USS Yorktown WWII shipwreck expedition leads to more incredible discoveries

A mysterious military vehicle located three miles underwater aboard the shipwrecked World War II-era USS Yorktown wasn’t the only shocking discovery made by researchers over the weekend.

NOAA Ocean Exploration officials said for the first time ever an aircraft part of the Battle of Midway — a naval showdown between the US and Japan in the Pacific in 1942 — was found in a watery grave.

“Previous exploration at Midway investigated ships engaged in the battle; however, the dive on April 20 resulted in the extraordinary discovery of aircraft that fought at Midway lying underwater, on the actual battlefield,” the agency said in a press release this week.

The remotely operated vehicle used during the dive pinpointed the “jumbled wreckage” of at least three Douglas SBD Dauntless dive bombers in the aft starboard quarter, according to NOAA.

One of the aircraft was still fully armed with a bomb attached in the release cradle. It was likely part of the Yorktown’s reserve force on the first morning of the battle, officials said.

Another plane with “B5” written on the fuselage is suspected of being a BuNo 4581 that was assigned to the Bombing Squadron Six from the USS Enterprise.

The USS Yorktown retrieved two Enterprise aircraft that were damaged in an attack on the Japanese navy carrier Kaga, according to the agency, citing records. The planes were moved down to the hangar deck before they caught fire when underwater missiles by the Japanese pounded the ship.

Further investigation is required to confirm if the 6-B-5 was one of the Enterprise aircraft on the Yorktown.

Multiple plane wings, likely spares, were also captured on the camera from the remotely operated vehicle – with one of the wings first spotted during a 2023 expedition.

A hand-painted mural dubbed “A Chart of Cruises of the USS Yorktown” was additionally found inside an elevator shaft that tracked the numerous voyages of the massive ship, the NOAA said.

The artwork was 42-feet-by-12-feet and was only partially visible in historic photographs focused on other people or subjects when the Yorktown was still sailing.

The incredible finds were coupled with the discovery of an old Ford automobile that was on the ship when it sank.