USS Hornet Museum: The Alameda Carrier That Picked Up the First Men to Walk on the Moon

At Alameda Point, a gray aircraft carrier 872 feet long sits at the pier, open to visitors.

The ship

USS Hornet (CV-12) is an Essex-class carrier commissioned on Nov. 29, 1943, according to Wikipedia. It fought across the Pacific in World War II, including the Battle of the Philippine Sea in June 1944. It was modernized for jets and later for anti-submarine work, and it recovered the Apollo 11 and Apollo 12 astronauts when they returned from the Moon. It was decommissioned in 1970, donated to the Aircraft Carrier Hornet Foundation on May 26, 1998, and opened as a museum on Oct. 17, 1998. It is a National Historic Landmark and a California Historical Landmark.

Visiting

The museum's site lists hours of Friday through Monday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., with last entry at 4 p.m. Admission is $25 for adults, $18 for seniors, military and students, and $12 for ages 7 to 17. Children 6 and under get in free. Through Museums for All, visitors who show an EBT card pay $2. The museum notes that its scissor lift will be offline this weekend for maintenance, and that Caltrans's Oakland Alameda Access Project may disrupt travel into Alameda.