USS Hornet Museum
The carrier that pulled the Apollo 11 astronauts out of the Pacific — you can walk the deck of a ship spanning 888 feet overall.
Coming soon on iOS — be first to walk San Francisco offline.
An Essex-class carrier that flew Pacific combat missions from 1944, survived Typhoon Connie, recovered both the Apollo 11 and Apollo 12 crews returning from the Moon, then became a museum in 1998. Its combat record includes the Battle of the Philippine Sea — the "Great Marianas Turkey Shoot" — where Japanese air power was decimated. The sheer scale of the ship makes the history physical.
What to look for
- The overall length: the Essex-class long-hull stretched to 888 feet (270.7 m) overall — longer than three football fields
- Apollo recovery history: this ship physically retrieved the crews of both Apollo 11 and Apollo 12 after splashdown in the Pacific
- Battle of the Philippine Sea references: the June 1944 action nicknamed the 'Great Marianas Turkey Shoot' for the disproportionate losses inflicted on Japanese aviation
The museum is in Alameda, California — across the bay from San Francisco — and has been open to the public since 1998. It is a designated National Historic Landmark.
USS Hornet Museum is one of 31 sights worth the detour in San Francisco, all bundled offline in Voyage GO — download the San Francisco pack and it sits on your map with no signal, filling your travel passport the moment you walk past.
More to see in San Francisco
- Golden Gate BridgeOpened May 27, 1937 as simultaneously the world's longest and tallest suspension bridge — you can walk the 4,200-foot main span yourself.
- Alcatraz IslandFor 29 years, cold Bay tidal currents did what bars alone could not — make escape nearly impossible.
- Transamerica PyramidAn 853-foot pyramid that ruled San Francisco's skyline for 45 years — still on the Transamerica logo even though the company quietly moved its HQ to Baltimore.
- Golden Gate ParkSan Francisco turned three miles of bare shifting sand dunes into the country's third-busiest urban park — starting from scratch in 1870.
- San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA)The West Coast's first museum devoted solely to 20th-century art, now stretched across 170,000 square feet after a 2016 expansion that nearly sextupled public space.
- Alcatraz Federal PenitentiaryA 9-by-5-foot cell surrounded by cold bay currents — the federal government once staked its reputation on the claim that no one could leave.