View source for USS Lexington (CV-16)

{{short description|Essex-class aircraft carrier of the US Navy}}
{{Other ships|USS Lexington}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2021}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
| Ship image = File:USS Lexington (CVA-16) underway at sea on 16 August 1958.jpg
| Ship caption = USS ''Lexington'' underway on 16 August 1958
}}
{{Infobox ship career
| Hide header = 
| Ship country = United States
| Ship flag = {{USN flag|1991}}
| Ship name = ''Lexington''
| Ship namesake = *[[Battles of Lexington and Concord|Battle of Lexington]]
*{{USS|Lexington|CV-2}}
| Ship ordered = 9 September 1940<ref name=Navsource/>
| Ship builder = [[Fore River Shipyard]]
| Ship laid down = 15 July 1941
| Ship launched = 23 September 1942
| Ship commissioned = 17 February 1943
| Ship decommissioned = 23 April 1947
}}
{{Infobox ship career
| Hide header = yes
| Ship recommissioned = 15 August 1955
| Ship decommissioned = 8 November 1991
| Ship reclassified = *CVA-16, 1 October 1952
*CVS-16, 1 October 1962
*CVT-16, 1 January 1969
*AVT-16, 1 July 1978
| Ship struck = 8 November 1991
| Ship status = [[Museum ship]]
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
| Hide header = 
| Header caption = 
| Ship class = {{sclass|Essex|aircraft carrier}}
| Ship displacement = *{{cvt|27100|LT|t|lk=on}} ([[Displacement (ship)#Standard displacement|standard]])
*{{cvt|36380|LT|t}} ([[Full-load displacement|full load]])
| Ship length = *{{convert|820|ft|m|1}} ([[Waterline length|wl]])
*{{convert|872|ft|m|1}} ([[o/a]])
| Ship beam = {{cvt|93|ft|m|1}}
| Ship draft = {{cvt|34|ft|2|in|m}}
| Ship propulsion = *4 × geared [[steam turbine]]s
*4 × [[screw propeller]]s
| Ship speed = {{convert|33|kn|lk=in}}
| Ship range = {{cvt|14100|nmi|lk=in}} at {{convert|20|kn}}
| Ship complement = 2,600 officers and enlisted men
| Ship power = *8 × [[Babcock & Wilcox boiler]]s
*{{cvt|150000|shp|lk=in}}
| Ship armament = *12 × [[5-inch/38-caliber gun|{{cvt|5|in|0}}]] [[Dual-purpose gun|DP guns]]
*32 × [[Bofors 40 mm Automatic Gun L/60|{{cvt|40|mm|1}}]] [[AA gun]]s
*46 × [[Oerlikon 20 mm cannon|{{cvt|20|mm|1}}]] AA guns
| Ship armor = *[[Belt armor|Waterline belt]]: {{cvt|2.5|-|4|in|0}}
*[[Deck (ship)|Deck]]: {{cvt|1.5|in}}
*[[Hangar]] deck: {{cvt|2.5|in}}
*[[Bulkhead (partition)|Bulkhead]]s: 4&nbsp;in (102&nbsp;mm)
| Ship aircraft = *36 × Grumman F6F Hellcat
*36 × Douglas SBD Dauntless
*18 × Grumman TBF Avenger
| Ship notes = 
}}
{{Infobox NRHP
| embed = yes
| name = USS ''Lexington'' Museum on the Bay
| nrhp_type = nhl
| image = 
| image_size = 
| caption = 
| nearest_city = 
| coordinates = {{coord|27|48|54|N|97|23|19|W|display=inline,title}}
| locmapin = Texas#USA
| map_label = USS Lexington
| locmap_relief = yes
| map_width = 300
| area = 
| built = 1942
| architect = 
| architecture = 
| designated_nrhp_type = 31 July 2003<ref name="nhlsum">{{cite web |url=https://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detail.cfm?ResourceId=922135347&ResourceType=Structure |title=Lexington, USS (Aircraft Carrier) |access-date=2012-09-04 |work=National Historic Landmark summary listing |publisher=National Park Service |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120516004538/https://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detail.cfm?ResourceId=922135347&ResourceType=Structure |archive-date=16 May 2012 }}</ref>
| added = 31 July 2003
| refnum = 03001043<ref name="nris">{{NRISref |refnum=03001043|version=2010a}}</ref>
}}
|}

'''USS ''Lexington'' (CV/CVA/CVS/CVT/AVT-16)''' is an {{sclass|Essex|aircraft carrier}} built during [[World War II]] for the [[United States Navy]]. Originally intended to be named ''Cabot'', the new aircraft carrier was renamed while under construction to commemorate the recently-lost {{USS|Lexington|CV-2}}, becoming the sixth U.S. Navy ship to bear the name in honor of the [[Battles of Lexington and Concord|Battle of Lexington]].

