USS ''Lexington'' (CV/CVA/CVS/CVT/AVT-16) is an built during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

for the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

. Originally intended to be named ''Cabot'', the new aircraft carrier was renamed while under construction to commemorate the recently lost , becoming the sixth U.S. Navy ship to bear the name in honor of the

Battle of Lexington The Battles of Lexington and Concord on April 19, 1775 were the first major military actions of the American Revolutionary War between the Kingdom of Great Britain and Patriot (American Revolution), Patriot militias from America's Thirteen Co ...

. ''Lexington'' was commissioned in February 1943 and saw extensive service through the

Pacific War The Pacific War, sometimes called the Asia–Pacific War or the Pacific Theatre, was the Theater (warfare), theatre of World War II fought between the Empire of Japan and the Allies of World War II, Allies in East Asia, East and Southeast As ...

. For much of her service, she acted as the flagship for Admiral

Marc Mitscher Marc Andrew "Pete" Mitscher (January 26, 1887 – February 3, 1947) was a pioneer in naval aviation who became an admiral in the United States Navy, and served as commander of the Fast Carrier Task Force in the Pacific during World War II. E ...

, and led the

Fast Carrier Task Force The Fast Carrier Task Force (TF 38 when assigned to Third Fleet, TF 58 when assigned to Fifth Fleet) was a group of ships in World War II. It was the main striking force of the United States Navy in the Pacific War from January 1944 through th ...

through their battles across the Pacific. She was the recipient of 11 battle stars and the Presidential Unit Citation. Following the war, ''Lexington'' was decommissioned, but was modernized and reactivated in the early 1950s, being reclassified as an attack carrier (CVA). Later, she was reclassified as an antisubmarine carrier (CVS). In her second career, she operated both in the Atlantic/Mediterranean and the Pacific, but spent most of her time, nearly 30 years, in Pensacola, Florida, as a training carrier (CVT). ''Lexington'' was decommissioned in 1991, with an active service life longer than any other ''Essex''-class ship. Following her decommissioning, she was donated for use as a

museum ship A museum ship, also called a memorial ship, is a ship that has been preserved and converted into a museum open to the public for educational or memorial purposes. Some are also used for training and recruitment purposes, mostly for the small numb ...

Corpus Christi, Texas Corpus Christi ( ; ) is a Gulf Coast of the United States, coastal city in the South Texas region of the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat and largest city of Nueces County, Texas, Nueces County with portions extending into Aransas County, T ...

. In 2003, ''Lexington'' was designated a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a National Register of Historic Places property types, building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the Federal government of the United States, United States government f ...

. Though her surviving

sister ship A sister ship is a ship of the same Ship class, class or of virtually identical design to another ship. Such vessels share a nearly identical hull and superstructure layout, similar size, and roughly comparable features and equipment. They o ...

s , , and carry lower hull numbers, ''Lexington'' was laid down and commissioned earlier, making ''Lexington'' the oldest remaining fleet carrier in the world.

Service history

World War II

The ship was laid down as ''Cabot'' on 15 July 1941 by

Fore River Shipyard Fore River Shipyard was a shipyard owned by General Dynamics Corporation located on Weymouth Fore River in Braintree, Massachusetts, Braintree and Quincy, Massachusetts. It began operations in 1883 in Braintree, and moved to its final location on ...

Quincy, Massachusetts Quincy ( ) is a city in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the largest city in the county. Quincy is part of the Greater Boston area as one of Boston's immediate southern suburbs. Its population in ...

. In May 1942, , which had been built in the same shipyard two decades earlier, was sunk at the

Battle of the Coral Sea The Battle of the Coral Sea, from 4 to 8 May 1942, was a major naval battle between the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) and naval and air forces of the United States and Australia. Taking place in the Pacific Theatre of World War II, the battle ...

