Pretty interesting short vid.

The Lexington that took to the sea later in the war is parked off North Beach in Corpus Christi and is worth the trip to board and tour her. I go on board once a year and marvel at the men who sailed the carriers. There are several generations of aircraft on the deck and in the hangar. If you have never been on one I highly recommend it.

The USS Lexington (CV-16) in Corpus Christi was being built at the time of the Battle of the Coral Sea. She was originally to be called USS Cabot. The USS Lexington (CV-2) was a Lexington Class carrier that went down during the battle of the coral sea. After her sinking the Cabots name was changed to Lexington. This video is about CV-2 not CV-16

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The USS Lexington (CV-16) in Corpus Christi was being built at the time of the Battle of the Coral Sea. She was originally to be called USS Cabot. The USS Lexington (CV-2) was a Lexington Class carrier that went down during the battle of the coral sea. After her sinking the Cabots name was changed to Lexington. This video is about CV-2 not CV-16

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The USS Yorktown at Patriots Point in SC was going to be the USS Bonhomme Richard. As I recall it was changed after the Yorktown went down at Midway. Also, I think there are still some markings labeling her as the "Bonnie ****" in her interior.

Wasn't a matter of "if" only "when" carriers were going to be sunk. Aviation fuel was the death of most if not all of them. Once they started to burn they were damd near impossible to put out.

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Wasn't a matter of "if" only "when" carriers were going to be sunk. Aviation fuel was the death of most if not all of them. Once they started to burn they were damd near impossible to put out.

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I don't think I would say that "Aviation fuel was the death was the death of most if not all of them." (at least for the American carriers).

CV-2 (after her cracked and flawed fuel tanks leaked vapors into the generator room [sic?]--her other fires had been put out & CV-7 & CVL-23, yes, but not CV-5 & CV-8--their non-alternating boiler and engine rooms doomed them. Hornet's fires were put out by a bucket brigade!

Read Shattered Sword for a very detailed description of the devastation wrought upon the 4 Jap flat tops at Midway. The authors made a point of contrasting the Jap fire control systems to American fire control systems.

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Wasn't a matter of "if" only "when" carriers were going to be sunk. Aviation fuel was the death of most if not all of them. Once they started to burn they were damd near impossible to put out.

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I don't think I would say that "Aviation fuel was the death was the death of most if not all of them." (at least for the American carriers).

CV-2 (after her cracked and flawed fuel tanks leaked vapors into the generator room [sic?]--her other fires had been put out & CV-7 & CVL-23, yes, but not CV-5 & CV-8--their non-alternating boiler and engine rooms doomed them. Hornet's fires were put out by a bucket brigade!

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Okay. I should have left it at "most". I count 6 in which fire was the major contributor out of the 11 lost in combat.

CV -2 Lexington
CV -7 Wasp
CVL-23 Princeton
CVE-63 St.Lo
CVE-79 Ommaney
CVE-95 Bismarck Sea

Interesting note stated that the Hornet (CV- 8) was the last U.S. fleet carrier sunk by the Japanese. This was in October 1942, less than a year after Pearl Harbor.

Interestingly enough, several weeks ago I talked to a veteran of CV-8 who served on it from sea trials to sinking.
I really admire these guys!

My grandfather was on the Bismarck Sea when it was sunk by a kamikazi. I believe at Iwo.

When my daughter turned 16, she went looking for a job and being the huge history buff, went to the Lex exhibit in Corpus. They told her they didn't have any jobs, but we're always looking for volunteers. She said great and volunteered. They put her through prelim tours, gave her reading materials and worked with her to teach her things she needed to know. She also got permission to see other parts of the Lex that were not open to the public. She was allowed to stay on board overnight, when they had overnight tours staying onboard.

A couple of weeks after she started, her mom asked her about a paycheck, she had failed to tell us this was a volunteer gig. It was hard to get mad, she was having such a great time, we let her slide for the rest of the summer. This past summer she worked an archeological dig at some Mayan ruins in Belize, where she lead her own team of students....

The Lady Lex - CV-16, USS Lexington - The Blue Ghost - has a great 1 or 2 night Live Aboard program for youth programs - Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, etc...

I've done at least 8 weekends with Boy Scouts!

I've never been but get to go in October with my daughters Girl Scout troop. I'm more excited than them.

WarAGle,

Interesting to note regarding the Lexington/Cabot:

You are correct, the 2nd Lexington was originally to be named the Cabot, but got the new name after the first Lexington went down. They then assigned the name of Cabot to a smaller Jeep carrier. She was scrapped in 2002, but several pieces of her, including her AA batteries, were saved and placed on the Lexington, which had over the years become a training carrier and had all defensive weaponry removed.

I thought Cabot was an Independence class light carrier (CVL). She was "loaned" to Spain for several years, and then was brought back to the US in the late 80s, maybe? I remember seeing her tied up in New Orleans back in 1991. They never could get the funding to turn her into a museum ship, as I recall.

I remember my Dad telling me that I had a relative on CV-2. I asked about that this weekend and sure enough I was correct. My cousin, a 17 year old Kenneth Boutwell, was in .50 cal. gun tub that had been added to the outboard side of the stack before the Battle of Coral Sea.

I worked with a guy in the early 90s whose dad was on the Lexington. He went for a swim at Coral Sea and was then transferred to the Nevada. The Nevada was the only BB to get underway during the Pearl Harbor attack but had to be beached to keep from sinking in the channel. His dad made a good friend on the Nevada and he eventually ended up marrying his friends sister. So his dad was on the Lexington at Coral Sea and his u Cole was on the Nevada at Pearl Harbor.

Can't forget the contribution of the USS Neosho (AO-23) to the successes of the Lexington & Yorktown. The oiler Neosho was mistaken for a US carrier on May 7th. The Japanese sent 62 planes to attack the Neosho and her escort destroyer Sims. While the attack was underway, the American carrier planes were busy sinking the Japanese carrier Shoho. Many of the Neosho and Sims survivors drifted in life boats for 9 days w/o food and water.
Several recommendations submitted by Neosho's Capt. Phillips were responsible for improving the safety of naval crews. Some of his recommendations were: paint life rafts a color that would make them easier to see from the air. I believe the Neosho's were painted grey. He also recommended storing food & water on life rafts.
In addition, the order to 'abandon ship' should be clear and concise, and not given with a mixed message.

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When my daughter turned 16, she went looking for a job and being the huge history buff, went to the Lex exhibit in Corpus. They told her they didn't have any jobs, but we're always looking for volunteers. She said great and volunteered. They put her through prelim tours, gave her reading materials and worked with her to teach her things she needed to know. She also got permission to see other parts of the Lex that were not open to the public. She was allowed to stay on board overnight, when they had overnight tours staying onboard.

A couple of weeks after she started, her mom asked her about a paycheck, she had failed to tell us this was a volunteer gig. It was hard to get mad, she was having such a great time, we let her slide for the rest of the summer. This past summer she worked an archeological dig at some Mayan ruins in Belize, where she lead her own team of students....

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I admire your daughter and wish I had taken more of her approach.

Not the Lexington but the Enterprise.