''Lexington'' was commissioned in February 1943 and saw extensive service through the [[Pacific War]]. For much of her service, she acted as the flagship for Admiral [[Marc Mitscher]], and led the [[Fast Carrier Task Force]] through their battles across the Pacific. She was the recipient of 11 battle stars and the [[Presidential Unit Citation (United States)|Presidential Unit Citation]]. Following the war, ''Lexington'' was decommissioned, but was modernized and reactivated in the early 1950s, being reclassified as an attack carrier (CVA). Later, she was reclassified as an antisubmarine carrier (CVS). In her second career, she operated both in the Atlantic/Mediterranean and the Pacific, but spent most of her time, nearly 30 years, in Pensacola, Florida, as a training carrier (CVT).

''Lexington'' was decommissioned in 1991, with an active service life longer than any other ''Essex''-class ship. Following her decommissioning, she was donated for use as a [[museum ship]] in [[Corpus Christi, Texas]]. In 2003, ''Lexington'' was designated a [[National Historic Landmark]]. Though her surviving [[sister ship]]s {{USS|Yorktown|CV-10|2}}, {{USS|Intrepid|CV-11|2}}, and {{USS|Hornet|CV-12|2}} carry lower hull numbers, ''Lexington'' was laid down and commissioned earlier, making ''Lexington'' the oldest remaining fleet carrier in the world.

==Service history==

===World War II===
[[File:USS Lexington (CV-16) underway on 12 November 1943.jpg|thumb|left|''Lexington'' in her original configuration, November 1943]]

The ship was laid down as ''Cabot'' on 15 July 1941 by [[Fore River Shipyard]] in [[Quincy, Massachusetts]]. In May 1942, {{USS|Lexington|CV-2}}, which had been built in the same shipyard two decades earlier, was sunk at the [[Battle of the Coral Sea]]. In June, workers at the shipyard submitted a request to Navy Secretary [[Frank Knox]] to change the name of a carrier currently under construction there to ''Lexington''.<ref>{{cite news |agency=United Press |title=Workers Name New Lexington |newspaper=Waterloo Daily Courier |date=17 June 1942 |url=https://newspaperarchive.com/waterloo-daily-courier/1942-06-17 |access-date=2012-02-11|via=NewspaperArchive.com (subscription required)}}</ref> Knox agreed to the proposal and ''Cabot'' was renamed ''Lexington'' on 16 June 1942, the fifth U.S. Navy ship to bear the name of the [[American Revolutionary War|Revolutionary War]] [[Battles of Lexington and Concord|Battle of Lexington]].<ref name=Navsource>{{cite web |url=https://www.navsource.org/archives/02/16.htm |title=NavSource Online: Aircraft Carrier Photo Archive |access-date=18 September 2021 |work=NavSource Online}}</ref><ref name=DANFS>{{cite DANFS |url=https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/l/lexington-cv-16-v.html |title=Lexington V |access-date=2012-01-20}}</ref> She was launched on 23 September 1942, sponsored by Mrs. Theodore Douglas Robinson. ''Lexington'' was [[Ship commissioning|commissioned]] on 17 February 1943, with [[Captain (naval)|Captain]] [[Felix Stump]] in command.<ref name=DANFS/> After a shakedown cruise in the [[Caribbean]], ''Lexington'' sailed via the [[Panama Canal]] to join the Pacific fleet.