. In June, workers at the shipyard submitted a request to Navy Secretary

Frank Knox William Franklin Knox (January 1, 1874 – April 28, 1944) was an American politician, soldier, newspaper editor, and publisher. He was the Republican vice presidential candidate in 1936 and Secretary of the Navy under Franklin D. Roosevelt d ...

to change the name of a carrier currently under construction there to ''Lexington''. Knox agreed to the proposal and ''Cabot'' was renamed ''Lexington'' on 16 June 1942, the fifth U.S. Navy ship to bear the name of the Revolutionary War

. She was launched on 23 September 1942, sponsored by Mrs. Theodore Douglas Robinson. ''Lexington'' was commissioned on 17 February 1943, with

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

Felix Stump Felix Budwell Stump (December 15, 1894 – June 13, 1972) was an admiral in the United States Navy and Commander, United States Pacific Fleet from July 10, 1953 until July 31, 1958. Early life and career Stump was born in Parkersburg, West Virgini ...

in command. After a shakedown cruise in the

Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...

, ''Lexington'' sailed via the

Panama Canal The Panama Canal () is an artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Caribbean Sea with the Pacific Ocean. It cuts across the narrowest point of the Isthmus of Panama, and is a Channel (geography), conduit for maritime trade between th ...

to join the Pacific fleet. One of the carrier's first casualties was 1939

Heisman Trophy The Heisman Memorial Trophy ( ; also known simply as the Heisman) is awarded annually since 1935 to the top player in college football. It is considered the most prestigious award in the sport and is presented by the Heisman Trophy Trust followin ...

winner

Nile Kinnick Nile Clarke Kinnick Jr. (July 9, 1918 – June 2, 1943) was an American naval aviator, law student, and college football player for the Iowa Hawkeyes. He won the 1939 Heisman Trophy and was a consensus All-American. He died during a training ...

. During the ship's initial voyage (to the Caribbean) in 1943, Kinnick and other naval fliers were conducting training flights off her deck. The

Grumman F4F Wildcat The Grumman F4F Wildcat is an American carrier-based A carrier-based aircraft (also known as carrier-capable aircraft, carrier-borne aircraft, carrier aircraft or aeronaval aircraft) is a naval aircraft designed for operations from aircra ...

flown by Kinnick developed a serious oil leak while airborne and was unable to return to ''Lexington'', crashing into the sea four miles from the ship. Neither Kinnick nor his plane were recovered. ''Lexington'' arrived at

Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the Reci ...

on 9 August 1943, and participated in a raid on

Tarawa Tarawa is an atoll and the capital of the Republic of Kiribati,Kiribati
''

Wake Island Wake Island (), also known as Wake Atoll, is a coral atoll in the Micronesia subregion of the Pacific Ocean. The atoll is composed of three islets – Wake, Wilkes, and Peale Islands – surrounding a lagoon encircled by a coral reef. The neare ...

in October, before returning to Pearl Harbor to prepare for the Gilbert Islands operation. From 19 to 24 November, she made searches and flew sorties in the

Marshalls Marshalls, Inc. is an American chain of discount store, off-price department stores owned by TJX Companies. Marshalls has over 1,000 American stores, including larger stores named Marshalls Mega Store (stores operating with HomeGoods combined), ...

, covering the landings in the Gilberts. Her aviators downed 29 enemy aircraft on 23 and 24 November.

Kwajalein raid

''Lexington'' sailed to raid Kwajalein on 4 December. Her morning strike destroyed the , damaged two cruisers, and accounted for 30 enemy aircraft. The carrier was attacked at midday by six ''Tenzan'' Torpedo bombers of the 531st Kōkūtai, two were shot down by flak while attacking the carrier, but the task force was ordered not to open fire at night as Admiral Charles Pownall then in command believed it would give their position away. He was later replaced. At 19:20 that night, a major air attack began while the task force was under way off Kwajalein. At 23:22, parachute flares from Japanese planes silhouetted the carrier, and 10 minutes later, she was hit by a torpedo on the starboard side, knocking out her steering gear. Nine people were killed, two on the fantail and seven in the chief petty officers' mess room, which was a repair party station during general quarters. Four members of the affected repair party survived because they were sitting on a couch that apparently absorbed the shock of the explosion. Settling by the stern, the carrier began circling to port amidst dense clouds of smoke pouring from ruptured tanks aft. To maintain water-tight integrity, damage control crews were ordered to seal the damaged compartments and welded them shut, applying heavy steel plates where needed. An emergency hand-operated steering unit was quickly devised, and ''Lexington'' made Pearl Harbor for emergency repairs, arriving on 9 December. She reached

Bremerton, Washington Bremerton is a city in Kitsap County, Washington, Kitsap County, Washington (state), Washington, United States. The population was 43,505 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and an estimated 44,122 in 2021, making it the largest city ...

