The History of the
USS Lexington (CV-16)
 Lexington sailed to raid Kwajalein 4 December. Her morning strike destroyed a cargo ship, damaged two cruisers, and accounted for 40 enemy aircraft. Her gunners splashed two of the enemy torpedo planes that attacked at midday, and opened fire again at 1925 that night when a major air attack began. At 2322 parachute flares silhouetted the carrier, and 10 minutes later she was hit by a torpedo to starboard, knocking our her steeing gear. Settling 5 feet by the stern, the carrier began circling to port amidst dense clouds of smoke pouring from ruptured tanks aft. An emergency hand-operated steering unit was quickly devised, and Lexington made Pearl Harbor for emergency repairs, arriving 9 December. She reached Bremerton, Wash., 22 December for full repairs completed 20 February 1944. In the meantime, the Japanese claimed to have sunk the carrier.
Lexington sailed via Alameda, Calif., and Pearl Harbor for Majuro, where Rear Adm. Marc Mitscher commanding TF 58 broke his flag in her 8 March. After a warm up strike against Mille, TF 58 operated against the major centers of resistance in Japan's outer empire, supporting the Army landing at Hollandia 13 April, and hitting supposedly invulnerable Truk 28 April. Heavy counterattack left Lexington untouched, her planes splashing 17 enemy fighters; but, for the second time, Japanese propaganda announced her sunk.
A surprise fighter strike on Saipan 11 June virtually eliminated all air opposition over the island, which was then battered from the air for the next 5 days. On 15 June Lexington fought off a fierce attack by Japanese torpedo planes based on Guam, once again to emerge unhurt, but sunk a third time by propaganda pronouncements. Japanese opposition to the Mariannas operation provoked the Battle of the Philippine Sea on 19 and 20 June, culminating in a massive series of air victories over Japanese naval aviation squadrons. Lexington 's pilots played a major role in TF 58's great victory, helping to splash over 300 enemy aircraft and sinking a Japanese carrier, tanker, and a destroyer. American aviators virtually destroyed Japanese naval aviation capability; for with the planes went the trained experienced pilots without whom Japan could not continue carrier operations.
 Using Eniwetok as her base, Lexington flew sorties over Guam and against the Palaus and Bonins into August. She arrived in the Carolinas on 6 September for 3 days of strikes against Yap and Ulithi, then began attacks on Mindanao, the Visayas, the Manila area, and shipping along the west coast of Luzon, preparing for the coming assault on Leyte. Her task force then blasted Okinawa 10 October and Formosa 2 days later to destroy bases from which opposition to the Philippines campaign might be launched. She was again unscathed through the air battles fought off Formosa.
The carrier then shifted to covering the Leyte landings, which provoked a major Japanese naval response. Several task forces approached the Philippines while Japanese aircraft made repeated attacks on American warships. Despite coming under constant enemy attack in the engagement in which Princeton was sunk, Lexington's planes joined in sinking Japan's superbattleship Musashi and scored hits on three cruisers 24 October. Next day, along with Essex aircraft, they sank carrier Chitose, and alone sank Zuikako. Later in the day, they aided in sinking a third carrier, Zuiho. As the retiring Japanese were pursued, her planes sank heavy cruiser Nachi on 5 November off Luzon.
But in the same action, she was introduced to the kamikaze as a flaming Japanese plane crashed her, destroying most of the island structure and spraying fire in all directions. Within 20 minutes major blazes were under control, and she was able to continue normal flight actions. Even while still smoking, her guns knocked down a would-be kamikaze heading for carrier Ticonderoga. On 9 November Lexington arrived Ulithi to repair battle damage and learn that Tokyo once again claimed her destroyed.
 Chosen flagship for TG 58.2 on 11 December, she struck at airfields on Luzon and Formosa during the first 9 days of January 1945, encountering little enemy opposition. The task force then entered the China Sea to strike enemy shipping and air installations. Strikes were flown against Saipan, Camranh Bay in French Indochina, Hong Kong, the Pescadores, and Formosa. Task force planes sank four merchant ships and four escorts in one convoy, and destroyed at least 12 in another on 12 January. Leaving the China Sea 20 January, Lexington sailed north to strike Formosa again 21 January and Okinawa again 22 January.