One of the carrier's first casualties was 1939 [[Heisman Trophy]] winner [[Nile Kinnick]]. During the ship's initial voyage (to the Caribbean) in 1943, Kinnick and other naval fliers were conducting training flights off her deck. The [[Grumman F4F Wildcat]] flown by Kinnick developed a serious oil leak while airborne and was unable to return to ''Lexington'', crashing into the sea four miles from the ship.<ref>{{cite book|title=A Hero Perished: The Diary and Selected Letters of Nile Kinnick|first=Paul|last=Baender|date=September 1992|pages=xvi, 136|publisher=University of Iowa Press |isbn=0-87745-390-X}}</ref> Neither Kinnick nor his plane were recovered.<!--<ref>[https://www.heisman.com/winners/n-kinnick39.html Heisman.com: ''Kinnick39'']</ref> link broke-->
<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.espn.com/classic/biography/s/Kinnick_Nile.html |title=Everybody's All-America |first=Ron |last=Flatter |work=espn.com |access-date=2010-04-25}}</ref>

''Lexington'' arrived at [[Pearl Harbor]] on 9 August 1943, and participated in a raid on [[Tarawa Atoll|Tarawa]] air bases in late September, followed by a raid against [[Wake Island]] in October, before returning to Pearl Harbor to prepare for the [[Gilbert Islands campaign|Gilbert Islands operation]]. From 19 to 24 November, she made searches and flew sorties in the [[Marshall Islands|Marshalls]], covering the landings in the Gilberts. Her aviators downed 29 enemy aircraft on 23 and 24 November.

====Kwajalein raid====
[[File:USS Lexington (CV-16) chart room 1943-12.JPG|thumb|left|Chart room on board ''Lexington'' as the ship maneuvers during a strike on the Gilbert and Marshall Islands, December 1943]]

''Lexington'' sailed to raid [[Kwajalein]] on 4 December. Her morning strike destroyed the {{SS|Kembu Maru|1942|6}}, damaged two cruisers, and accounted for 30 enemy aircraft. Her gunners splashed two of the enemy torpedo planes that attacked at midday, but were ordered not to open fire at night as Admiral [[Charles Pownall]] then in command believed it would give their position away. (he was later replaced<ref>{{cite book|title=Nimitz|first=E.B.|last=Potter|year=2008|pages=266, 267|publisher=Naval Institute Press |isbn=978-1-59114-580-6}}</ref>).

At 19:20 that night, a major air attack began while the task force was under way off Kwajalein. At 23:22, parachute flares from Japanese planes silhouetted the carrier, and 10 minutes later, she was hit by a torpedo on the starboard side, knocking out her steering gear. Nine people were killed, two on the fantail and seven in the chief petty officers' mess room, which was a repair party station during general quarters. Four members of the affected repair party survived because they were sitting on a couch that apparently absorbed the shock of the explosion. Settling {{convert|5|ft|m|0}} by the stern, the carrier began circling to port amidst dense clouds of smoke pouring from ruptured tanks aft. To maintain water-tight integrity, damage control crews were ordered to seal the damaged compartments and welded them shut, applying heavy steel plates where needed. An emergency hand-operated steering unit was quickly devised, and ''Lexington'' made Pearl Harbor for emergency repairs, arriving on 9 December. She reached [[Bremerton, Washington]], on 22 December for full repairs, completed on 20 February 1944. The error in judgment concerning opening fire at night was never repeated, as thereafter gun crews were ordered to open fire anytime the ship came under attack. Following this attack, the ship was reported as sunk by Japan's [[Tokyo Rose]], the first of several such assertions.

====Battle of the Philippine Sea====
{{Main|Battle of the Philippine Sea}}

''Lexington'' returned to [[Majuro]] in time to be present when [[Rear Admiral]] Mitscher took command of the newly formed [[Task Force 58]] (TF 58) on 8 March. Mitscher took ''Lexington'' as his flagship, and after a warm-up strike against [[Mili Atoll|Mille]], the Fast Carrier Task Force began a series of operations against the Japanese positions in the central Pacific.  She supported Army landings at [[Jayapura|Hollandia (currently known as Jayapura)]] on 13 April, and then raided the strongpoint of [[Chuuk Lagoon|Truk]] on 28 April. Heavy counterattacks left ''Lexington'' untouched, her planes splashing 17 enemy fighters, but for the second time, Japanese propaganda announced her sunk.

A surprise fighter strike on [[Saipan]] on 11 June nearly eliminated all air opposition over the island, then battered it from the air for the next five days. On 16 June, ''Lexington'' fought off a fierce attack by Japanese torpedo bombers based on [[Guam]], once again emerging unhurt, but 'sunk' a third time by propaganda pronouncements. As Japanese opposition to the Marianas operation provoked the [[Battle of the Philippine Sea]] on 19–20 June, ''Lexington'' played a major role in TF 58's great victory in what was later called the "Great Marianas Turkey Shoot". With over 300 enemy aircraft destroyed the first day, and a carrier, a tanker, and a destroyer sunk the second day, American aviators nearly knocked Japanese naval aviation out of the war; with the planes went the trained and experienced pilots without whom Japan could not continue air warfare at sea.

