Lexington (CVA 16) - Naval Cruise Book

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1 ' 0 iT? BRARY A NAVY P DEPTT ' v TX? themselves by learning the LEX literally from the keel on up. Administration headquarters were established in a whitewashed frame house with the entrance-way of an Old South summer home. Somehow the old building lent its atmosphere to the people who were there making friends that would last a cruise, and the first nucleus of a crew was formed under its roof. In San Diego during June and July, multitudes of men came directly from boot camp to the grinder A' barracks area on 32nd street to begin training courses in Navy schools at the Naval Training Center there. Officers were few 3 an Ensign was the Chief Engineer. Here Lexington men received their first division assignments and went through the complex processing procedures necessary to make them a part of the ship-on paper-as well as in person. ln July, the San Diego detail embarked on two carriers, the HANCOCK and the PRINCETON for one week's train- ing. This was the first time at sea for almost ninety-Hve percent of the Lexington's San Diego detail of 1,400 men. Their second sea voyage began later the same month when those men with- out cars went aboard the ESSEX to make the cruise to Bremerton. They arrived at Puget Sound on August 3 and took that first, long look at their ship. On August 8 the new Lexington got her Hrst crew. fl at Q f.:eu :.' r 1 3

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FIRST AERIAL photo shows LEX side by side with MIDWAY, SHANGRI- BUILDING 50 at PSNS, headquarters for the Bremerton pre-commisioning 4 NM -wav LA at Bremertorfs Puget Sound Naval Shipyard. This was summer. detail. Other officers and most men took training in San Diego, joined later. l l The first look was a long one. It had to be. Your eyes couldn,t take her all in at once. Not just because she was bigger than you expected, but because she was half hidden by cranes and scaffolding and cables and crates. Even though she still belonged to the shipyard, you bought her on the spot. There were two separate pre-com- missioning details, one in Bremerton, the other in San Diego. At PSNS were most of the exprienced engineers and men, who helped the shipyard and

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After Years of Silence Dead Load on the Catapults-A Whish, HQLLOW but heavy load simulates launch, starts down. GREY BLUR of metal as load is constantly accelerated.