After replenishing at Ulithi, TG 58.2 sailed 10 February to hit airfields near Tokyo 16 and 17 February. Lexington flew close support for the troops landing on Iwo Jima 19 to 22 February, then sailed north for further strikes against the Japanese home islands and the Nansei Shoto before heading for overhaul at Puget Sound.
Lexington was combat bound again 22 May, sailing via Alameda and Pearl Harbor for San Pedro Bay, Leyte, where she joined Rear Adm. T.L. Sprague's task force for the final round of air strikes against the Japanese home islands. These strikes lasted through July until 15 August, when the last strike was ordered to jettison its bombs and return to Lexington on receiving word of Japanese surrender. During this period she had launched attacks on Honshu and Hokkaido airfields and against Yokosuka and Kure naval bases to destroy the remnants of the Japanese fleet. She had also flown bombing attacks on industrial targets in the Tokyo area.
After hostilities ended, she continued to fly precautionary patrols over Japan, and dropped supplies to prisoners of war camps on Honshu. She supported the occupation of Japan until leaving Tokyo Bay 3 December with homeward bound veterans for transportation to San Francisco, where she arrived 15 December.
Lexington decommissioned at Bremerton, Wash., 23 April 1947 and entered the Reserve Fleet there. With the outbreak of the Korean War, she was tapped as a mobilization asset and was designated attack carrier CVA-16 on 1 October 1952. She began conversion and modernization in Puget Sound Naval Shipyard 1 September 1953, receiving a new angled flight deck and steam catapults for jet aircraft operations, and Lexington recommissioned 15 August 1955, Capt. A.S. Heyward, Jr. in command.
Assigned to San Diego as her home port, she operated off California until May 1956, sailing then for a 6-month deployment with the 7th Fleet. She based on Yokosuka for exercises, maneuvers, and search and rescue missions off the coast of China, and called at major Far Eastern ports until returning San Diego 20 December. She trained Air Group 12 that spring, which deployed with her on the next 7th Fleet deployment. Arriving Yokosuka 1 June 1957, Lexington embarked Rear Adm. H.D. Riley, Commander Carrier Division 1, and sailed as his flagship during operations off the Philippines, Okinawa, and Japan. She returned to San Diego 17 October.
Following overhaul at Bremerton, her refresher training was interrupted by the Lebanon and Tawain Straits crisis; on 14 July 1958 she was ordered to embark Air Group 21 at San Francisco and sail to reinforce the 7th Fleet off Taiwan, arriving on station 7 August. She remained there until the crisis ebbed and returned San Diego 19 December. Lexington left San Francisco 26 April 1959 for another tour of duty with the 7th Fleet and was on standby alert during the Laotian crisis of late August and September. She then exercised with British forces before sailing form Yokosuka 16 November for San Diego, arriving 2 December. Through early 1960 she overhauled at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard.
Lexington's next Far Eastern tour began late in 1960 and was extended well into 1961 by renewed tension in Laos. Returning to west coast operations late that year, she was ordered in July 1962 to prepare to relieve Antietam (CVS-36) as aviation training carrier in the Gulf of Mexico. Lexington moved to the New York Naval Shipyard for repairs and modification. On 1 October, she was redesignated CVS-16. She departed the shipyard later in the month, to participate in the Cuban blockade, and then moved to Pensacola in December 1962 to relieve Antietam.
Between early 1963 and May 1991, Lexington operated out of Pensacola, as well as Corpus Christi and Key West, to qualify student and fleet naval aviators. Each qualifying period lasted about 10 days in length. By the 1980s, students flew T-2C "Buckeye" and TA-4J "Skyhawk" aircraft during catapult shots, "touch-and-goes" and arrested landing qualifications. Fleet squadrons qualified using A-6 "Intruders" and A-7 "Corsairs." Lexington was redesignated CVT-16 on 1 January 1969 and redesignated AVT-16 on 1 July 1978. Following her last qualification period, the training carrier had accomplished 493,248 arrested landings.
Lexington was decommissioned on 8 November 1991, stricken the same day, and was transferred as a museum ship to the Lady Lex Museum on the Bay, Corpus Christi, Texas, on 15 June 1992.
The Lexington received the Presidential Unit Citation and 11 battle stars for World War II service.
displacement: 27,100 tons
length: 872 feet
beam: 93 feet; extreme beam: 192 feet
draft: 28 feet 7 inches
speed: 32.7 knots
complement: 3,748 crew
armament: 12 five-inch guns, 68 40mm guns
aircraft: 103
class: Essex
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