USS Thornhill

Leonard W. Thornhill was born on 17 August 1915, in Lamison, Alabama. He was appointed to the U.S. Naval Academy on 19 June 1934, graduated on 2 June 1938, and was commissioned an ensign. After serving at sea on the USS Pennsylvania until September 1939 and the USS J. Fred Talbott until July 1940, he was transferred to Pensacola, Florida, for flight training. Thornhill received his naval aviator's wings on 23 January 1941, and soon thereafter reported for duty at the Naval Air Station Opa-locka, Florida.

Following another assignment ashore at San Diego, Thornhill joined carrier-based Torpedo Squadron (VT) 2 on 13 August 1941. After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Thornhill served with his ship, USS Lexington, during the first month of the war, patrolling the Johnston–Palmyra–Oahu triangle against possible enemy incursions. In February and March, he participated in the carrier's offensive patrols in the Coral Sea and in the attacks on Japanese installations at Salamaua and Lae located on the northern coast of New Guinea. Early May found Lexington patrolling the Coral Sea after two weeks of upkeep in Pearl Harbor.

During the Battle of the Coral Sea Thornhill piloted one of the 12 Douglas TBD Devastator torpedo bombers launched during mid-morning on 7 May to seek out and destroy Japanese forces converging on the Australian base at Port Moresby. At 11:35, VT-2 encountered the light carrier Japanese aircraft carrier Shōhō and immediately launched a well coordinated attack in conjunction with Bombing Squadron 2 (VB-2). While VB-2 took some of the fighter pressure off the torpedo bombers, Thornhill and his comrades split formation and attacked the carrier from both directions astern. All 12 planes made their runs and drops successfully and without loss to themselves. The squadron claimed nine hits from 12 drops, one of which was credited to Thornhill. The coordinated attacks of VT-2 and VB-2 sank Shōhō, the first enemy carrier sunk by American forces in World War II.

The following day, Thornhill went aloft with VT-2 at 09:10 in search of the two remaining Japanese carriers, Shokaku and Zuikaku. After failing to encounter the ships at their supposed location, the squadron mates initiated a "box search" to find them. Sometime after 11:00, they found the Shokaku, At 11:42, VT-2 commenced its attack; and the carrier began a long, slow turn to the right which allowed each TBD-1 to make its "run without splitting across the stern." The attack ended just eight minutes later, and VT-2 began the flight home claiming five hits on Shokaku, all of which proved later to be wishful thinking. Only the dive bombers succeeded in damaging the enemy carrier. During the return flight, VT-2 planes began to run low on fuel. All planes cut back power in order to make the flight most economically, even so, Thornhill could not make it. His plane ran out of fuel some 20 miles (32 km) short of home, and he had to ditch in the ocean. Though a destroyer went to their rescue, Thornhill and his crew perished at sea. For his contribution to the destruction of Shōhō he was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross.

Thornhill as Aldebaran (F 590).

The next week she got underway for Green Cove Springs, Florida, to be inactivated. She was decommissioned on 17 June 1946 and assigned to the Atlantic Reserve Fleet. Thornhill was transferred to Italy under the Military Assistance Program on 10 January 1951 and was struck from the Navy List on 26 March that same year. She served the Italian Navy as Aldebaran (F 590) until she was stricken and broken up in 1976.[1]

This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to USS Thornhill (DE-195).

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Aldebaran (F 590).

• Photo gallery of USS Thornhill (DE-195) at NavSource Naval History