Lady Lex is found in the Coral Sea

[Cardboard_killer]

They have found the wreck of the USS Lexington CV-02, sunk at the Battle of the Coral Sea.

https://www.paulallen.com/uss-lexington-wreck-located-rv-petrel/

Wreckage of USS Lexington Located in Coral Sea - YouTube

 

[NYlakesider]

Very interesting, a proud old naval vessel.

I'm just amazed they found it without Clive Cusslers help!

 

[Watchdog]

A wonderful discovery, to be sure.

Quoting from one report:

"A piece of prized World War II U.S. naval history, the wreckage of the aircraft carrier USS Lexington, which was sunk by the Japanese in a crucial sea battle, has been discovered by an expedition funded by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen. The expedition team announced that the wreckage of the Lexington, crippled by the enemy and then scuttled on May 8, 1942, in the Battle of the Coral Sea, was found Sunday on the seabed in waters about 2 miles deep, more than 500 miles off Australia's east coast."

About two miles deep. Think about that for a second. Approximately 10,000 feet deep! Think of an airplane flying overhead at an altitude of 10,000 feet. That's how deep that is.

The USS Lexington remains, and always will remain, a grand old lady. She and her 216 crew members killed will never be forgotten, more so now that she has been found.

I hope she and her crew members will continue to find Eternal Rest and Peace in the depths of the sea.

 

[Stirling]

That is quite a find. Most interesting is the number and condition of the aircraft found with the wreck. 10000 feet is more than a little deep though...

 

[jtcarm]

RIP old girl, and the crew members who served.

 

[TX-Dennis]

So . . .

Is the one in Corpus Christi a fake USS Lexington, a replica, or what exactly?

Been there a couple times. It sure looked authentic to me.

Never mind, Google tells me it is a different ship entirely built well after the war.

 

[Coldshooter]

And for a bit of trivia at 10,000 ft the water pressure is 4335.15 psi.

 

[swsig]

So . . .

Is the one in Corpus Christi a fake USS Lexington, a replica, or what exactly?

Been there a couple times. It sure looked authentic to me.

Never mind, Google tells me it is a different ship entirely built well after the war.

The Lexington in Corpus Christi is a true WW 2 veteran, earning 11 battle stars. It was was under construction as the USS Cabot when the old Lexington was sunk, and was re-named to honor the previous ship. It was commissioned in Feb., 1943, and served throughout the rest of the war. It was torpedoed once, and hit by a kamikaze. Its aircraft destroyed hundreds of enemy aircraft, and contributed to the sinking of numerous Japanese warships and merchant ships.

 

[RGVshooter]

My Grandfather was a mechanic on board the USS Lexington during the battle & obviously survived. We still have a couple old B&W photos of him while on board the ship.

 

[ditrina]

So . . .

Is the one in Corpus Christi a fake USS Lexington, a replica, or what exactly?

Been there a couple times. It sure looked authentic to me.

Never mind, Google tells me it is a different ship entirely built well after the war.

USS Lexington (CV-16), an Essex-class aircraft carrier in commission from 1943–1991, now a museum in Corpus Christi, Texas

NOPE it's real.. I served on her.. She was out of Pensacola and was used for carrier landing training on a WOODEN DECK

A REAL thrill on deck for a first time new pilot.. I was OK though, we were flying plane guard just in case.

 

[JayFramer]

Those quad Bofors still stand erect, ready to thwart a zero it looks like.

God bless the Lexington!!

 

[Cardboard_killer]

Those quad Bofors still stand erect, ready to thwart a zero it looks like.

God bless the Lexington!!

Actually, they are 1.1" quad mounts. The US navy was in process moving from 1.1" to 40mm in 1941-42, deeming the 1.1" (28mm I think) as, rightfully, too small. The Bofors greatly increased the range and destructiveness of the fleets' light AA firepower, and once the 5.5" guns became proximity fused, the Japanese's only real recourse was suicide bombing, even if they hadn't lost so many good pilots by the end of the war.

The 1.1"/75 had already replaced the water cooled M2 .50cal. in the 1930s.

 

[swsig]

Those quad Bofors still stand erect, ready to thwart a zero it looks like.

God bless the Lexington!!

That quadruple mount on the sunken Lexington is actually the forerunner of the Bofors. It has U.S.-designed anti-aircraft machine guns with a 1.1 inch bores. In combat, these guns proved to be both jam-prone and inaccurate. They were replaced by the Swedish-designed 40 mm Bofors mounts as rapidly as could be done under wartime conditions. Almost all Navy ships had Bofors mounts by 1943.

In other words, what Cardboard_killer said. Ya gotta be quick around here...

 

[jeffsmith]

My Grandfather had a hand in Building the Lexington they found,
the follow on Essex Class Lexington & several other Famous Ships;
all constructed at Fore River Shipyard in Quincy MA

 

[Old TexMex]

USS Lexington (CV-16), an Essex-class aircraft carrier in commission from 1943–1991, now a museum in Corpus Christi, Texas

NOPE it's real.. I served on her.. She was out of Pensacola and was used for carrier landing training on a WOODEN DECK

A REAL thrill on deck for a first time new pilot.. I was OK though, we were flying plane guard just in case.

I get to see her (CV16) a couple times a week, anyway. Especially beautiful at night.

 

[cmort666]

Looks like a quad 1.1" mount. A very interesting design, albeit a technological dead end.

Unfortunately for the Japanese, they never EQUALLED it, never mind surpass it.

 

[swsig]

The sunken Lexington and her sister ship, the Saratoga, were converted from battle cruisers to carriers while they were building. The Saratoga survived the war, only to be sunk as a target ship at the atomic bomb tests at Bikini shortly after the war. What a shame, as the massive Saratoga would have made a great war memorial and museum ship.

Here are some photos of the Lexington as she was supposed to have looked as a battle cruiser:

USS Lexington

 

[6518John]

I have looked at the photo above several times but can’t tell for sure—are those men jumping over the side?

 

[Cardboard_killer]

The loss of life when the Lexington went down was actually pretty low, only ~300 out of something like 2,000. The US damage control throughout the war was really miles ahead of the Japanese, a testament to our valuing our sailors' lives more than strange ideas about their "honor".

And the death blow was an American torpedo--she was scuttled to prevent falling into enemy hands, often the fate of ships adrift after battle.

 

[kaaskop49]

And for a bit of trivia at 10,000 ft the water pressure is 4335.15 psi.

Thanks for providing this number! Was surprised to see the condition of these aircraft under such intense pressure. I know the Grumman plant on Long Island was called the "Ironworks" for the sturdy construction of their aircraft.

Not often mentioned, but the Lexington's deck crew flew off as many aircraft as possible to land on the Yorktown. This more than made up for Yorktown's aircraft losses at Coral Sea. How important was that a month later at Midway!

We have a lot to be proud of in this country!

Kaaskop49
Shield #5103