Using [[Eniwetok]] as her base, ''Lexington'' sent aircraft on sorties over Guam and against the Palaus and Bonins into August. She arrived in the Carolinas on 7 September for three days of strikes against [[Yap]] and [[Ulithi]], then began attacks on [[Mindanao]], the Visayas, the [[Manila]] area, and shipping along the west coast of [[Luzon]], preparing for the coming assault on [[Leyte (island)|Leyte]]. Her task force then blasted [[Okinawa Island|Okinawa]] on 10 October and [[Taiwan|Formosa]] two days later to destroy bases from which opposition to the Philippines campaign might be launched. She was again unscathed through the air battle fought after the Formosa assault.

====Battle of Leyte Gulf====
{{Main|Battle of Leyte Gulf}}

Now covering the Leyte landings, ''Lexington''{{'}}s aircraft scored importantly in the [[Battle of Leyte Gulf]], the climactic American naval victory over Japan. While the carrier came under constant enemy attack in the engagement, she was not damaged during the main battle. In exchange her aircraft served in the [[battle of the Sibuyan Sea]], where they assisted in sinking the Japanese "super battleship" {{Ship|Japanese battleship|Musashi||2}} , one of the two largest and most powerful battleships in the world (alongside her sistership [[Japanese battleship Yamato|''Yamato'']]) and scored hits on three cruisers on 24 October, including a torpedo hit that crippled the heavy cruiser ''[[Japanese cruiser Myōkō|Myōkō]],'' forcing her out of the battle alongside two destroyers to escort her. 

The next day ''Lexington''{{'}}s aircraft served in the [[battle off Cape Engano]] against Japanese aircraft carriers. With {{USS|Essex|CV-9|2}} aircraft, they sank the light carrier {{Ship|Japanese aircraft carrier|Chitose||2}} and in conjunction with {{USS|Franklin|CV-13|2}} aircraft crippled the light carrier {{ship|Japanese aircraft carrier|Chiyoda||2}} (later finished off by a US cruiser task force consisting of {{USS|New Orleans|CA-32|2}}, {{USS|Wichita|CA-45|2}}, {{USS|Santa Fe|CL-60|2}}, and {{USS|Mobile|CL-63|2}}).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Imperial Flattops |url=http://www.combinedfleet.com/Chiyoda.htm |access-date=2024-05-21 |website=www.combinedfleet.com}}</ref> Meanwhile, her aircraft alone sank the fleet carrier {{Ship|Japanese aircraft carrier|Zuikaku||2}}. During the battle of the Coral Sea on May 8th 1942, ''Zuikaku''{{'s}} air group landed two torpedo hits that were the primary reason behind ''Lexington'' (CV-2)'s sinking, thus ''Lexington'' avenged her fallen predecessor. Later in the day, alongside {{USS|Intrepid|CV-11|2}} aircraft, ''Lexington''{{'s}} aircraft sank the light carrier {{Ship|Japanese aircraft carrier|Zuihō||2}}.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Stille |first=Mark |title=USN Carriers vs IJN Carriers: The Pacific 1942 (Duel) |publisher=Osprey Publishing |date=20 November 2007 |isbn=978-1-84603-248-6 |page=58}}</ref>

As the retiring Japanese were pursued, her aircraft then sank the heavy crusier {{Ship|Japanese cruiser|Nachi||2}} with four torpedo hits on 5 November off Luzon. Later that day, ''Lexington'' was introduced to the ''[[kamikaze]]'' as a flaming Japanese aircraft crashed near her island, destroying most of the island structure and spraying fire in all directions.<ref name="Smith">{{cite book|last1=Smith|first1=Peter C|title=Kamikaze To Die for the Emperor|date=2014|publisher=Pen & Sword Books Ltd|location=Barnsley, UK|isbn=978-1-78159-313-4|page=32}}</ref> Within 20 minutes, major blazes were under control, and she was able to continue normal flight actions, as well as shooting down a ''kamikaze'' heading for {{USS|Ticonderoga|CV-14|2}}. On 9 November, ''Lexington'' arrived in Ulithi to repair battle damage while hearing that Tokyo once again claimed her sunk. ''Lexington'' suffered 50 killed and 132 wounded in this attack.<ref>https://www.history.navy.mil/about-us/leadership/director/directors-corner/h-grams/h-gram-040/h-040-2.html . Retrieved 10 March 2024.</ref>

