USS Lexington (CV-2)

USS Lexington (CV-2) was the second aircraft carrier in service with the US Navy, being preceded by USS Langley (CV-1). She had originally been designed as a battlecruiser in 1916 and converted into a carrier, along with her sister ship USS Saratoga (CV-3), in 1922. Despite being a conversion, she could carry up to 68 combat aircraft. During WW2, she had aboard 21 Brewster F2A Buffalo fighters, 32 Douglas SBD Dauntless dive bombers, and 15 TBD Devastator torpedo bombers.

USS Lexington (CV-2) was away at sea, carrying aircraft to Midway, when the Japanese attacked the US Navy's base of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. At the end of December, 1941, as part of Task Force 11, she besieged the Wake Island (Marshall Islands) as her aircraft attacked the Japanese military installations there, wreaking havoc. The following year, she would take part in the Battle of the Coral Sea in early May 1942. During this naval encounter against the Imperial Japanese Navy, her bombers hit and damaged IJN Shokaku aircraft carrier. However, on May 8, 1942, during this battle, she was seriously damaged by enemy aircraft and she had to be scuttled on the same day.

Technical Characteristics

Laid down for conversion on January 8, 1921, US Lexington was commissioned as an aircraft carrier on December 14, 1927. She had a starboard island, with an integral funnel, a straight-through flight deck, and transverse arrester wires. The former battlecruiser hull had been carried up to the hanger deck. The hangar deck itself was completely enclosed within the hull. Unusually for an USS carrier, the bow and stern were faired (joined smoothly) into the hull.

The most noticeable feature of the USS Lexington (CV-2) was the huge smoke stack (funnel) on her starboard side. It was located aft and separate from the island, which was small and contained navigation facilities. The turbo-electric machinery was the most powerful of the US Navy when WW2 broke out, enabling the ship to sail at the top speed of 34 knots.

Specifications

Type: aircraft carrier

Displacement: 37,681 tons; 43,005 tons (full-loaded)

Length: 270.7 m (888 feet)

Beam: 32.1 m (105 feet)

Draft: 10.2 m (33 feet, 4 inches)

Propulsion: 4 sets of General Electric turbines, with 4 shafts, and 16 water-tube boilers, generating 180,000 SHP.

Maximum Speed: 34 knots

Range: 10,500 nautical miles cruising at 15 knots.

Armament: eight 203-mm naval guns; twelve 127-mm AA guns.

Compliment: 2,327 sailors and officers.

Below, profile view of the USS Lexington off the coast of Hawaii in 1932.

The CV-2 aircraft carrier cruising along in the Pacific circa 1939.

Below, aerial view of the US Navy's first three carriers around 1930; the USS Langley (CV-1) in the foreground; next, in the middle, the USS Saratoga (CV-3); and USS Lexington (CV-3) in the background.

The USS Lexington in flames after being hit by Japanese dive bombers on May 8, 1942.