Lexington (CVA 16) - Naval Cruise Book

Page 11 text:

Commander Carrier Division One ILLIAM L. ERDMANN, Rear Admiral, USN Rear Admiral William L. Erdmann Was born on Novem- ber 18, 1902, in Greensburg, Indiana, and graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in June 1924. After being designated naval aviator in 1928 and serving aboard cruiser USS CINCINNATI, battleship USS OKLA- HOMA, carrier USS SARATOGA, cruiser USS LOUISVILLE, he was attached to various air patrol squadrons until 1942 when he joined the staff of Commander Third Fleet. He took command of the escort carrier USS MATANIKAU in 1944 and at War's end Was Commander Air Sea Rescue. More recently, Admiral Erdmann was Commanding Officer of the carrier USS LEYTE and NAS San Diego. In 1952 he was named Commander of Carrier Division 14. Admiral Erdman became Deputy Chief of Staff for Logistics and Administration at NATO's Southern Europe headquarters in 1953. On April 21, 1956, he took command of Carrier Division One. He is married and has a daughter, Patricia Ann. Chief of Staff Carrier Division One WILLIA L KABLER Captain, USN Born September 24 1908 1n Roanoke Virginia Captain William L Kabler graduated from the Naval Academy in 1929 was designated naval aviator in 1931 served with squadrons on the LEXINGTON OKLAHOMA and LANGLEY Won Navy Cross as skipper of seaplane tender HERON from 1940-1942 for aiding the defense of the Philippines and the Netherlands East Indies. After Washington duty, he Was navigator aboard the TICONDEROGA during the Leyte invasion, same year became Exec of the ENTERPRISE and took part in the South China Sea, Ivvo Jima and Okinawa operations. He has also been Naval Attache at Ankara, Turkey and Aide to the Asst. Secretary of the Navy for Air. He was Commanding Officer of the RENDOVA and the KEARSARGE.

Page 10 text:

Captain Gannon Was born on April 10, 1909 in Ashley, North Dakota and entered the U. S. Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland, with the class of 1931 and was subsequently commissioned an Ensign and assigned his first duty on board the USS TEXAS. He served on board the carrier USS SARATOGA and in 1943 was Com- manding Officer of Patrol Squadron 203 which fought in the North Atlantic campaigns. Highlighting this wartime duty was a tour as navigator on the present LEX which was then fiagship for the famous Task Force 58. After leaving the LEX, the skipper became Executive Officer of the USS CAPE GLOUCESTOR and remained on board throughthe end of the war. In 1952 Captain Gannon received his first sea command when he took over as Commanding Officer of the USS FLOYDS BAY. Later, he joined NATO,s SACLANT staff as Operations Officer. Captain Gannon came to the LEX from the Military Application Division of the Atomic Energy Commission. He relieved Captain A. S. Heyvvard, Jr. as Commanding Officer on October 4, 1954. Commanding Officer J OH W. GAN N ON Captain, USN INFORMAL portrait of the skipper in his in-port cabin.

Page 12 text:

ABOUT THIS SHIP In March, 1776, the Marine Committee of the Conti- nental Congress bought the black-hulled, yellow-trimmed Baltimore brig WILD DUCK to meet an immediate shipping threat by the British. She became the first LEXINGTON when her name was changed to inspire her crew to equal or excel the spirit of the farmer- Minutemen 'I of Lexington, Massachusetts who participated in the young country's early bid for freedom. The second LEXINGTON, was commissioned in 1826 and saw long service as as part of a peaceful Navy. Her war experince was received when she became part of the blockade of Mexican shipping off the coast of California during the war with Mexico. In 1861, the third LEXINGTON, a gunboat converted from a steamer, was commissioned and assigned to aid Union land forces in maintaining control of the lands along the Ohio, Cumberland and Tennessee. On one occasion she turned certain Union defeat into victory by her close shore bombardment of the Confederate forces. The fourth LEXINGTON CCV-2D authorized as a battle cruiser, was converted to an aircraft carrier in 1922, and commissioned in 1927. The USS LEXINGTON CCV-25 and her sister ship, the USS SARATOGA CCV-2D, were the first aircraft carriers, other than the experimental carrier LANGLEY, built by the United States. On one occasion in 1930, CV-2 supplied electricity for the city of Tacoma, Washington for one month during a water shortage. From the first exploratory days of World War II to her final hour, the LEXINGTON fought valianty to stop the Japanese advance. Attacks on Alamaus and Lae preceeded the Battle of the Coral Sea where she was lost on May 9th, 1942 from two torpedo and many more bomb hits. The USS LEXINGTON QCV-16D, commissioned in 1943 under Captain Cnow Admirall Felix Stump, dedicatedly avenged her predecessor. In 21 months in the combat area she destroyed 372 planes in the air and 475 more on the ground, she sank or destroyed 300,000 tons of Japanese shipping and damaged nearly 600,000 tons more, ship's guns shot down 15 planes attacking her and assisted on 5 others. With air groups from other carriers, she sent three aircraft carriers to the bottom along with a cruiser 5 her planes struck at Tarawa, Kwajalein, the Marianas, Palau, the Philippines, Truk, Bonins, Formosa, Okinawa, and Japan herself. In all that time, she received but two hits. In 1947 she was placed out of commission in the Pacific reserve fleet in Bremerton, Washington only to be transferred to the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard for conversion in 1952. On August 15, 1955, the USS LEXINGTON redesig- nated CVA-16 and modernized with steam catapults, an angled flight deck, and interior changes for improved habitability, was recommissioned with Captain Alexander S. I-Ieyward, Jr. as Commanding Officer. The LEX that went down. CV-2 in a massive launch.