Chosen as the [[flagship]] for Task Group 58.2 (TG 58.2) on 11 December, she struck at the airfields of Luzon and Formosa during the first nine days of January 1945, encountering little enemy opposition. The task force then [[South China Sea raid|entered the South China Sea]] to strike enemy shipping and air installations. Strikes were flown against Saipan, Camranh Bay in then [[Indochina]], [[Hong Kong]], the Pescadores, and Formosa. Task force planes sank four merchant ships and four escorts in one convoy and destroyed at least 12 in another, at [[Camranh Bay]] on 12 January. Leaving the China Sea on 20 January, ''Lexington'' sailed north to strike Formosa again on 21 January and Okinawa again on 22 January. After replenishing at Ulithi, TG 58.2 sailed on 10 February to hit airfields near Tokyo on 16 February 1945,<ref>
{{cite web|url=https://www.tailhook.org/catfgt.htm|website=Tailhook |title=Catfight Over Chiba|last1=Takaki|first1=Koji|last2=Sakaida|first2=Henry|access-date=2012-09-04|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120904160206/https://www.tailhook.org/catfgt.htm|archive-date=4 September 2012}} an account of air battle on 16 February 1945</ref> and on 17 February to minimize opposition to the Iwo Jima landings on 19 February. ''Lexington'' flew close support for the assaulting troops from 19 to 22 February, then sailed for further strikes against the Japanese home islands and the [[Nansei Shoto]] before heading for overhaul at Puget Sound.

====Rear Admiral Sprague's task force====
''Lexington'' was combat-bound again on 22 May, sailing via Alameda and Pearl Harbor for [[San Pedro Bay (Philippines)|San Pedro Bay]], Leyte, where she joined Rear Admiral [[Thomas L. Sprague]]'s task force for the final round of air strikes which battered the Japanese home islands from July-15 August, when the last strike was ordered to jettison its bombs and return to ''Lexington'' on receiving word of the Japanese surrender. During this period, she had launched attacks on [[Honshū]] and [[Hokkaidō]] airfields, and [[United States Fleet Activities Yokosuka|Yokosuka]] and [[Kure, Hiroshima|Kure]] naval bases to destroy the remnants of the Japanese fleet. In the actions at Kure, [[Vought F4U Corsair|F4U-1D]] Corsairs of VBF94 flying off ''Lexington'', sank the hybrid battleship/aircraft carrier ''[[Japanese battleship Ise|Ise]]''. Flying against heavy enemy fire, squadron commander Lester Wall Jr. dropped a 1000lb bomb down her stack, exploding her boilers and breaking her keel in a conflagration matching that of the destruction of the {{USS|Arizona||6}} at Pearl Harbor four years earlier. The Lt. Cmdr. and several men in his squadron were awarded the Navy Cross for this action.  She had also flown bombing attacks on industrial targets in the Tokyo area.

After hostilities ended, her aircraft continued to fly air patrols over Japan. The previously mentioned Lt.Cmdr. Wall first located and then led in supply drops to prisoner-of-war camps on Honshū that had been abandoned by the Japanese. He was subsequently awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for this mission. In December, she was used to ferry home servicemen in what was known as [[Operation Magic Carpet]], arriving in [[San Francisco]] on 16 December.

===After the war===
[[File:USS Lexington (CVA-16) leaving the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, circa in September 1955.jpg|thumb|''Lexington'' departs Puget Sound in 1955 to undertake sea trials following her massive [[SCB-27]]/[[SCB-125]] conversion]]
''Lexington'' was decommissioned at Bremerton on 23 April 1947, and entered the [[National Defense Reserve Fleet]]. While in reserve, she was designated attack carrier CVA-16 on 1 October 1952. In September 1953, ''Lexington'' entered the [[Puget Sound Naval Shipyard]]. She received the ''Essex''-class [[SCB-27|SCB-27C]] and [[SCB-125]] conversions in one refit, being then able to operate the most modern jet aircraft. The most visible distinguishing features were an angled flight deck, steam catapults, a new island, and the [[hurricane bow]]. ''Lexington'' was recommissioned on 15 August 1955, Captain A. S. Heyward Jr. in command. Assigned to [[San Diego]] as her home port, she operated off California until May 1956, sailing then for a six-month deployment with the [[United States Seventh Fleet|7th Fleet]]. She based on Yokosuka for exercises, maneuvers, and search and rescue missions off the coast of China, and called at major Far Eastern ports until returning to San Diego on 20 December. She next trained [[Air Group 12]], which deployed with her on the next 7th Fleet deployment. Arriving at Yokosuka on 1 June 1957, ''Lexington'' embarked Rear Admiral H. D. Riley, Commander [[Commander, Strike Force Training Pacific|Carrier Division 1]], and sailed as his flagship until returning to San Diego on 17 October.