, on 22 December for full repairs, completed on 20 February 1944. The error in judgment concerning opening fire at night was never repeated, as thereafter gun crews were ordered to open fire anytime the ship came under attack. Following this attack, the ship was reported as sunk by Japan's

Tokyo Rose Tokyo Rose (alternative spelling Tokio Rose) was a name given by Allied troops in the South Pacific during World War II to all female English-speaking radio broadcasters of Japanese propaganda. The programs were broadcast in the South Pacific ...

, the first of several such assertions.

Battle of the Philippine Sea

''Lexington'' returned to

Majuro Majuro (; Marshallese language, Marshallese: ' ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Marshall Islands. It is also a large coral atoll of 64 islands in the Pacific Ocean. It forms a legislative district of the Ratak Chain, Ratak ( ...

in time to be present when

Rear Admiral Rear admiral is a flag officer rank used by English-speaking navies. In most European navies, the equivalent rank is called counter admiral. Rear admiral is usually immediately senior to commodore and immediately below vice admiral. It is ...

Mitscher took command of the newly formed

Task Force 58 The Fast Carrier Task Force (TF 38 when assigned to Third Fleet, TF 58 when assigned to Fifth Fleet) was a group of ships in World War II. It was the main striking force of the United States Navy in the Pacific War from January 1944 through th ...

(TF 58) on 8 March. Mitscher took ''Lexington'' as his flagship, and after a warm-up strike against

Mille Mille can refer to: People * Constantin Mille, Romanian journalist and politician * Mathieu Mille, French ice hockey player Places * Mille Lacs County, Minnesota * Mille Lacs Lake in Minnesota. * Mille River, a tributary of the Awash River ...

, the Fast Carrier Task Force began a series of operations against the Japanese positions in the central Pacific. She supported Army landings at Hollandia (currently known as Jayapura) on 13 April, and then raided the strongpoint of Truk on 28 April. Heavy counterattacks left ''Lexington'' untouched, her planes splashing 17 enemy fighters, but for the second time, Japanese propaganda announced her sunk. A surprise fighter strike on

Saipan Saipan () is the largest island and capital of the Northern Mariana Islands, an unincorporated Territories of the United States, territory of the United States in the western Pacific Ocean. According to 2020 estimates by the United States Cens ...

on 11 June nearly eliminated all air opposition over the island, then battered it from the air for the next five days. On 16 June, ''Lexington'' fought off a fierce attack by Japanese torpedo bombers based on

Guam Guam ( ; ) is an island that is an Territories of the United States, organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. Guam's capital is Hagåtña, Guam, Hagåtña, and the most ...

, once again emerging unhurt, but 'sunk' a third time by propaganda pronouncements. As Japanese opposition to the Marianas operation provoked the

Battle of the Philippine Sea The Battle of the Philippine Sea was a major naval battle of World War II on 19–20 June 1944 that eliminated the Imperial Japanese Navy's ability to conduct large-scale carrier actions. It took place during the United States' amphibious r ...

on 19–20 June, ''Lexington'' played a major role in TF 58's great victory in what was later called the "Great Marianas Turkey Shoot". With over 300 enemy aircraft destroyed the first day, and a carrier, a tanker, and a destroyer sunk the second day, American aviators nearly knocked Japanese naval aviation out of the war; with the planes went the trained and experienced pilots without whom Japan could not continue air warfare at sea. Using

Eniwetok Enewetak Atoll (; also spelled Eniwetok Atoll or sometimes Eniewetok; , , or , ; known to the Japanese as Brown Atoll or Brown Island; ) is a large coral atoll of 40 islands in the Pacific Ocean and with its 296 people (as of 2021) forms a legi ...

as her base, ''Lexington'' sent aircraft on sorties over Guam and against the Palaus and Bonins into August. She arrived in the Carolinas on 7 September for three days of strikes against

Yap Yap (, sometimes written as , or ) traditionally refers to an island group located in the Caroline Islands of the western Pacific Ocean, a part of Yap State. The name "Yap" in recent years has come to also refer to the state within the Federate ...

and

Ulithi Ulithi (, , or ; pronounced roughly as YOU-li-thee) is an atoll in the Caroline Islands of the western Pacific Ocean, about east of Yap, within Yap State. Name The name of the island goes back to Chuukic languages, Proto-Chuukic ''*úlú-diw ...

