Lexington (CVA 16) - Naval Cruise Book

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LEXlNGTON'S first mission was a raid on Tarawa late in Septem- ber, I943. The Allies were starting to island hop, the cruel, bloody push back across the Pacific. The first LEXINGTON stab into Japanese forces came during the Gilbert Islands campaign in November. On December 4th the new Lady Lex drew her baptism of fire-a torpedo into the starboard side. Lookouts on the starboard wings spotted the torpedo planes and LEXINGTON was first in the task group to open fire. The first two planes blew up in the air, victims of five inch shells. A large force of enemy planes turned back, but it was apparent that a night attack was imminent since the element of surprise was lost. At T846 they returned and the ship underwent an attack for the next seven hours. It was times like this that the men spent I5 to 20 hours at their battle stations. The cooks prepared sandwiches which were taken to each station by messeger. From the LEXINGTON log, December 4, 1943 : At 1925 bogies began closing and the Task Group began flring. Both groups were meneuvering at high speeds on evasive courses, and flring by the screen was continuous. To those with topside battle stations it seemed like a long, drawn out, unreal dream-the ship silently steaming through the water, throwing out a brilliant phospherescent wake, the moonlight reflected against the planes on the flight deck, and all the while the bright streamers of tracer bullets and the flash of five-inch bursts from the ships of the screen flring at unseen targets. At 2l5O fioat lights were dropped in the water to guide the attackers to the target. At 2322 four parachute flares appeared on the 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 fire, bogies were closing in fast on the starboard bow. A torpedo was seen to drop from a Betty on the starboard beam who was immediately tired on, but came in close and got away at high speed directly over the ship. At 2327 the torpedo hit. The ship settled five feet to star- board and lost steering control. reieertecdl eurrrllr by ielrre rese Limping away after the battle, ships company quickly extinguished several small fires and regained Steerage. The Lady returned to Pearl Harbor and later to Bremerton for repairs. Meanwhile, in the first of a chain reaction, LEXINGTON was reported sunk by Tokyo Rose. Fully restored, LEXINGTON returned to the fight and struck the Japanese forces again and again. In the states she was the symbol of the carrier fight in the Pacific. The name echoed from the main- land and shot across the ocean to Japan. Soon LEXINGTON became known as the Blue Ghost. Many reasons were attributed to the origin of this nickname, but two predominate. First, following each Tokyo Rose report of her having been sunk, she reappeared-a ghost ship. Secondly she was the only carrier in the fleet without camouflage, and from a distance she appeared blue. One thing is for certain- Tokyo Rose herself originated Blue Ghost. The name caught on fast--as did respect for her. P The last months of the war passed in hectic activity. Up the Solomon chain, through the Carolines, Bouganville, New Guinea. Victory in Europe is followed by Victory in the Pacific. On Septem- ber 5th, l945 LEXINGTON steamed into Tokyo Bay and rested for the first time in 67 days. The war was over. The Blue Ghost slowly moved out of Tokyo Bay in early December, l945. Moving into the open sea she picked up speed, eager to return home once more. In i946 she was placed in the Pacific Reserve Fleet and shortly afterwards de-activated in Puget' Sound.

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The crew of The TourTh LEXINGTON hoped They would be kepT TogeTher and senT To a new carrier. Their services were needed immediaTely in The war Though. The individual MinuTemen wenT Their separaTe ways To carry on The TighT. Meanwhile, The hull of a huge carrier resTed on The ways af The Fore River Shipyard in Quincy, Mass. On .lune l6Th a Telegram saT on The desk of Secrefary of The Navy, Frank Knox, in Washing- Ton. He read iT and a smile came over his Tace. IT was from The presidenT of The Fore River Workers, and he spoke for 23,000 workers in The yards. The telegram explained that in 1925 the fourth LEXINGTON was built in that very shipyard, and now she was sunk. It went on to tell that the loss was a personal one to many in the Fore River Yards who had worked on CV2 and were still employed there. The carrier resting on the weys had a simple designation, CV16. Future name: USS CABOT. Could The new ship be named LEXINGTON? An answer reTurned The same day-PERGRA. The news was passed on, and work on CVT6 increased Three-Told. On SepTember 26, i942 she was launched, one year ahead of schedule. AT The launching RADM F.C. Sherman, USN, Commanding OTTicer of The old LEXINGTON said: Today The new LEXINGTON Takes up where The old leTT off. May her career be full of glorious achievemenT. She will help carry ouT our pledge-ThaT freedom shall noT perish from This earTh. The ship slid down The ways, eager To avenge The deaTh of her namesake. In July, T943 CVAT6 ioined The SEVENTH FLEET, ready To Take up The TighT, ready To carry on where The Old Girl had lefT off. 31 new lceixiimgloui -Tillie same llfnglluil

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illaa maatlnllaall yaars The years passed and CVA16 sat in mothballs. The Korean Conflict came and went, the Cold War alternating between thaw and frost as the Communist menace grew. As the situation in the Far East grew increasingly tense, it was agreed that the SEVENTH FLEET must be strengthened. LEX- INGTON was called back to active duty, and in August 1955 returned to sea once more, complete with modern accessories. She had a new flight deck, a mirror landing system, two power- ful steam catapults-once again Lady Lex was prepared to up- hold freedom, prepared to do her iob, the Minutemen of a new era. From 1955 to the present, LEXINGTON has made numerous de- ployments to the Far East-operating in SEVENTH FLEET, training in the FIRST FLEET. To the Japanese we are no longer the Blue Ghost. We are allies in a new era. Our men are Ambassadors in Blue! Last cruise l196O-611 LEXINGTON rushed to Laos when the situa- tion there tightened up. When the tension eased she pulled back, but remained in the general area for the following month. On November 9, 1961 LEXINGTON again edged away from the quaywall at North Island, San Diego to return to the SEVENTH FLEET. Hawaii was first on the itinerary, for an Operational Readiness Inspection. ln early December we chopped and once again ioined the Westpac team. last wastgaaa trip lar laflly lax One morning in late January the Voice ofthe Lexington came on the air with a special announcement. LEXINGTON is to sail around the horn atter this cruise to relieve the ANTIETAM. The new CONSTELLATION ICVA-64l, recently commissioned in New York, is to relieve us. The ANTIETAM, now an aged ship, is to be de- commissioned. This is an historic cruise, the last to Westpac waters for Lady Lex. ln the Gulf of Mexico LEXINGTON will be a training ship. Twenty years is a long time for a ship, especially after taking a maior part in the biggest conflict the world has ever known. More modern ships move to the front lines of defense. This is the nature of the seas, the natural course of events. More than likely LEXINGTON will end her years quietly, iust as the ANTIETAM has. Without a doubt, though, there will be another LEXINGTON in years to come. As long as there is a United States, there will be a LEXINGTON in her Fleet. There has been one since the Revolution, nearly 200 years agoe-the name is an honorable name that has always battered the enemy, always lived up to the tradition of that little farm town in Massachusetts.