Following overhaul at Bremerton, her refresher training was interrupted by the [[Second Taiwan Strait Crisis]];<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.navy.mil/navydata/navy_legacy_hr.asp?id=33|title=USS Lexington CV-16|publisher=navy.mil|access-date=2012-09-04}}</ref> on 14 July 1958, she was ordered to embark Air Group 21 at San Francisco and sail to reinforce the 7th Fleet off Taiwan, arriving on station on 7 August and returning to San Diego on 19 December. Now the first carrier whose planes were armed with [[AGM-12 Bullpup]] guided missiles, ''Lexington'' left San Francisco on 26 April 1959 for another tour of duty with the 7th Fleet. She was on standby alert during the Laotian crisis of late August and September. Following this, she exercised with British naval forces before returning to San Diego, arriving on 2 December. In early 1960, she underwent an overhaul at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard.

''Lexington''{{'}}s next Far Eastern tour began late in 1960, and was extended well into 1961 by renewed tension in Laos. Returning to west coast operations, she was ordered in January 1962 to prepare to relieve {{USS|Antietam|CV-36|2}} as aviation training carrier in the [[Gulf of Mexico]], and she was redesignated CVS-16 on 1 October 1962. However, during the [[Cuban Missile Crisis]], she resumed duty as an attack carrier, and she did not relieve ''Antietam'' until 29 December 1962 at [[Pensacola, Florida]].

Into 1969, ''Lexington'' operated out of her home port, Pensacola, as well as Corpus Christi, qualifying student aviators and maintaining the high state of training of both active-duty and reserve naval aviators. Her work became of increasing significance as she prepared the men vital to the Navy and Marine Corps operations over [[Vietnam]], where naval aviation played a major role. ''Lexington'' marked her 200,000th arrested landing on 17 October 1967, was redesignated CVT-16 on 1 January 1969 and was redesignated again as AVT-16 on 1 July 1978. She continued as a training carrier for the next 22 years until she was relieved by {{USS|Forrestal|CV-59|2}}, and ''Lexington'' was decommissioned and struck on 8 November 1991.<ref name=Pensacola>{{cite web |url=https://www.navalaviationmuseum.org/uncategorized/pensacolas-flattops/ |title=Pensacola's Flattops |date=9 July 2014 |publisher=National Naval Aviation Museum |access-date=26 May 2017}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.navsource.org/archives/02/16.htm|title = Aircraft Carrier Photo Index: USS LEXINGTON (CV-16)}}</ref>

On 18 August 1980, ''Lexington'' became the first aircraft carrier in United States naval history to have women stationed aboard as crew members.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.usslexington.com/about-the-uss-lexington/lex-trivia/|title=LEX Trivia|website=USS Lexington Museum |date=14 September 2020| archive-url= https://archive.today/20150430235035/https://www.usslexington.com/about-the-uss-lexington/lex-trivia/|archive-date=30 April 2015}}</ref> On 29 October 1989, a student [[naval aviator]] lost control of his [[North American T-2 Buckeye|T-2]] training aircraft after an aborted attempt to land on ''Lexington''{{'}}s flight deck. The aircraft inverted and hit the island with its left wing, killing four crew members (including the pilot of the plane who had begun an ejection sequence) and one civilian maintenance worker<ref>https://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?r101:H01NO9-760 {{Dead link|date=November 2020}}</ref> and injuring seventeen.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://apnews.com/article/301b9c206a8d9e7ce18c8534bf815bd8|title=Plane Manned By Student Pilot Crashes on Deck of Aircraft Carrier; 5 Killed|website=AP NEWS}}</ref> The island suffered no major damage, and fires from the burning fuel were extinguished within 15 minutes.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://video.yahoo.com/watch/59648/1375031|title=Lexington Aircraft Crash Oct. 1958|publisher=video.yahoo.com|access-date=2010-04-25}}{{dead link|date=September 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1345&dat=19891031&id=_rYSAAAAIBAJ&sjid=8_kDAAAAIBAJ&pg=5489,4247415|title= Lexington's Crew Praised|newspaper=[[The Spokesman-Review|Spokane Chronicle]]|date=31 October 1989}}</ref> ''Lexington'' was the final ''Essex''-class carrier in commission, after {{USS|Oriskany|CV-34|6}} had been decommissioned in 1976.

