It was chilly, gray, windy, and a little too early in the morning on April 23 to be comfortably standing on the flight deck of the USS Hornet Sea, Air, & Space Museum. But that didn’t stop a dozen or so staff members and supporters from coming out to watch the newest acquisition make its grand entrance onto the ship.
A crew of workers secured an F/A-18C Hornet fighter jet that was sitting on the pier below with large straps. Then they attached the straps to a giant crane which gracefully lifted the fighter jet into the air and onto the flight deck.
The F/A-18C Hornet is a retired fighter jet and is on semi-permanent loan from the Pensacola Naval Air Station. Its new home will be in Alameda aboard the USS Hornet, where it will be repainted, restored to its former glory, and displayed in the hangar bay.
This is the first new airplane to be acquired by the USS Hornet in over 15 years and the history of the jet is exciting to many military history buffs. It was flown during the Gulf War by Captain Nicolas “Mongo” Mongillo, who in 1991 was engaged in a dogfight over Iraq and shot down an Iraqi MiG-2.
The F/A-18C jet has since been used by other pilots and squadrons before being retired, but the USS Hornet plans to paint the plane to look like it did when Captain Mongillo flew it on his mission.
While the fighter jet was donated to the USS Hornet, they needed to cover the cost of transportation to bring it to the museum. Russell Moore, Chief Experience Officer of the USS Hornet, told the Alameda Post that they were able to partner with Travis Air Force Base, who transported the F/A-18C from Pensacola to Oakland Airport as part of a training mission. The fighter jet was taken apart and flown over in a C-5 Galaxy cargo transport plane.
“This was a great partnership, and we can’t thank the guys at Travis enough because that really did reduce the cost.” Moore said.
The USS Hornet also had to fundraise to hire World Wide Aircraft, a company that specializes in airplane transport, to have them take apart and reassemble the fighter jet, transport it from Oakland Airport to the USS Hornet, and then operate the giant crane that lifted the jet onto the flight deck. Moore proudly told the Post, “Our docents led a fundraising effort because they were very passionate about getting this plane to the carrier.”
On Saturday April 26, the USS Hornet will host an unveiling event for the new F/A-18C that will also honor the docents who led the fundraising effort.
On May 10, from 1 to 2 p.m., the USS Hornet will welcome Captain Mongillo, who will speak about his experience during Operation Desert Storm.
Jean Chen is a contributing writer for the Alameda Post. Contact her via [email protected]. Her writing is collected at AlamedaPost.com/Jean-Chen.