, then began attacks on

Mindanao Mindanao ( ) is the List of islands of the Philippines, second-largest island in the Philippines, after Luzon, and List of islands by population, seventh-most populous island in the world. Located in the southern region of the archipelago, the ...

, the Visayas, the

Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...

area, and shipping along the west coast of

Luzon Luzon ( , ) is the largest and most populous List of islands in the Philippines, island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the List of islands of the Philippines, Philippine archipelago, it is the economic and political ce ...

, preparing for the coming assault on

Leyte Leyte ( ) is an island in the Visayas group of islands in the Philippines. It is eighth-largest and sixth-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total population of 2,626,970 as of 2020 census. Since the accessibility of land has been ...

. Her task force then blasted

Okinawa most commonly refers to: * Okinawa Prefecture, Japan's southernmost prefecture * Okinawa Island, the largest island of Okinawa Prefecture * Okinawa Islands, an island group including Okinawa itself * Okinawa (city), the second largest city in th ...

on 10 October and

Formosa Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The island of Taiwan, formerly known to Westerners as Formosa, has an area of and makes up 99% of the land under ROC control. It lies about across the Taiwan Strait f ...

two days later to destroy bases from which opposition to the Philippines campaign might be launched. She was again unscathed through the air battle fought after the Formosa assault.

Battle of Leyte Gulf

Now covering the Leyte landings, ''Lexington''s aircraft scored importantly in the

Battle of Leyte Gulf The Battle of Leyte Gulf () 23–26 October 1944, was the largest naval battle of World War II and by some criteria the largest naval battle in history, with over 200,000 naval personnel involved. By late 1944, Japan possessed fewer capital sh ...

, the climactic American naval victory over Japan. While the carrier came under constant enemy attack in the engagement, she was not damaged during the main battle. In exchange her aircraft served in the

battle of the Sibuyan Sea The Battle of Leyte Gulf () 23–26 October 1944, was the largest naval battle of World War II and by some criteria the largest naval battle in history, with over 200,000 naval personnel involved. By late 1944, Japan possessed fewer capital sh ...

, where they assisted in sinking the Japanese "super battleship" , one of the two largest and most powerful battleships in the world (alongside her sistership ''Yamato'') and scored hits on three cruisers on 24 October, including a torpedo hit that crippled the heavy cruiser '' Myōkō,'' forcing her out of the battle alongside two destroyers to escort her. The next day ''Lexington''s aircraft served in the battle off Cape Engano against Japanese aircraft carriers. With aircraft, they sank the light carrier and in conjunction with aircraft crippled the light carrier (later finished off by a US cruiser task force consisting of , , , and ). Meanwhile, her aircraft alone sank the fleet carrier . During the battle of the Coral Sea on May 8, 1942, ''Zuikaku'' air group landed two torpedo hits that were the primary reason behind ''Lexington'' (CV-2)'s sinking, thus ''Lexington'' avenged her fallen predecessor. Later in the day, alongside aircraft, ''Lexington'' aircraft sank the light carrier . As the retiring Japanese were pursued, her aircraft then sank the heavy crusier with four torpedo hits on 5 November off Luzon. Later that day, ''Lexington'' was introduced to the ''

kamikaze , officially , were a part of the Japanese Special Attack Units of military aviators who flew suicide attacks for the Empire of Japan against Allied naval vessels in the closing stages of the Pacific campaign of World War II, intending to d ...