<gallery mode="packed">
File:USS Lexington (AVT-16) putting out to sea in Pensacola, Florida, (USA), in 1987.jpg|''Lexington'' putting to sea from Pensacola in 1987
File:T-2C Buckeyes on USS Lexington (AVT-16) in 1989.JPEG|A pair of T-2s wait to be catapulted from ''Lexington'' in 1989
File:TH-57A of HT-8 landing on USS Lexington (AVT-16) 1985.JPEG|TH-57 landing on ''Lexington'' in 1985
File:Douglas TA-4J Skyhawk aboard USS Lexington (AVT-16), 1 April 1989 (6445251).jpg|A TA-4 performs touch and go landings from ''Lexington'', while another prepares to be catapulted from the flight deck in 1989
File:USS Lexington (AVT-16) leaving Guantanamo Bay c1989.jpg|''Lexington'' departing from Guantanamo Bay in 1991 
</gallery>

==USS ''Lexington'' Museum==
[[File:USS Lexington -- The-Blue-Ghost' -- Corpus Christi.jpg|thumb|USS ''Lexington'' -- The-Blue-Ghost' -- Corpus Christi Bay]]

On 26 November 1991, the US Navy turned ''Lexington'' over to the City of Corpus Christi. On 15 June 1992, the ship was donated as a museum and now operates as the "USS ''Lexington'' Museum on the Bay" at 2914 North Shoreline Boulevard, Corpus Christi, Texas. A MEGAtheater (similar to [[IMAX]]) was added in the forward aircraft elevator space. ''Lexington'' was designated a National Historic Landmark in 2003. The ship is carefully maintained, and areas of the ship previously off-limits are becoming open to the public every few years. One of the most recent examples of this is the catapult room.

The ship's World War II-era gun battery is also being partially restored using guns salvaged from scrapped ships. Most notable among these are 5"/38 DP gun turrets saved from the scrapping of the heavy cruiser {{USS|Des Moines|CA-134|2}}. They have been mounted in the approximate locations where similar mounts once existed as part of the ship's original World War II-era fit. After the coast guard cutter [[USCGC Dauntless (WMEC-624)|''Dauntless'']]' overhaul, her [[3-inch/50-caliber gun|3"/50cal gun]] was put on display onboard ''Lexington''.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Harold A. Skaarup web pages|url=https://silverhawkauthor.com/artillery-tanks-and-afvs-in-the-usa-texas-3-corpus-christi-uss-lexington-and-san-antonio-the-alamo_929.html|access-date=2021-04-01|website=silverhawkauthor.com|archive-date=19 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210419073127/https://silverhawkauthor.com/artillery-tanks-and-afvs-in-the-usa-texas-3-corpus-christi-uss-lexington-and-san-antonio-the-alamo_929.html}}</ref>

On 5 February 2010, ''Lexington'' hosted its 17th annual "Stagedoor Canteen".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.usslexington.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=267&Itemid=316 |title=17th Annual "Stagedoor Canteen" |website=USS Lexington.com |access-date=2010-04-25}}</ref>{{failed verification |date=September 2012}}

The [[National Naval Aviation Museum]], at Naval Air Station Pensacola, has a small carrier deck mock-up, whose flight deck is constructed from deck boards salvaged from ''Lexington''.
<gallery mode="packed">
File:An aerial photo of the USS Lexington in Corpus Christi.jpg|An aerial photo of USS ''Lexington'' in Corpus Christi
File:USS Lexington CV-16 by malo 1.jpg|''Lexington'' as a museum ship, 2008
File:USS Lexington Helm.jpg|The bridge
File:USS Lexington Combat Information Center.jpg|Combat Information Center
File:USS Lexington Another island view.jpg|Island view
</gallery>

