CV-2 USS Lexington

[Larsen E. Pettifogger, SASS #32933]

The wreck of the Lexington lies in about 10,000 feet of water.  It was lost in the Battle of the Coral Sea in May, 1942.  The Lexington was built on the hull of what was to be a battlecruiser.  It was only the 2nd U.S. carrier but was huge at almost 900 feet.  The deck guns were originally 8" but these were too large for a carrier and were removed and temporarily replaced with 1.1" cannons.  These are rare guns as they proved ineffective and were quickly replaced with the 40mm Bofors.  The ones on the Lexington are still in remarkably good shape.

 

 

As it sank there were huge underwater explosions and it was blown into four pieces.  The stern is over 500 yards away from the main hull but the name is still clearly visible.

 

 

One of the planes carried was the Devastator.  The only known examples are the ones that went down with the Lexington.

 

 

 

The Lexington has always been my favorite ship.  My dad was stationed at Pearl Harbor in the 1950s and many of our family friends had served on the Lexington and were on her when she sank.  We also knew several men who were on the Juno when it went down with the five Sullivan brothers.