Lexington (CV 16) - Naval Cruise Book

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-Em-3-1.-,rainy-new-rr:1fz:11:1'1.s.-1:41-uysvfx-1-L, .vs , 1 1 vivfvmnvvwrcxgnnwcrv:xmwrnzv-vnu- :1:-1:1-q-::v:ran:1-::n .... . ::r-3 T he carriers flzght dech is freguentbz compared in size to about three football helds. Some of the crew turn to with sitting-up exercises under cloudy Paczfc shies. X moved towards Majuro in the Marshalls, where Rear Admiral Marc Mitscher shifted his flag aboard March 8. In the two-month period prior to being joined by Lex, Task Force 58 had made itself strongly felt in the Pacific. Providing vital support to the successful campaign against Kwajalein, it also had exploded the myth that japan's uimpreg- nable Truk, the 'cGibraltar of the Pacific,'7 was a fortress too strong to be successfully attacked. TF-58 proved the ability of the carriers to neutralize enemy bases without any assistance from land-based air, according to The Great Sea War. uDuring thenightofFebruary 17-18, the book continues, 'fcarrier aircraft, exploiting a newly-developed technique, bombed vessels in Truk lagoon by radar. At dawn the carriers, already beginning to withdraw, launched a final all-out attack. In the course of this two-day strike, the attackers destroyed about 200. enemy aircraft and damaged some 70 more. They sank 15 Japanese naval vessels .... CV-16's return to the battle fleet meant a swift return to action. A strike launched against Mille Atoll on March 18 is described in U S. Destroy- er Operations in World War II as upart of a training exercise for Lexington is new Air Group. 7' Actually, according to the ship ls War Diary it produced an estimated 30 per cent reduction in the island's coastal defense guns and destroyed many machine gun positions Four days later Lexzngton sortied with other units of TF 58 for strikes against the Palau Is lands by mounting this attack from their base at Majuro 2 300 miles away from the target the Fast Carrier Task Force demonstrated its great mobility The two day strike resulted in our de stroying 150 planes and sinking 104 000 tons 44