USS Lexington (CV-2)

USS Lexington (CV-2) was a pioneering built for the United States Navy and the lead ship of her class. Originally laid down as a battlecruiser under the 1916 naval program, she was converted to an aircraft carrier following the Washington Naval Treaty. Nicknamed "Lady Lex," she served with the Pacific Fleet for over a decade before being lost in one of the first major carrier battles of World War II.

Design and construction

The vessel's origins trace to the massive 1916 Naval Appropriations Act authorized by the United States Congress, which called for a fleet of six modern battlecruisers. Her keel was laid down at the Fore River Shipyard of the Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation in Quincy, Massachusetts on 8 January 1921. However, the signing of the Washington Naval Treaty in 1922 halted construction of capital ships, leading the U.S. Navy to order the conversion of two hulls, this ship and her sister USS Saratoga (CV-3), into aircraft carriers. The redesign was a monumental engineering feat, creating a flush-deck carrier with a distinctive starboard-side island and a massive internal hangar. She was launched on 3 October 1925, sponsored by Mrs. Theodore Douglas Robinson, and commissioned into service on 14 December 1927 under the command of Captain Albert W. Marshall.

Operational history

Following her shakedown cruise in the Atlantic Ocean, she was assigned to the Battle Fleet in the Pacific Ocean. Based primarily at San Pedro, California, she spent the interwar years conducting extensive fleet exercises that were critical in developing U.S. naval aviation doctrine, including pioneering tactics for carrier battle groups. In January 1941, she ferried United States Marine Corps aircraft to reinforce Midway Atoll. Immediately after the attack on Pearl Harbor, she sailed from Pearl Harbor to conduct abortive raids against Japanese positions. In early 1942, she participated in offensive raids, including a successful strike against Japanese shipping at Lae and Salamaua in March. Her final operation was as the flagship of Task Force 11, commanded by Rear Admiral Aubrey Fitch, during the critical Battle of the Coral Sea.

Loss

During the Battle of the Coral Sea on 7–8 May 1942, her air group engaged Japanese carriers Shōkaku and Zuikaku. On the afternoon of 8 May, she was struck by two Type 91 torpedoes from Aichi D3A "Val" dive bombers and two or three bombs from Nakajima B5N "Kate" torpedo bombers. Although initially stable, subsequent massive internal explosions, likely caused by ignited aviation fuel vapors, led to uncontrollable fires. After hours of damage control, the order to abandon ship was given. The destroyer USS Phelps (DD-360) scuttled her with torpedoes, and she sank at approximately 8:00 PM. Of her crew, 216 were lost, while 2,735 were rescued by other ships, including the cruiser USS Minneapolis (CA-36) and other destroyers.

Legacy

She was the first American aircraft carrier lost in World War II. Her sinking, along with the loss of USS Yorktown (CV-5) at the subsequent Battle of Midway, provided hard-learned lessons in damage control and carrier design that were rapidly incorporated into later vessels like the Essex-class aircraft carrier. The name was quickly reassigned to a new Essex-class aircraft carrier, USS Lexington (CV-16), which was commissioned in 1943 and served with great distinction. The original "Lady Lex" received two battle stars for her World War II service. Her role in the Battle of the Coral Sea, a strategic Allied victory that halted the Japanese advance toward Port Moresby, was pivotal in the Pacific War. The wreck of the carrier was discovered in March 2018 by an expedition led by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen aboard the research vessel RV Petrel, lying in the Coral Sea nearly two miles below the surface.

Category:Lexington-class aircraft carriers Category:Ships sunk in World War II Category:World War II aircraft carriers of the United States