Lexington (CV 16) - Naval Cruise Book

Page 66 text:

' An .XLLL , ' .iff di gg .M-. ., ,ZA 1-aff 120A I oiler burns in Ulithi Harbor, November. 1944, after being torpedoed early in the moming by a Iapanese submarine that penetrated the lagoon during the night. Lexington men were uneasy spectators. encountered during the day. Two planes were destroyed and eight damaged on the ground. More effective were two strikes against remnants of the Iapanese fleet at Kure, where three hits were scored on the carrier Katsuragi, two hits on the converted battleship lse, seven hits on the cruiser Aoba, two hits on the cruiser Oyodo, and two hits on the un.- finished carrier Aso, South of Kure a 5200-ton tanker was sunk and a small merchant ship left in a sinking condition, Efforts on the following day, Iuly 25, were largely abortive, due to weather, but on Iuly 28, Air Group 94 enjoyed its most successful day to date. Effec- tive attacks were riiade against Iap planes at Oi, Mikatagahara, Hamamatsu and other airfields southeast of Nagoya. Only two planes were seen to burn but on the basis of repeated low-level strafing the day's total was claimed to be forty-one planes destroyed, sixteen probably destroyed and twenty-six planes and two gliders damaged. Two strikes went back to Kure to finish the damaged lse, and Aoba. Hits were scored on both ships which were last seen badly battered with the lse in flames, the Aoba a resting on the bottom. lAPAN THROWS IN THE TOWEL On Iuly 30 effective planes concealed in the vicinity of the fields south- east of Nagoya which had been targets of Air Group 94 on three previous days. At dusk on this day the Task Force retired for another period of replenishment. A scheduled strike against Kyushu was called off and the L ward, some 300 miles off Honshu, as the woiid was rocked by news of the destruction of Hiroshima by the atomic bomb. The Task Force continued north- d war and on August 9 and 10, as Iapan fumbled with the preliminaries wash at the stern, and both attacks were made against exington was moving north- of her surrender, Air Group 94 launched attacks against airfields a d h' ' . n s ipping in the northern neck of Honshu, finding many planes which burned easily at Iimmachi, west of Sendai, and at the nearby field of Y omagata, and destroy-

Page 65 text:

f A .Q Vp -N ,. , ' 7 A N ' ,av - t , , . ' We ,h 4 , QA ww Y ' sin'-,+V ,M N , fw' it so 5 4 , , Wg.--f- 'H,,,,,f ' f '- ::g. -W:T fiIQQ'2w '5 f V y 5 gn X. ,, ' ,s:v,,.,,,,,,Mm,5t W' Hmvwh ,f 'nfl' 14-wi 19- Atter the crash. Looking att along the 20 mm. mounts below the island after the plane had struck just above. This record ot a small part of the material and the human destruction that came to the Lexington on November 5. 1944, is included to recall to owners ot this book, lest the years bring forgettulness, what all leamed then-that beneath the glory and adventure, the ribbons and glamor, WAR IS HELL.

Page 67 text:

R d re resentation oi a typhoon. The eye of the storm is clearly visible to the right a ar p oi the picture. The left. on the opposite edge of the disturbance, can just be discerned the indications oi a task group--the compact mass of the heavy ships and part of the circling f d tr ers Since this picture was taken by a ship in another task group. one screen o es oy . oi these blips may be the Lexington. The radiating lines are interference from other radars. similar, in effect. to static on the radio. Storm damage at sea. Part oi the starboard walkway, under the forward edge of the fight deck, after a storm. .