six feet before resettling. However, during Sunday's storm, the ship moved approximately just six inches. As the Essex-class carrier is buried in 25 feet of mud, it doesn't rise and fall with the tides.

The same isn't true of the former USS Laffey (DD-724), an Allen M. Sumner-class destroyer that was also constructed during World War II. The vessel has also been preserved as a museum ship, and companion of Yorktown, yet, is secured with mooring lines and thus very much moves with the tides.

According to local news outlets, Charleston Harbor's high tide peaked at 9.86 feet on Sunday, making it the fourth-highest tide on record in the harbor and the highest on record for a non-tropical event.

Author Experience and Expertise

Peter Suciu is a Michigan-based writer. He has contributed to more than four dozen magazines, newspapers, and websites with over 3,200 published pieces over a twenty-year career in journalism. He regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, politics, and international affairs. Peter is also a Contributing Writer for Forbes and Clearance Jobs. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu.