Lexington (CV 16) - Naval Cruise Book

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., 'xyyf' ,' ing at high speeds on evasive courses, and firing by the screen was continuous. To those with top- side battle stations it seemed like a long-drawn-out, unreal dream, the ship silently steaming through the water, throwing out a brilliant phosphorescent wake, the moonlight reflected against the planes on the flight deck, and all the while the bright stream- ers of tracer bullets and the flash of five-inch bursts from the ships of the screen firing at unseen targets. At 2150 float lights were dropped in the water to guide the attackers into the target. At 2322 four parachute flares appeared on our port beam. They were beautifully placed to silhouette the ship, and it was obvious that we had been picked out as the target. At 2325 the ship opened fireg bogies were closing in fast on the starboard bow. A torpedo was seen to drop from a Betty on the starboard beam who immediately was heavily fired on but came in close and got away at high speed directly over the ship. At 2332 the torpedo hit. The ship immediately settled five feet to starboard and lost steering con- trol. She began to turn in a circle to port, stream- ing a dense cloud of smoke from ruptured FS gas tanks on the faritai1. Temporarily protected by this accidental smoke screen, the ship fought to regain steering control. Within twenty minutes after receiving the hit the rudder was brought amidships through the use of an emergency hand-operated hydraulic unit which had been designed by Lieutenant P. N. MacDonald, of the Lexington and installed by her own crew during the last availability. This device which was a Lexington invention and a Lexington installation was largely instrumental in saving the ship from .. ,. . . y. , ,. - -L-' bf . --7 1 - 1--1 -J.- - - 1 The day's tally for eight fighter pilots on Nov. 23, 1943. Left to right: Ens. Ruckiske, Lt. figl Fleming- U- Com- Buie, Lt. figl Frendling, Lt. figl Whiteway, Lt. figl Birkholm, Lt. figl Rogers, Lt. Kosciuski. further damage by permitting a rapid withdrC1WG1 from the area, and is now a standard installation in all carriers of this class. Steering only with the main engines, within half an hour after being hit the ship was proceeding eastward at twenty knots. The entire retirement to Pearl Harbor was made in this manner. Despite the damage caused to sick bay by the shock of the torpedo the Medical Department began receiving and administering to patients almost im- mediately. All hands in the Medical Department worked unceasingly until ten the next morning, at which time all patients had been properly treated. The flooded compartments were immediately sealed off and flooding to adjacent compartments was negligible. After temporary repairs at Pearl Harbor, the ship put her air group ,ashore and proceeded to Bremer- ton for permanent repairs, arriving on December 22. About this time Tokyo Rose reported the Lexington sunk. Her loyal fans on board the ship felt her story was slightly exaggerated. THE SECOND ROUND On February 12 the Ship's Navy Yard availability was completed. Picking. up Air Group 19, later to relieve Air Group 16, at Alameda, she transported them to Pearl Harbor, arriving there on February 28, where Air Group 16 came back aboard. Shortly after, Task Force 58, of which the Lexington was now a part, shifted its base of operations to Majuro in the Marshalls, and the fleet entered on the long- drawn atoll period of the war. At Majuro Admiral Mitscher shifted his flag aboard the Lexington, where he remained until October 31. The problems of a flagship were unique

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E 4 Commander E. M. Snowden, Command f er o Air Group 16. The Air Group's outstanding record ' th P in e acific was accomplished under ' his leadership. and ma va warfare had so huge a fleet of ships been concen- trated in one tactical command. The Lexington is proud of the part it played in helping this vast administrative organization to function efficiently and effectively. The Air Department was leaned upon heavily for technical advice. Communications became a more vital and a more complex organi- zation than ever. Lexington Combat Information Center tRadar-Radiol personnel established a repu- tation for dependability and resourcefulness which won great praise from Vice-Admiral Mitscher. The two outstanding articles for Life magazine on carrier war in l944, Task Force 58 and Life Goes to a Party Aboard an Aircraft Carrier, were writ- ten from the Lexington. It is worthy of note that Commander I. R. North, Lexington Gunnery Officer, and Lieutenant Commander I. R. Eggert, Lexington C.l.C. Officer, were made permanent additions to the staff of Vice-Admiral lviitscher. After a warm-u ny. Never before in the history of na l p raid on Mille, the force engaged in a series of operations in great strength against centers of resistance in Iapan's outer empire, apera- tions which culminated in the landings on the Mari- anas in Iune. The fleet was already rapidly ap- proaching the overwhelming size which was to smash through to the homeland itself in little mare i than a year, and Lexington men looked amazement at the comparatively puny operations of even a few months before. back with On March 22 the force moved deep into the heart af Japanese waters to strike Palau, and on March 28 and 29 executed two days of damaging raids, followed by another days attacks on W ticipating a warm reception, all hands were pleas- antly disappointed to meet only a few mild night attacks that did no damage. THE LEX MOVES lN ON TRUK While in Majuro after this operation, Captain Stump, who had commanded the Lexin her commissioning, was relieved on April 10 by Captain Ernest W. Litch. On April l3 the force again sortied to support the Army's landings at I-iollandia. Heavy strikes were flown on D-l day, but it soon turned out on D day that opposition was lightg the force withdrew from direct support, and refueled on the 25th. On the 28th the force turned northward and stabbed at Truk, then the most highly respected Of all enemy island bases. The first fighter sweep had scarcely left the deck on the morning of the attack when two enemy dive-bombers, eluding intercep- tion in the sgually weather, made high-speed TUUS on the Lexington. The ship's batteries, again first in the formation to open fire, accounted for one, oleai. An- gton since V. I.. Prathe. ACMM USN. in char e of lun . 9 P e handling crews in 1943. Every old Lex man will remember Prathe stamping on his hat, or tellin ff g o the Captain: and he will remember, too, the peak of efficiency reached by the flight deck crews under his unique manage- ment.