'' as a flaming Japanese aircraft crashed near her island, destroying most of the island structure and spraying fire in all directions. Within 20 minutes, major blazes were under control, and she was able to continue normal flight actions, as well as shooting down a ''kamikaze'' heading for . On 9 November, ''Lexington'' arrived in Ulithi to repair battle damage while hearing that Tokyo once again claimed her sunk. ''Lexington'' suffered 50 killed and 132 wounded in this attack. Chosen as the

flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of navy, naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically ...

for Task Group 58.2 (TG 58.2) on 11 December, she struck at the airfields of Luzon and Formosa during the first nine days of January 1945, encountering little enemy opposition. The task force then entered the South China Sea to strike enemy shipping and air installations. Strikes were flown against Saipan,

Cam Ranh Bay Cam Ranh Bay () is a deep-water bay in Vietnam in Khánh Hòa Province. It is located at an inlet of the South China Sea situated on the southeastern coast of Vietnam, between Phan Rang and Nha Trang, approximately 290 kilometers (180 miles) nor ...

in then

Indochina Mainland Southeast Asia (historically known as Indochina and the Indochinese Peninsula) is the continental portion of Southeast Asia. It lies east of the Indian subcontinent and south of Mainland China and is bordered by the Indian Ocean to th ...

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

, the Pescadores, and Formosa. Task force planes sank four merchant ships and four escorts in one convoy and destroyed at least 12 in another, at Camranh Bay on 12 January. Leaving the China Sea on 20 January, ''Lexington'' sailed north to strike Formosa again on 21 January and Okinawa again on 22 January. After replenishing at Ulithi, TG 58.2 sailed on 10 February to hit airfields near Tokyo on 16 February 1945, and on 17 February to minimize opposition to the Iwo Jima landings on 19 February. ''Lexington'' flew close support for the assaulting troops from 19 to 22 February, then sailed for further strikes against the Japanese home islands and the

Nansei Shoto The , also known as the or the , are a chain of Japanese islands that stretch southwest from Kyushu to Taiwan: the Ryukyu Islands are divided into the Satsunan Islands ( Ōsumi, Tokara and Amami) and Okinawa Prefecture ( Daitō, Miyako, Ya ...

before heading for overhaul at Puget Sound.

Rear Admiral Sprague's task force

''Lexington'' was combat-bound again on 22 May, sailing via Alameda and Pearl Harbor for San Pedro Bay, Leyte, where she joined Rear Admiral

Thomas L. Sprague Thomas Lamison Sprague (October 2, 1894 – September 17, 1972) was a vice admiral of the United States Navy, who served during World War II as commander of the aircraft carrier and took part in the battles of Guam, Leyte Gulf and Okinawa. Nav ...

's task force for the final round of air strikes which battered the Japanese home islands from July-15 August, when the last strike was ordered to jettison its bombs and return to ''Lexington'' on receiving word of the Japanese surrender. During this period, she had launched attacks on

Honshū , historically known as , is the largest of the four main islands of Japan. It lies between the Pacific Ocean (east) and the Sea of Japan (west). It is the seventh-largest island in the world, and the second-most populous after the Indonesian ...

and

Hokkaidō is the second-largest island of Japan and comprises the largest and northernmost prefecture, making up its own region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō from Honshu; the two islands are connected by railway via the Seikan Tunnel. The ...

airfields, and

Yokosuka is a city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. , the city has a population of 373,797, and a population density of . The total area is . Yokosuka is the 11th-most populous city in the Greater Tokyo Area, and the 12th in the Kantō region. The city i ...

and

Kure is a city in the Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 208,024 in 106,616 households and a population density of 590 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . With a strong industrial and naval heritage, ...

naval bases to destroy the remnants of the Japanese fleet. In the actions at Kure, F4U-1D Corsairs of VBF94 flying off ''Lexington'', sank the hybrid battleship/aircraft carrier ''

Ise Ise may refer to: Places *Ise, Mie, a city in Japan **Ise Grand Shrine, a Shinto shrine located in Ise, Mie * Ise Ekiti, a city in Nigeria * Ise, Norway, a village in Norway *Ise Province, an ancient province of Japan *River Ise, a tributary of the ...

