A US aircraft carrier that helped turn the tide of World War II at the Battle of Midway has been found 76 years after it was sunk near the Solomon Islands.

Key points: The USS Hornet was sunk on October 26, 1942

The USS Hornet was sunk on October 26, 1942 About 140 sailors died, but most of the crew of 2,170 men escaped

About 140 sailors died, but most of the crew of 2,170 men escaped The Vulcan project has located about 20 vessels so far

Wreckage of the USS Hornet was discovered this week at a depth of 5,400m by a research vessel funded by the late Seattle billionaire Paul Allen, co-founder of Microsoft.

Mr Allen's philanthropic company Vulcan located the wreck using an autonomous submarine sent by the crew of the research vessel Petrel.

The Hornet was best known for its part in the Doolittle Raid in April 1942, the first air attack on Japan.

The Hornet lies dead in the water after a morning attack by Japanese warplanes during the Battle of Santa Cruz. ( AP )

It also participated that June in the Battle of Midway, one of three US aircraft carriers in that decisive encounter.

The Hornet suffered severe damage from Japanese dive-bombers and torpedo planes during the Battle of Santa Cruz Island in October 1942, and US ships then unsuccessfully attempted to sink it because it was beyond saving.

The Hornet finally went down when two Japanese destroyers fired torpedoes the next night.

Some of the hull damage which helped sink the Hornet. ( Paul G Allen's Vulcan Inc. via AP )

Most of the crew of 2,170 men had abandoned the ship by the time it sank, but 140 were killed, according to historians.

The Vulcan project has located about 20 historically significant vessels to date.

Mr Allen, who co-founded Microsoft with Bill Gates, died in October 2018 from complications of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

Anti-aircraft guns could not prevent the Hornet being crippled. ( Paul G Allen's Vulcan Inc. via AP )

Vulcan's director of subsea operations, Rob Kraft, paid homage to their founder's legacy.

"Paul Allen has said many times that it's important to preserve our past and honour these sailors and these soldiers that gave so much to their country," he said.

"We're kind of doing the same thing here: we're preserving our past, we're uncovering history and we're trying to educate."

Battle-hardened warship proved hard to sink

Director of Naval History and Heritage Command, Sam Cox, said the Hornet, though badly damaged by enemy action, would not go down easily.

"We had to sink her ourselves, so our own destroyers fired multiple torpedoes," he said.

"A lot of them didn't work but the Hornet still refused to go down, so the destroyers fired about 400 five-inch shells [into the ship].

"Still she wouldn't go down. By that time there [was] a very powerful Japanese surface force approaching.

"The Japanese find the Hornet still afloat after sundown on 26th of October and they contemplate trying to tow it back to Japan.

"They decide that she's too far gone, and they fire four torpedoes into the Hornet, which actually are what ultimately sinks her."

The Hornet carried F4F-4 Wildcat fighters. ( Paul G Allen's Vulcan Inc. via AP )

AP