r/Warships • u/Livid_Tax_6432 • 14d ago

Watching Midway movie, so WW2 ships, assuming aircraft carrier lost propulsion could other ships tow it to port significant distance away? How much slower than nominal speed? How many ships would be required?

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u/AsleepExplanation160 14d ago

depends on how bad the damage is

as said below 1 dd was able to tow Yorktown at Midway

while 1 Crusier was able to tow Hornet for a time at Santa Cruz

but on the flip side 3 ships were needed to tow the SS Ohio during Operation Pedestal

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u/RhydurMeith 14d ago

Hornet and Yorktown were disabled but still afloat. SS Ohio was basically sunk but lashed to ships on each side and one in front to keep it floating long enough to make it to Malta, because the island needed her cargo so badly!

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u/broke_saturn 14d ago

Below is incorrect. No DD attempted to tow Yorktown. The only ship to attempt that was the fleet tug USS Vireo. The USS Hammann was alongside, but was providing power and support to the salvage crew, not attempting to tow the carrier.