Originally laid down as Bon Homme Richard at the beginning of December 1941, she was renamed Yorktown on 26 September 1942 and launched on 21 January the following year. USS Yorktown (CV-10) was commissioned on 15 April 1943 at the Norfolk Navy Yard, with Capt. Joseph J. Clark in command.

Yorktown's first combat operation was part of a strike against Marcus Island in August 1943. She continued to see action throughout the central Pacific and in June 1944, her planes hit the carrier Zuikaku during the Battle of the Philippine Sea. Following a brief overhaul, she continued with the US advances along the Asian coastline to Indochina, and onto the Japanese home islands. In April 1945, planes from Yorktown helped sink the Yamato, one of largest battleships ever built.

Generally inactive from early 1946, the carrier was decommissioned in January 1947.

In 1951, Yorktown underwent major refit lasting two years. This was part of the SCB-27 program, an extensive modernization of the Essex and Ticonderoga class aircraft carriers. She rentered active service in 1953 with the designation CVA-10. From late 1955 to early 1957, she was further modernized, receiving an angled flight deck and enclosed bow.

Yorktown CVA-10 only made one tour as CVG-19 with VF-191 aboard. 9 March 1957, she departed Alameda for the Far East, arriving at Yokosuka, Japan on 19 April. From 25 April, she operated off the eastern coast of Korea with TF 77 until 13 August, when she returned to Alameda on the 25 August. This was her last tour of duty as an heavy carrier before being converted to an antisubmarine warfare support aircraft carrier, with the designation CVS-10.

On 27 June 1970, Yorktown was decommissioned at Philadelphia, Pa., and was berthed with the Philadelphia Group, Atlantic Reserve Fleet. She remained there almost three years before her name was struck from the Navy list on 1 June 1973.

During 1974, the Navy Department approved the donation of Yorktown to the Patriot's Point Development Authority, Charleston, S.C. She was towed from Bayonne, N.J., to Charleston S.C., in June of 1975. She was formally dedicated as a memorial on the 200th anniversary of the Navy, 13 October 1975.

Displacement	Length	Beam	Extreme width at flightdeck	Draft	Speed	Crew	Armement	Aircraft	Class
27,100 tons	872 ft (266 m)	93 ft (28.4 m)	147 ft 6 in (44.96 m)	28 ft 7 in (8.71 m)	32.7 knots	3,448	12 five-in guns, 32 40mm guns, 46 20mm guns	80+	Essex