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USS Lexington CV-2 (WWII)

This carrier was the fourth ship named the Lexington to serve in the U.S. Navy. Originally, she was being built as a battle cruiser, as was her sister ship, the Saratoga. Lessons were learned during the First World War, however, and she was allowed to be built as an aircraft carrier. This kind of ship has since then been dubbed as a Lexington class carrier, even though the Saratoga had been completed a month earlier. She was launched as an aircraft carrier in October of 1925 from the Fore River Shipbuilding Company in Quincy, Massachusetts.

The Lexington CV-2 weighted 36,000 tons when she was built. With various modifications and fully loaded, she ended up weighing 50,000 tons in 1942. She could reach speed in excess of 34 knots, being driven by sixteen boilers and four propellers. When modifications for World War II were complete, the ship could carry up to 120 aircraft and had two elevators to move the planes from storage to the flight deck for launch. She also carried 2,122 officer and enlisted men. The overall length measured 888 feet and she was 106 feet at her widest spot.

She began her career based in San Pedro, California. From there she ran numerous training exercises, flight training and fleet maneuvers around the Caribbean and Hawaii. In the fall of 1941 the ship was in the Hawaiian Islands performing tactical exercises. In December of 1941, the carrier and her crew were called upon to take aircraft and supplies to Midway. She received word of the attack on Pearl Harbor and immediately launched scout planes to look for the Japanese fleet. She then headed south to join two other ships, the USS Indianapolis and the USS Enterprise, to continue searching. She was finally sent to Wake Island to reinforce forces there, but the orders were changed with the fall of the island. She and the Saratoga were recalled to Pearl Harbor.

Until January 11, 1942, she patrolled a triangular area between Oahu, Johnston and Palmyra to block any other Japanese raids. Once she returned to Pearl Harbor, she was named the flagship for Task Force 11 and, in February, headed for an attack on Rabaul, New Britain. As she as underway an attack force of eighteen enemy planes, two waves of nine planes each, began runs against her. Her flight crew and anti-aircraft gunners brought down seventeen of the attack planes. The month of March found her undertaking a surprise attack on Salamaua and Lae from her position in the Coral Sea along with the USS Yorktown. The attack was incredibly successful and she made way, once more, to Pearl Harbor.

The Lexington joined Task Force 17 in May, and she and the Yorktown moved back into the Coral Sea to search for Japanese forces that were preparing to close off sea communications with Australia and New Zealand. Her search planes found the Japanese force and she moved in to attack. Her attack planes managed to sink the light carrier Shoho, and then began to battle several bombers and torpedo planes launched from two of the un-located heavy carriers. Her fighter planes knocked nine of the enemy aircraft from the skies. The next morning, October 8, the Lexington's scout planes located Shokaku and an attack was launched. Her attack planes seriously damaged the carrier, but, almost immediately, the Lexington took damage, too. Within seconds of each other, two torpedoes struck the ship on her port side. At almost the same time, three bombs hit her flight deck and control island. Her damage control crew was able to put out the fires and she was ready to recover her planes still in the air. At that moment, though, fumes from the gasoline on board were ignited, causing a huge explosion. The Captain of the ship finally ordered salvage operations halted and ordered all hands to the deck. At about 5 pm, an abandon ship call was sounded. The men who had gone over the sides were quickly picked up by friendly forces in the area. As the fires aboard the Lexington raged out of control, the American Destroyer, Phelps, hit her with two torpedoes and sank her.

The USS Lexington CV-2 was awarded two Battle Stars for her service in World War II. A ship under construction at the Quincy, Massachusetts shipyards was renamed Lexington in her honor. The fifth ship to carry the name, the USS Lexington CV-16 served the U.S. well during the rest of the war and is currently a museum located in Corpus Christi, Texas.

As with most of the ships built for the war, there was a silent killer loose aboard the Lexington. Many of her crew were exposed to the dust from the asbestos that was used as an insulation in the engines and even in the walls of the ship. It can take anywhere from twenty to fifty years for the damage done by this mineral to show up, and the primary two diseases are known as asbestosis and a cancer called mesothelioma.

If you were exposed to asbestos while serving on the Lexington CV-2 (WWII), or have been diagnosed with mesothelioma, Asbestos.com offers a free packet with more information. Enter your contact information in the form in the right column and we'll send a copy immediately.

Aircraft Carriers Index

USS America USS Antietam CV 36 K USS Antietam CV 36 USS Badoeng Strait CVE 116 USS Bairoko CVE 115 USS Bairoko CVE 115 USS Belleau wood CVL 24 USS Bennington CV 20 USS Bon Homme Richard CVa USS Boxer CV USS Bunker CV USS Cabot CVL 28 USS Constellation CV USS Coral Sea CV USS Corregidor CVE 58 USS Sable ix USS San jacinto CVL USS Saratoga CV USS Saratoga CV3 USS Shangri La

USS Cowpens CVL 25 USS Enterprise CV 6 USS Enterprise CVN USS Essex CV 9 USS Forrestal CV USS Franklin CV 13 USS Hancock CV 19 USS Hornet CV 12 USS Hornet CV 8 USS Independence C1 USS Independence CVL 22 USS Intrepid CV 11 USS Kearsage CV 33 USS Kearsage CV USS Kitty Hawk USS Sicily CVe USS Sitkoh bay USS Tarawa CV USS Ticonderoga CV USS Valley forge CV

USS Lake Champlain CV 39 USS Langley CV 1 USS Langley CVL 27 USS Lexington CV 16 USS Lexington CV 2 USS Leyte CV 32 USS Midway CV USS Oriskany CV USS Phillipine Sea CV USS Point cruz CVE USS Princeton CV USS Princeton CVL USS Randolph CV USS Ranger CV USS Rendova USS Wasp CV 18 USS Wasp CV 7 USS Wolverine IX 64 USS Yorktown CV 10 USS Yorktown CV 5

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