Lexington (CV 16) - Naval Cruise Book

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Pownalls Yorktown carrier Interceptor Group TG 50 lj Lexmgton departed from Hawaii on her first mayor operation of the campaign From November 19 24 she supported the landings in the Gilbert Islands by flying searches and aseries of destructive strikes against enemy air bases at Mille Atoll in the Marshalls Her Arr Group Fighting Sixteen lost no time 1n acquaintmg the apanese with their proficiency on November 23 seventeen of twenty enemy aircraft were shot from the sky The following day the score was twelve for twelve In the action report covering this engagement Captain Stump said, I would be interested to know if rn the brilliant records of other Fighting Aircraft Units in this war such a record has been equalled It is probable that the courageous and aggressive action on the part of Fighting Sixteen, in promptly intercepting and shooting down twenty nine apanese planes, demoralized the apanese Air Command in the Marshalls to such an extent that they were temporar1ly unable to send any more planes towards the Gilberts wh1le we remained in the intercept station and by thus stopping a1r attacks from the Marshalls, Fighting Sixteen contributed an appreciable share to the successful conclusion of the conquest of the Gilberts N 1m1tz edited The Crea! Sea War, provided some evidence that carrier planes could gain command ofthe air over enemy atolls and proved that the fleet could operate against such pos1t1ons with acceptable losses, and that, with naval a1r and gunfire support, well trained, resolute troops could cross reefs under even the most adverse conditions and seize strongly fortified islands The fact that our aircraft squadrons were meet 1ng with such successes at th1s time was attrrbut able in part to the vast improvement in planes and weapons since the earlier days of the war. The slow Wildcats F4F were replaced with 7 ' . . K. v ' I ' ' 3 . , . 4 . . . 7 . . , . - - as . , . H ' ' ' , ' ' ' ' Winning these islands, according to the Potter- . . . 5 . . , 1 n . CCC D I o o ., . . . . . . . . . , . . . . . . ,, - 7 - . . . . , , - - - I - I . C D .

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tured at this time, and Lex was therefore obliged to return to Pearl Harbor following such brief missions. During this period the use of our submarines to recover downed aviators was becoming signi- ficant-something which proved to be a con- siderable morale factor forthe carrier pilots. In one instance, when the submarine Skate succeed- ed in rescuing four fliers downed in a carrier strike, the captain of that vessel received a mes- sage reflecting the appreciation of Lexington 's Captain Stump: MAnything in Lexington is yours for the asking. If it is too big to carry away, we will cut it up in small partsf' On November 10, as a part of Rear Admiral It is the men who win the wars - notthe machines. Pilots literalhz live in their Ready Room during hostz'lities,' it may be the place for a tense hriehng prior to a vital mission, or, far left, where the details of the last air strike are rehash- ed Below, officers and men thinlc, plan and coordinate in Lex 's plot room while her aircraft are engaged in wartime strilce against Gilbert and Marshall is- lands. These photos, and others on previous and succeeding pages, were taken on location by world-famous Captain Edward Steichen aboard CV-I6 during 1943 Pacifc action. i ...,., ., , E .. v , - -, . , - . .. .... .. .. ,, . V - H ,.. .... www. -.MW .-----Y-------W . --

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Hellcats QF6Fj and Corsairs QF4Uj. All three types were armed with six .50 caliber machine guns, but the latter two carried almost twice the ammunition of the former, furthermore, the FGF and F4U had speeds of more than 400 and 425 m.p.h. respectively, compared to about 300 m.p.h. for the Wildcat. The TBF torpedo bomb- er could fly at 250 m.p.h.-about 100 m.p.h. faster than her predecessor. As Commander James C. Shaw reported in his Fast Carrier Operations, 1943-1945, weapons development was making significant progress at this period. U. . .planes carried heavier bomb loads and adopted the vicious 5-inch rocket. Fighters were converted into fighter-bombers. . . .By the simple expedient of a drag ring placed on the nose of a torpedo, its falling rate was suf- ficiently reduced to permit launching at double the speed and at many times the previous altitude. The whole gamut of airborne weapons, excepting the atom bomb, was explored by carrier planes. The hours required to overrun Tarawa were relatively few, but the toll in casualties was high -over 1,000 marines and sailors killed and more than double that number wounded. The tactical lessons learned in the operation, how- ever, proved extremely valuable, and were credit- ed with making future amphibious engagements in the Pacific run much more smoothly. The battle ashore was over by November 23, but Lex continued to operate on a track between the Marshall and Gilbert Islands to intercept enemy planes attempting to strike the marines on Tarawa and Makin. This defensive operation was singularly successful, every daytime attack was intercepted and thwarted, and not one Jap- anese plane appeared over Makin during the three days of fighting there. Five days later she retired to refuel at sea. During the war our fleet oilers would continually venture into waters infested with enemy subma- rines, and within range of japanese aircraft, to refuel carriers and other combatant ships. This enabled fighting units of the fleet to remain at sea for months and strike anywhere in the Pacific at will. Admiral Nimitz, well aware of the im- portance of such operations, termed at-Sea refuel- ing his 'csecret weaponf' Left, the Air Officer directs the spotting of F617 is for immediate take-of SBD is are spotted ay? on the flightdeck. Above, a pilot from the escort carrier Liscome Bay paid an unexpected visit on Lexing- ton. Unfamiliar with night carrier op- erations, he was unable to find his way back to hz's own ship. Here the next morning, he walks down Lex's flight deck, chart z'n hand T he time was November 1943.