''. Flying against heavy enemy fire, squadron commander Lester Wall Jr. dropped a 1000lb bomb down her stack, exploding her boilers and breaking her keel in a conflagration matching that of the destruction of the at Pearl Harbor four years earlier. The Lt. Cmdr. and several men in his squadron were awarded the Navy Cross for this action. She had also flown bombing attacks on industrial targets in the Tokyo area. After hostilities ended, her aircraft continued to fly air patrols over Japan. The previously mentioned Lt.Cmdr. Wall first located and then led in supply drops to prisoner-of-war camps on Honshū that had been abandoned by the Japanese. He was subsequently awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for this mission. In December, she was used to ferry home servicemen in what was known as

Operation Magic Carpet Operation Magic Carpet was the post–World War II operation by the U.S. War Shipping Administration (WSA) to repatriate over eight million American military personnel from the European (ETO), Pacific, and Asian theaters. Hundreds of Libert ...

, arriving in

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

on 16 December.

After the war

''Lexington'' was decommissioned at Bremerton on 23 April 1947, and entered the

National Defense Reserve Fleet The National Defense Reserve Fleet (NDRF) consists of Ship, ships of the United States, mostly Merchant ship, merchant vessels, that have been Reserve fleet, mothballed but can be activated within 20 to 120 days to provide shipping during nationa ...

. While in reserve, she was designated attack carrier CVA-16 on 1 October 1952. In September 1953, ''Lexington'' entered the

Puget Sound Naval Shipyard Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, officially Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility (PSNS & IMF), is a United States Navy shipyard covering 179 acres (0.7 km2) on Puget Sound at Bremerton, Washington in uninterrupted ...

. She received the ''Essex''-class SCB-27C and

SCB-125 SCB-125 was the United States Navy designation for a series of upgrades to the of aircraft carriers planned by the Ship Characteristics Board and conducted between 1954 and 1959. These upgrades included the addition of an angled flight deck an ...

conversions in one refit, being then able to operate the most modern jet aircraft. The most visible distinguishing features were an angled flight deck, steam catapults, a new island, and the hurricane bow. ''Lexington'' was recommissioned on 15 August 1955, Captain A. S. Heyward Jr. in command. Assigned to

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

as her home port, she operated off California until May 1956, sailing then for a six-month deployment with the

7th Fleet The Seventh Fleet is a numbered fleet of the United States Navy. It is headquartered at U.S. Fleet Activities Yokosuka, in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. It is part of the United States Pacific Fleet. At present, it is the largest of th ...

. She based on Yokosuka for exercises, maneuvers, and search and rescue missions off the coast of China, and called at major Far Eastern ports until returning to San Diego on 20 December. She next trained Air Group 12, which deployed with her on the next 7th Fleet deployment. Arriving at Yokosuka on 1 June 1957, ''Lexington'' embarked Rear Admiral H. D. Riley, Commander Carrier Division 1, and sailed as his flagship until returning to San Diego on 17 October. Following overhaul at Bremerton, her refresher training was interrupted by the

Second Taiwan Strait Crisis The Second Taiwan Strait Crisis, also known as the 1958 Taiwan Strait Crisis, was a conflict between the People's Republic of China (PRC) and the Taiwan, Republic of China (ROC). The PRC shelled the islands of Kinmen (Quemoy) and the Matsu Is ...

; on 14 July 1958, she was ordered to embark Air Group 21 at San Francisco and sail to reinforce the 7th Fleet off Taiwan, arriving on station on 7 August and returning to San Diego on 19 December. Now the first carrier whose planes were armed with

AGM-12 Bullpup The AGM-12 Bullpup is a short-range air-to-ground missile developed by Martin Marietta for the US Navy. It is among the earliest precision guided air-to-ground weapons and the first to be mass produced. It first saw operational use in 1959 on the ...

guided missiles, ''Lexington'' left San Francisco on 26 April 1959 for another tour of duty with the 7th Fleet. She was on standby alert during the Laotian crisis of late August and September. Following this, she exercised with British naval forces before returning to San Diego, arriving on 2 December. In early 1960, she underwent an overhaul at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard. ''Lexington''s next Far Eastern tour began late in 1960, and was extended well into 1961 by renewed tension in Laos. Returning to west coast operations, she was ordered in January 1962 to prepare to relieve as aviation training carrier in the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico () is an oceanic basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, mostly surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north, and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States; on the southw ...

