USS Lexington

I brought my Wife Downtown to the Omni Bayfront Plaza Hotel for her Birthday Party. I took a couple of Pictures of the Famous "Blue Ghost" from the View of our Room. We have had this Honorable Aircraft Carrier here since 2001. The 3rd Picture is are Harbour Bridge were Right under it about a 100 yards North of it is 2 US Navy Heavy Equipment Transport Ships always on Standby for Ft. Hood and the Corpus Christi Army Depot. C-CAD

(Information Provided by Wikipedia)

USS Lexington nicknamed "The Blue Ghost", is an Essex-class aircraft carrier built during World War II for the United States Navy. Originally intended to be named Cabot, word arrived during construction that the USS Lexington (CV-2) had been lost in the Battle of the Coral Sea. She was renamed while under construction to commemorate the earlier ship.[4] She was the fifth US Navy ship to bear the name in honor of the Revolutionary War Battle of Lexington.

Lexington was commissioned in February 1943 and saw extensive service through the Pacific War. For much of her service, she acted as the flagship for Admiral Marc Mitscher, and led the Fast Carrier Task Force 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 anti-submarine 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, on the east coast 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 in Corpus Christi, Texas. In 2003, Lexington was designated a National Historic Landmark. Though her surviving sister ships Yorktown, Intrepid, and Hornet carry lower hull numbers, Lexington was laid down and commissioned earlier, making Lexington the oldest remaining fleet carrier in the world.

I seem to recall hearing that either no Essex class carriers have ever been lost to enemy action or just a single one during WW2?

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Originally Posted by Flying10uk

I seem to recall hearing that either no Essex class carriers have ever been lost to enemy action or just a single one during WW2?

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Your Correct the The USS Lexington CV-2 was damaged beyong repair by the Japanese in the Battle of the Coral Sea then it was Scuttled by US Battleships. The USS Lexington CV -16 was built to be a Essex Class and was in the Battle of Midway.

You're in my hometown!
If you get the chance, going in is worth it. I've been on battleships, subs, etc, and nothing is quite like a carrier. Plus they have a bring back type 99 with Lexington capture papers. Pretty cool.

Looks like another reason to come down there...I've seen the Iowa in old Port of LA and several visits from USS Carl Vincent and USS Abe Lincoln here in Victoria but not one of these.

We also had a Los Angeles Class Fast Attack Submarine named USS City of Corpus Christi (SSN 705). It was to be named USS Corpus Christi, but some People had problems using that name because of the meaning of Corpus Christi in Latin and it didn't fare to we'll with a lot of Christian people who petitioned to have the name changed using it on a Ship of War. That's when the Navy change it to USS City of Corpus Christi (SSN 705). The Tour I had was Amazing inside this Really Nice Submarine.

I also have visited the Captured 2 man Japanese Mini-Sub from the attack on Pearl Harbor in Fredericksburg, TX. Inside of it was deplorable. I can't believe how 2 Japanese Sailors operated this.

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Originally Posted by imntxs564

Your Correct the The USS Lexington CV-2 was damaged beyong repair by the Japanese in the Battle of the Coral Sea then it was Scuttled by US Battleships. The USS Lexington CV -16 was built to be a Essex Class and was in the Battle of Midway.

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Just a few corrections. The Lexington CV-2 was a Lexington Class aircraft carrier built on a battlecruiser hull. It was scuttled by the destroyer Phelps, the US had no battleships at the Battle of the Coral Sea. The USS Lexington CV-16 was not at the battle of Midway. The three carriers at Midway were the Enterprise, the Yorktown and the Hornet. All three are Yorktown class carriers. All Essex class carriers survived WWII.

Correct...I did not mentioned that is was designed originally to be a Battlecruiser, she was converted into one of the Navy's first aircraft carriers during construction to comply with the terms of the Washington Naval Treaty which essentially terminated all new Battleship and Battlecruiser construction.

Frank

So are we saying that no Essex class carriers have ever been lost due to enemy action?

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Originally Posted by Flying10uk

no Essex class carriers have ever been lost due to enemy action

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That's what he's saying. Here's the link that shows you their disposal. http://www.uss-bennington.org/essex.html

Don't mistake a ship's name from a former or latter ship as being that ship...

