An incredibly important United States Navy aircraft carrier was the USS Yorktown Fighting Lady. Although USS Yorktown CV-10 was originally Bon Homme Richard, the aircraft carrier’s name was changed to honor Yorktown CV-5, which sank in the Battle of Midway in 1942. This magnificent carrier has been added to the USN coins offered as the USS Yorktown Warships of World War 2 75th Anniversary Coin.
She is also often called “The Fighting Lady,” a nickname given to her by her crew during World War II. In 1944, USS Yorktown was boarded by a documentary team, who wanted to create a film that captured life on an aircraft carrier during the war.
Released the same year in the United States and shown to soldiers abroad, the documentary—titled The Fighting Lady—portrayed both the mundane downtime and dramatic action of war, earning it an Academy Award for Best Documentary. While The Fighting Lady rolled on the silver screen, USS Yorktown earned 11 battle stars for service in World War II. The nickname the mighty Fighting Lady is one the ship still bears proudly today.
USS Yorktown CV-10 Fun Facts
Operation Magic Carpet was the post-World War II effort to bring home over eight million American soldiers from overseas. The donut-like bumps on the hanger bay floor were installed to hold additional berthing units, so USS Yorktown could transport as many as 5,000 passengers at a time.
USS Yorktown was christened in 1943 by First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, who took two tries to break a bottle of champagne on the ship’s hull before it headed down the James River and out to sea.
The name “Yorktown” comes from the Battle of Yorktown during the Revolutionary War.
USS Yorktown CV-10 is the fourth US Navy ship to bear the Yorktown name. In 1968, USS Yorktown recovered the crew of Apollo 8, the first manned flight to orbit the moon.
As part of the US Navy and the historical warships of World War 2 75th anniversary coin collectible set the USS Yorktown coin is a handsome coin featuring the USS Yorktown with her amazing flight deck, American flag, and famous motto “Fighting Lady.” A timeless piece of United States Navy history this incredibly detailed challenge coin is perfect for the US Navy history and coin collector.
For over 15 years Navy Crow, the challenge Coin Company and makers of original US military art, have created thousands of challenge coins for US military veterans, family and friends. In addition the custom challenge coins they produce have been created for US Navy commands, US Navy submarines, US Navy ships throughout the fleets, FMF Corpsmen and many other US Navy rates, and more. Each coin is a work of art and designed either in conjunction with the military unit or command or at the request of a person wishing to produce a coin for their military retirement and more. US Navy associations from CPOAs, FCPOAs, SCPOAs, and MWR activities reach out to VSC to have their custom coins produced due to the level of artwork they receive.
