Wreck of Aircraft Carrier USS Lexington Located in Coral Sea After 76 Years

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Source: Paul Allen

By The Editors - March 5, 2018

Wreckage from the USS Lexington was discovered by the expedition crew of Research Vessel (R/V) Petrel on March 4. The Lexington was found 3,000 meters (about two miles) below the surface, resting on the floor of the Coral Sea more than 500 miles off the eastern coast of Australia.

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

---

Retweeted by David Fahrenthold: https://twitter.com/Fahrenthold

We've located the USS Lexington after she sank 76 yrs ago. #RVPetrel found the WWII aircraft carrier & planes more than 3000m (2mi) below Coral Sea near Australia. We remember her brave crew who helped secure 1st strategic US win in the Pacific Theater http://vlcn.fyi/Vcee30iLuOo

Link to tweet

Wreck of Aircraft Carrier USS Lexington Located in Coral Sea After 76 Years

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

Adding links to Wikipedia entries:

Battle of the Coral Sea

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Coral_Sea

USS Lexington (CV-2)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Lexington_(CV-2)

[Eliot Rosewater]

1. Wow, wonder what those men would have to say about the traitor in the WH

the men who served on her I mean.

[Leghorn21]

2. Background - May, 1942:

....A few days later the Japanese began Operation Mo, the invasion of Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, and the two American carriers attempted to stop the invasion forces. They sank the light aircraft carrier Shōhō on 7 May during the Battle of the Coral Sea, but did not encounter the main Japanese force of the carriers Shōkaku and Zuikaku until the next day.

Aircraft from Lexington and Yorktown succeeded in badly damaging Shōkaku, but the Japanese aircraft crippled Lexington. Vapors from leaking aviation gasoline tanks sparked a series of explosions and fires that could not be controlled, and Lexington had to be scuttled by an American destroyer during the evening of 8 May to prevent her capture.

Wiki

[turbinetree]

3. To the 200 sailors that died defending this country in the Battle of Coral Sea on this ship.........

and your families.......................

[malthaussen]

4. With an intact TBD, no less.

Now, how did that plane survive the ride in such good condition?

-- Mal

[AtheistCrusader]

10. Might have been tethered to the deck at the time she sank.

Still, seems pretty incredible so much of it is still there.

[The River]

18. They are Chained

to small crossbars set into dimples in the flight deck. Once hooked, a small ratchet tights the chain. They can ride out a typhoon (or a sinking).
As a veteran aircraft carrier (Essex class) sailor I find this extremely interesting.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

5. Another link for the story:

VIDEO: Billionaire Paul Allen Finds Lost World War II Carrier USS Lexington

By: Sam LaGrone

March 5, 2018 2:01 PM • Updated: March 5, 2018 2:31 PM

Billionaire-turned-explorer Paul Allen has discovered the missing wreck of the World War II carrier USS Lexington (CV-2) at the bottom of the Coral Sea.

The crew of his personal research ship R/V Petrel found the missing ship two miles below the surface and about 500 miles off the eastern coast of Australia, he announced on Monday.

“To pay tribute to the USS Lexington and the brave men that served on her is an honor,” Allen said in a statement.

“As Americans, all of us owe a debt of gratitude to everyone who served and who continue to serve our country for their courage, persistence and sacrifice.”

[riversedge]

6. those are some pretty clear pictures/video.

[hatrack]

7. Amazing that it's as intact as it appears to be (admittedly a short video)

[barbtries]

8. my father was on the ship that day. we have his diary, which ends that day.

he was on the USS California during Pearl Harbor. Survived both.

dropped dead of a heart attack at the age of 49, but he definitely dodged death during WWII.

[erronis]

11. What an incredible life he had. Hardly any of us can understand that time.

Some of my best friends and best conversations have been with the older vets who had seen so much. And the newer ones from Korea, Vietnam, Kuwait, Afghanistan, Iraq - all who have seen more than most us will ever know.

Still, war is a hell of a way to get these experiences!