No Essex Class carriers were lost to enemy action. One almost was, the USS Franklin but they were able to get the damage under control and tow it back. This was late in the war when we pretty much had control of the seas. Several carriers may have survived had we been in this situation earlier in the war but with the threat of Japan capturing them, they chose to skuttle them.

I was visiting my old assault craft unit on Coronado. The XO asked if we (wife and I) wanted a ride in the new jet boats. I asked why me, he said they don't get many combat veterans back for visits. Who could pass that up. Four hours anywhere we wanted to go in San Diego harbor. My point, being on a Navy boat we were able to go right up to the hull at the waterline of the Midway. I've been on the ship tour many times, but it's different looking up than down. If anyone has a ship close by I highly suggest taking it's tour. BTW our new jet boats can do 52 knots and tun at full speed. It was a fun ride for me.

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...fd1080a6-1.jpg

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...b115f733-1.jpg

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...768ddf8a-1.jpg

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...h27mwutd-1.jpg

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...egdav4az-1.jpg

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Originally Posted by JimF4M1s

BTW our new jet boats can do 52 knots and tun at full speed. It was a fun ride for me.

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Where were those when you wanted one?

When HMS Illustrious came out of service a couple of years ago we were told by our politicians that it would not be scrapped and that it would remain in the U.K., as a preserved ship. It is looking very much like she will be heading for the scrap yard in the very near future, just like her sister ships, H.M.S. Ark Royal and Invincible.

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Originally Posted by browningautorifle

Looks like another reason to come down there...I've seen the Iowa in old Port of LA and several visits from USS Carl Vincent and USS Abe Lincoln here in Victoria but not one of these.

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What Have I been telling you, Jim....LoL

The Lady Lex was for many years at NAS Pensacola. it was used as a training carrier. After it was decommissioned we lost it to Texas. Couldn't raise enough money to keep her.

Magnificent photographs Jim........

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Originally Posted by Aragorn243

No Essex Class carriers were lost to enemy action. One almost was, the USS Franklin but they were able to get the damage under control and tow it back. This was late in the war when we pretty much had control of the seas. Several carriers may have survived had we been in this situation earlier in the war but with the threat of Japan capturing them, they chose to skuttle them.

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That's really splitting hairs - they ere damaged by enemy action, weren't they?

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Originally Posted by Merle

That's really splitting hairs

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See the link in post 10... "Franklin Essex Class 31 Jan 1944 Stricken from the Navy List 10 Oct 1964" The question was were they sunk?

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Originally Posted by browningautorifle

See the link in post 10... "Franklin Essex Class 31 Jan 1944 Stricken from the Navy List 10 Oct 1964" The question was were they sunk?

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The question pertains to those that were scuttled by US forces after being badly damaged by the Japanese.

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Originally Posted by Flying10uk

So are we saying that no Essex class carriers have ever been lost due to enemy action?

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Originally Posted by Merle

The question pertains to those that were scuttled by US forces after being badly damaged by the Japanese

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They weren't scuttled or sunk...not this class...

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Originally Posted by Merle

The question pertains to those that were scuttled by US forces after being badly damaged by the Japanese.

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Really not sure how to say it better than none were lost to enemy action. Any scuttling by US forces would have been the result of enemy action but let's put it this way. Not one Essex Class carrier was lost due to any reason in WWII, Korea, or Vietnam. Several have been sunk to create artificial reefs after they lived out their useful lives.

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Originally Posted by Aragorn243

Really not sure how to say it better than none were lost to enemy action. Any scuttling by US forces would have been the result of enemy action but let's put it this way. Not one Essex Class carrier was lost due to any reason in WWII, Korea, or Vietnam. Several have been sunk to create artificial reefs after they lived out their useful lives.

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I knew that several carriers had been sunk, but I didn't know what class they were.

Fleet carriers lost were Lexington, Yorktown, Hornet, Wasp. Light carrier Princeton. Escort carriers Bismark Sea, Block Island, Gambier Bay, Liscome Bay, Ommaney Bay, St Lo. Our carrier losses were light compared to other navies and the size of ours. We also lost the Langley which was our first aircraft carrier but by the time it was sunk it had been converted to a seaplane tender.

Click on the link for a detailed report with pics of the damage sustained by the USS Franklin. Click on the blue numbers for the pictures of the damage that ship was very nearly a goner.
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