Wreckage of CV-2 Lexington Discovered

Two miles below the surface of the Coral Sea, 78 years after her loss in that same battle.

Lead ship of her class, the next one, Saratoga CV-3 entered service in the same year, 1928 a month after Lady Lex.

CV-2 Lexington fought, sank in the Battle of Coral Sea. Lost in the end to battle damage and aviation fuel sparking uncontrollable fires, she was scuttled on May 8, 1942.

Lexington, leading Task Force 11 met with CV-5 Yorktown leading TF 17 and fought from 4-8 May 1942. Coral Sea is often called a tactical loss but the strategic victory was slowing down the Japanese advance on Port Moresby and ultimately turned into their defensive posture after Midway.

Coral Sea was one month before Midway. We fought to a tie at Coral Sea. We broke their back at Midway, lost CV-5 Yorktown (heavily damaged at Coral Sea) to 4 of theirs, Sōryū, Kaga, Akagi and Hiryu. In the Battle of Coral Sea we lost the CV-2 Lexington, the USS Sims DD-409, and oiler USS Neosho AO-23 (scuttled after battle damage)

CV-16 Lexington was to be named Cabot at the time of her construction in 1942 but when the news of the loss of CV-2 reached home the shp was renamed Lexington to commemorate Lady Lex (and likely to mess with the IJN in wartime).

Last August Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen and his team found the wreckage of the WWII cruiser CA-35 Indianapolis. Prior to that his other discoveries include locating the wreckage of the IJN battleship Musashi and an Italian destroyer Artigliere.

656 American sailors perished in the Battle of the Coral Sea.

posted by Dave In Texas at 02:49 PM

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