[Mr.Bill]

13. On another forum I frequent, it all came into perspective for me.

Some guy was bragging (rightfully so) about how privileged he was to have had dinner with a WWII veteran a few evening ago. I replied I used to have dinner with a WWII veteran every night. His name was dad.

[Bayard]

24. Same here

[oneshooter]

25. The fellow that owned the land adjacent to mine was a WW2 Vet.

He was on Halsey's staff and was on the Lexington when she was hit and sank. He had four albums of photos from his service in WW2. Retired a Commander after 20 years. I bought the 20 acres from him before he passed. He loved coming over to drink coffee and shoot M1 Garands. He passed 3 years ago, and will be missed by this old Marine.

[AtheistCrusader]

9. Wow, that is amazingly intact.

Incredible find.

[bpj62]

12. Battle of the Coral Sea

This was the first time that the naval vessels never saw each other. The Japanese lost one carrier and the other carrier was damaged and unable to participate in the Midway Invasion. The Lexington was lost and the Yorktown was badly damaged. She made it back to Pearl Harbor where the Navy shipyard worked on her for 72 hours straight so that she could participate in the Battle of Midway where she was subsequently sunk by a Japanese submarine after being abandoned. Both the Lexington and Yorktown names were assigned to the new Essex Class Carriers and both are currently serving as naval museums.

[grantcart]

15. Yes but it was also the first battle where we could "see" them through

intercepted ciphers.

They were able to decipher the messages because they had repeated words and somebody guessed that they might refer to particular ships and particular ports. After a while they made the connection and broke the code.

Nimitz ordered a large group to intercept them and as you point out the Battle for the Coral Sea did enough damage to make the Japanese navy vulnerable at Midway.

So glad they found it.

[DeminPennswoods]

21. Will there be another carrier named Coral Sea?

CV-43, afaik, the last carrier named for the Battle of the Coral Sea, was retired from service 25+ years ago. I wonder if any of the new construction carriers will carry that name.

[bpj62]

22. Doubtful

They tend to name all the new Carriers after Presidents or Admirals. The exception will be the new Enterprise. The Tawara Class Assault ships were the ones getting battle names but I do not know if we are building anymore ships in that class.

[oneshooter]

26. Both were originally laid down as Battle Cruisers with 12" mains.

Were converted to Carriers after the naval treaty of 1922.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lexington-class_aircraft_carrier

[bpj62]

28. Saratoga and Lexington

The Yorktown was the lead ship of her class of which there were only 3. The Enterprise and the Hornet. The Saratoga or Sara as she was called survived the war but was subsequently sunk after being used for Atomic Bomb testing in the Bikini Atolls. I believe that you can drive In The ships that were used for the testing.

[oneshooter]

31. "drive in" no thank you. n/t

[RealityChik]

14. So proud of our man, Paul Allen, Washington state...

Nice to know that the founding partners of Microsoft are doing noble things with some of the gazillions they earned over the decades (which is more than anyone can say about greedmeister, Jeff Bezos).

And this discovery follows locating the USS Indianapolis wreckage in the Philippine Sea last August. Truly gives the families of those who lost their lives in the service of our country some closure at long last.

Paul Allen, you are a hero in your own right. Thank you.

[Javaman]

16. ...

[byronius]

20. What a huge ship. That footage is powerful.

[trusty elf]

17. Eerie

[Buttershrimp]

19. nice

very impressive story.

[BSdetect]

23. I knew a merchant marine who survived that battle.

He was picked up by an American submarine after his ship went down.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

27. Some tweets abut the aircraft and squadrons on the Lexington:

Expand the thread.

Retweeted by WhatFreshHellIsThisHat: https://twitter.com/Popehat

Breathtaking images of the USS Lexington, sunk in 1942 & just found by Paul Allen https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2018/03/paul-allen-lexington-underwater-discovery-spd/ …

Link to tweet

[alarimer]

29. 5 ships have carried the name Lexington, including another carrier currently in Corpus Christi TX

That one was originally named the USS Cabot and changed after the sinking of the Lexington.

As a longtime resident of Corpus and having visited the Lexington museum once or twice, this article confused me at first.

[dchill]

30. K&R.