, and she was redesignated CVS-16 on 1 October 1962. However, during the

Cuban Missile Crisis The Cuban Missile Crisis, also known as the October Crisis () in Cuba, or the Caribbean Crisis (), was a 13-day confrontation between the governments of the United States and the Soviet Union, when American deployments of Nuclear weapons d ...

, she resumed duty as an attack carrier, and she did not relieve ''Antietam'' until 29 December 1962 at

Pensacola, Florida Pensacola ( ) is a city in the Florida panhandle in the United States. It is the county seat and only incorporated city, city in Escambia County, Florida, Escambia County. The population was 54,312 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. ...

. Into 1969, ''Lexington'' operated out of her home port, Pensacola, as well as Corpus Christi, qualifying student aviators and maintaining the high state of training of both active-duty and reserve naval aviators. Her work became of increasing significance as she prepared the men vital to the Navy and Marine Corps operations over

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

, where naval aviation played a major role. ''Lexington'' marked her 200,000th arrested landing on 17 October 1967, was redesignated CVT-16 on 1 January 1969 and was redesignated again as AVT-16 on 1 July 1978. She continued as a training carrier for the next 22 years until she was relieved by , and ''Lexington'' was decommissioned and struck on 8 November 1991. On 18 August 1980, ''Lexington'' became the first aircraft carrier in United States naval history to have women stationed aboard as crew members. On 29 October 1989, a student

naval aviator Naval aviation / Aeronaval is the application of military air power by navies, whether from warships that embark aircraft, or land bases. It often involves '' navalised aircraft'', specifically designed for naval use. Seaborne aviation encompas ...

lost control of his T-2 training aircraft after an aborted attempt to land on ''Lexington''s flight deck. The aircraft inverted and hit the island with its left wing, killing four crew members (including the pilot of the plane who had begun an ejection sequence) and one civilian maintenance worker and injuring seventeen. The island suffered no major damage, and fires from the burning fuel were extinguished within 15 minutes. ''Lexington'' was the final ''Essex''-class carrier in commission, after had been decommissioned in 1976. File:USS Lexington (AVT-16) putting out to sea in Pensacola, Florida, (USA), in 1987.jpg, ''Lexington'' putting to sea from Pensacola in 1987 File:T-2C Buckeyes on USS Lexington (AVT-16) in 1989.JPEG, A pair of T-2s wait to be catapulted from ''Lexington'' in 1989 File:TH-57A of HT-8 landing on USS Lexington (AVT-16) 1985.JPEG, TH-57 landing on ''Lexington'' in 1985 File:Douglas TA-4J Skyhawk aboard USS Lexington (AVT-16), 1 April 1989 (6445251).jpg, A TA-4 performs touch and go landings from ''Lexington'', while another prepares to be catapulted from the flight deck in 1989 File:USS Lexington (AVT-16) leaving Guantanamo Bay c1989.jpg, ''Lexington'' departing from Guantanamo Bay in 1991

USS ''Lexington'' Museum

On 26 November 1991, the US Navy turned ''Lexington'' over to the City of Corpus Christi. On 15 June 1992, the ship was donated as a museum and now operates as the "USS ''Lexington'' Museum on the Bay" at 2914 North Shoreline Boulevard, Corpus Christi, Texas. A MEGAtheater (similar to

IMAX IMAX is a proprietary system of High-definition video, high-resolution cameras, film formats, film projectors, and movie theater, theaters known for having very large screens with a tall aspect ratio (image), aspect ratio (approximately ei ...

) was added in the forward aircraft elevator space. ''Lexington'' was designated a National Historic Landmark in 2003. The ship is carefully maintained, and areas of the ship previously off-limits are becoming open to the public every few years. One of the most recent examples of this is the catapult room. The ship's World War II-era gun battery is also being partially restored using guns salvaged from scrapped ships. Most notable among these are 5"/38 DP gun turrets saved from the scrapping of the heavy cruiser . They have been mounted in the approximate locations where similar mounts once existed as part of the ship's original World War II-era fit. After the coast guard cutter ''Dauntless''' overhaul, her 3"/50cal gun was put on display onboard ''Lexington''. On 5 February 2010, ''Lexington'' hosted its 17th annual "Stagedoor Canteen". The

National Naval Aviation Museum The National Naval Aviation Museum, formerly known as the National Museum of Naval Aviation and the Naval Aviation Museum, is a military and aerospace museum located at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida. Founded in 1962 and moved to its cur ...

