The judgment is that Yorktown's first salvage attempt was reasonable because recovering the carrier still appeared possible. After further torpedo hits forced a second abandonment, the case for remaining nearby had weakened sharply. Destroyers and their crews stayed exposed through the night of 6 June and into the morning of 7 June despite the demonstrated submarine threat. Emotional attachment to the carrier helps explain that persistence, but the criticism is that the effort had become a sunk-cost problem. Once saving the ship appeared unrealistic, scuttling her and withdrawing would have reduced the continuing exposure of other ships and crews.
Notable Point · 2:00:17-2:01:15
Yorktown and the point when salvage risk outweighs recovery
Yorktown's repair effort raises the point at which persistence becomes sunk-cost thinking that unnecessarily exposes escorts and crews.