Lexington (CV 16) - Naval Cruise Book

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vrhfiarmf-'H-ffpiml -J-'M f -L 1 1 -1'1 :'e'f'PT5 'ii5- b l1Q??2'?iiE'33?I?E?5i?i5- Q2Q.Zl? f Lexington fought a long and hard war and she served her country well The American Navy was largehf responsible for dejhating japan, and Lexington fought her role with honor and distinc- tion. The nuclear blasts over Hiro- shima and Nagasahi climaxed a long hard campaign, fought by the Navy on the high seas and by the Marines on the beaches and islands ofthe Pacijia with support hom the Army Air Corps. As so many times in the past Americas might had been extended across hostile T waters by herlbower at sea. inactivation shortly after final hostilities ended. The proud flattop arrived at Bremerton, Wash- ington for this purpose May 23, 1946, and exact- ly eleven months later was placed out of commis- sion. Her assignment- Bremerton Group, U. S. Pacific Reserve Fleet. 1950 brought the Korean War and a build-up in strength of our Naval forces in the Western Pacific-the Seventh Fleet. United States' air- craft carriers - employing squadrons of jets from their decks for the first time in history-played an important role in the conflict, ranging from strikes against inland targets to close air support of amphibious operations. Lexington was slated for modernization and re-activation during this period, and on October 1, 1952 she was re-designated an attack aircraft carrier QCVA Exactly eleven months later the ship commenced conversion in Puget Sound. The most important modernization feature was the new angled or canted deck, which was being tested aboard Anti'etam at the time Lex entered the shipyard. This concept, first conceived by the British, would enable aircraft to land diagon- ally across the deck, instead of straight up the centerline. Landing planes would not interfere with those taking off simultaneously from the bow of the carrier via catapult, and furthermore, less arresting gear would be required. The pre- conversion Essex-class flattops were equipped with thirteen arresting wires, five barriers and '72

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m-1 W r .Z?'Z'FJQi'I :. .. z... . ,i'l':1- ...... . -..- .fEW'?1?!'?'.. - 3- ' 7 'f 2' L ' one barricade, with a total of a dozen arresting engines. With the angled deck, a pilot failing to engage one of the few arresting wires could apply full power to take-off again, and come around for another pass. The greatest implication of this for the pilots, of course, was the substantial improvement in the safety of landing operations -not having to face barriers, barricade and parked aircraft should the arresting wires not be engaged. Other significant features were being added to carriers at this time to compensate for the larger, heavier and faster aircraft then becoming opera- tional. Twin steam catapults Qanother British developmentj, a mirror landing system and a longer and stronger flight deck all became a part of the 'fnewv Lexington which emerged from the shipyard in August 1955. Recommissioning occurred the 15th of that month, with Captain A. S. Heyward, Ir. assum- ing command. After her fitting out and readiness- for-sea period, Lex conducted Shakedown train- ing out of San Diego, California, returning to Bremerton on January 29, 1956 for post-shake- down overhaul. In early March she steamed south again to spend the next two and a half months engaged primarily in training operations in and out of San Diego. t ' May 28 was the commencement date for a de- ployment to the Far East. After a stop at Pearl Harbor, Lexington headed .toward japan, chopping to the U. S. Seventh Fleet june 16. Upon arrival at Yokosuka, Commander Carrier Division One broke his flag aboard, and was with the ship for visits to Kobe and Okinawa. Twenty-eight days during the summer were spent on rescue station off the China coast, as a part of Task Force 77. On a visit to Hong Kong on October 4 Captain Iohn W. Gannon relieved Captain Heyward as commanding offi- cer. A fleet operation christened Slim jim shared the October spotlight with a violent typhoon, although Lex managed to survive both. A cruise to Melbourne, Australia was next on the operations schedule, but this was cancelled by another of the frequent flare-ups which character- ize the international situation in Southeast Asia. When nothing serious materialized, however, the 74 ship returned to Japan, and on December 6, de- parted from Yokosuka for Pearl Harbor, San Francisco and finally to home port San Diego. Pulling in there December 20, her log book show- ed 54,000 miles steamed and 4,000 sorties com- pleted by the Air Group. The initial three and a half months of 1957 were spent in the vici-nity of her home port, con- ducting training exercises for the crew and car- rier qualifications for Air Group 12. These fliers were very much at home, therefore, when they were assigned to Lexington for the next deploy- ment, departing for Pearl Harbor April 19. Fol- lowing the usual brief stopnthere, the ship arrived Yokosuka June 1, and the following day became flagship for Rear Admiral H. D. Riley, COMCARDIV ONE Cwho also served as Com- mander, TF 77 june 19-September 6, and Com- mander, TG 77.7 September 6-October 10j. After a period of refresher training at Guam, Lex anchored a week in early july at Kobe. The remainder of the summer was spent in various operations in the waters around japan, with lib- erty stops beingsmade at a variety of ports in- cluding Yokosuka, Iwakuni, Sasebo and Hong Kong. On September 19 a new commanding officer took over- Captain B. L. Bailey. A milestone of the deployment was the receipt, October 3, of the coveted Qfiscalj 1957 Chief of Naval Operations Aviation Safety Award. On such a pleasant note another long deployment was ended in San Diego on October 17. q Shortly thereafter the flattop steamed up to Bremerton for a routine overhaul, and was rest- ing in drydock at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard when 1957 drew to a close. Work was finally completed and the ship headed south on March 26, 1958, stopping on the way to San Diego to participate in commemoration ceremonies for a new USO in San Francisco. Spring and the month of june were spent in extensive training operations for ship's company, as well as assist- ing a number of squadrons to up-date their car- rier qualification proficiency. Lexington was dispatched tofSan Francisco again the initial week in July to join other ele- ments of the First Fleet in celebration of the Fiftieth Anniversary of the Great White Fleet's