, at Naval Air Station Pensacola, has a small carrier deck mock-up, whose flight deck is constructed from deck boards salvaged from ''Lexington''. File:An aerial photo of the USS Lexington in Corpus Christi.jpg, An aerial photo of USS ''Lexington'' in Corpus Christi File:USS Lexington CV-16 by malo 1.jpg, ''Lexington'' as a museum ship, 2008 File:USS Lexington Helm.jpg, The bridge File:USS Lexington Combat Information Center.jpg, Combat Information Center File:USS Lexington Another island view.jpg, Island view

Popular culture

In 1975 ''Lexington'' served as a filming location at sea the feature movie ''Midway'' and again in 1987 for the TV miniseries ''

War and Remembrance ''War and Remembrance'' is a novel by Herman Wouk, published in October 1978 as the sequel to Wouk's '' The Winds of War'' (1971). ''The Winds of War'' covers the period 1939 to 1941, and ''War and Remembrance'' continues the story of the exten ...

''. In both cases, she was altered to the extent possible to resemble other vessels, ( in ''Midway'' and in ''War and Remembrance'') by adding antiaircraft cannons and operating World War II-vintage Navy aircraft. ''Lexington'' was also used (though tied up to her pier) for filming of the 2001 film ''

'', where she was altered to resemble a Japanese carrier, as well as . In July 2007, the popular TV show '' Ghost Hunters'' filmed aboard ''Lexington'', looking for evidence of ghosts, and in December 2009, she was the subject of an episode of ''

Ghost Lab ''Ghost Lab'' is a weekly American paranormal television series that premiered on October 6, 2009, on the Discovery Channel. Produced by Paper Route Productions and Go Go Luckey Entertainment, the program is narrated by Mike Rowe. It follows g ...

'', on the

Discovery Channel Discovery Channel, known as The Discovery Channel from 1985 to 1995, and often referred to as simply Discovery, is an American cable channel that is best known for its ongoing reality television shows and promotion of pseudoscience. It init ...

. In 2014,

Pepsi Pepsi is a Carbonated water, carbonated soft drink with a cola flavor, manufactured by PepsiCo which serves as its flagship product. In 2023, Pepsi was the second most valuable soft drink brand worldwide behind Coca-Cola; the two share a long ...

used the ship to film a commercial in preparation for the 2015

Super Bowl The Super Bowl is the annual History of the NFL championship, league championship game of the National Football League (NFL) of the United States. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966 NFL season, 1966 (with the excep ...

. The commercial, titled "Operation Halftime," featured country-music singer

Blake Shelton Blake Tollison Shelton (born June 18, 1976) is an American country music, country singer, songwriter and television personality. In 2001, he made his debut with the single "Austin (Blake Shelton song), Austin" from his Blake Shelton (album), self ...

performing for veterans and their families.

Awards

The crew of ''Lexington'' received the Presidential Unit Citation for heroism in action against enemy Japanese forces, 11

battle star A service star is a miniature bronze or silver five-pointed star in diameter that is authorized to be worn by members of the eight uniformed services of the United States on medals and ribbons to denote an additional award or service period. T ...

s for major engagements during

service, and other awards.

References

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External links

*
USS Lexington Museum On the Bay
official website
WWII Archives U.S.S. ''Lexington'' (CV-16) original Ship Action Reports Scanned in from the National ArchivesNational Historic Landmark Program: ''Lexington, USS (Aircraft Carrier)''
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Lexington (Cv-16) Essex-class aircraft carriers Ships built in Quincy, Massachusetts 1942 ships World War II aircraft carriers of the United States Cold War aircraft carriers of the United States Tourist attractions in Corpus Christi, Texas Museums in Nueces County, Texas Museum ships in Texas National Historic Landmarks in Texas Military and war museums in the United States Military and war museums in Texas Naval museums in the United States Ships on the National Register of Historic Places in Texas National Register of Historic Places in Nueces County, Texas