==Popular culture==
In 1975 ''Lexington'' served as a filming location at sea the feature movie [[Midway (1976 film)|''Midway'']] and again in 1987 for the TV miniseries ''[[War and Remembrance (miniseries)|War and Remembrance]]''. In both cases, she was altered to the extent possible to resemble other vessels, ({{USS|Yorktown|CV-5|2}} in ''Midway'' and {{USS|Enterprise|CV-6|2}} in ''War and Remembrance'') by adding antiaircraft cannons and operating World War II-vintage Navy aircraft. ''Lexington'' was also used (though tied up to her pier) for filming of the 2001 film ''[[Pearl Harbor (film)|Pearl Harbor]]'', where she was altered to resemble a Japanese carrier, as well as {{USS|Hornet|CV-8|2}}.<ref name=Heines>{{cite web|last=Heines|first=Vivienne|title=Bringing 'Pearl Harbor' to Corpus Christi|url=https://www.military.com/Content/MoreContent/?file=NL_pearlharbor_heines|publisher=Military.com |access-date=10 January 2014}}</ref>

In July 2007, the popular TV show ''[[Ghost Hunters (TV series)|Ghost Hunters]]'' filmed aboard ''Lexington'', looking for evidence of ghosts, and in December 2009, she was the subject of an episode of ''[[Ghost Lab]]'', on the [[Discovery Channel]].<ref>{{cite web|author=TheCelebrityCafe.com|url=https://thecelebritycafe.com/feature/ghost-lab-visits-uss-lexington-12-22-2009|title=Ghost Lab Visits USS Lexington|publisher=CelebrityCafe.com|date=22 December 2009|access-date=2010-04-25|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100212232014/https://thecelebritycafe.com/feature/ghost-lab-visits-uss-lexington-12-22-2009|archive-date=12 February 2010}}</ref>

In 2014, [[Pepsi]] used the ship to film a commercial in preparation for the 2015 [[Super Bowl]]. The commercial, titled "Operation Halftime," featured country-music singer [[Blake Shelton]] performing for veterans and their families.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.gossipcop.com/blake-shelton-veterans-concert-video-halftime-show-pepsi-watch/|title=Blake Shelton Performs "Halftime Show" For Veterans – Watch Video! | first1 = Shari | last1 = Weiss | date = 2014-11-20 | website = [[Gossip Cop]] | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20141207170843/https://www.gossipcop.com/blake-shelton-veterans-concert-video-halftime-show-pepsi-watch/ | archive-date = 2014-12-07}}</ref>

==Awards==
The crew of ''Lexington'' received the Presidential Unit Citation for heroism in action against enemy Japanese forces, 11 [[battle star]]s for major engagements during [[World War II]] service, and other awards.

{|class="wikitable" style="margin:1em auto; text-align:center;"
|colspan=3|[[Presidential Unit Citation (United States)|Presidential Unit Citation]]
|-
|[[Meritorious Unit Commendation]]<br />with one [[service star|star]]
|[[Navy Expeditionary Medal]]
|[[China Service Medal]]
|-
|[[American Campaign Medal]]
|[[Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal]]<br /> with eleven stars
|[[World War II Victory Medal]]
|-
|[[Navy Occupation Service Medal]]<br />with "Asia" Clasp
|[[National Defense Service Medal]]<br />with one star
|[[Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal]]<br />with two stars
|-
|[[Special Operations Service Ribbon]]
|[[Presidential Unit Citation (Philippines)|Philippine Presidential Unit Citation]]
|[[Philippine Liberation Medal]]<br />with two stars
|}

==See also==
{{Portal|National Register of Historic Places|Texas}}
*[[National Museum of the United States Navy#See also|U.S. Navy museums]] (and other aircraft-carrier museums)
*CAPT [[Eugene McDaniel]], former POW, Navy Cross recipient and [[commanding officer]] of ''Lexington'' from 25 May 1977 to 30 November 1978<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.navsource.org/archives/02/16co.htm |title= Commanding Officers |website= NavSource Online }}</ref>
*[[List of National Historic Landmarks in Texas]]
*[[National Register of Historic Places listings in Nueces County, Texas]]

==References==
{{reflist}}
*{{DANFS|http://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/l/lexington-cv-16-v.html}}
*{{cite web|url={{NHLS url|id=03001043}}|title=National Historic Landmark Nomination / U.S.S. ''Lexington''|last1=Whipple|first1=David B.|last2=Delgado|first2=James P.|author-link2=James P. Delgado|last3=Brooker|first3=Hallie|publisher=[[National Park Service]]|date=July 2001|access-date=2012-09-04}}
**{{cite web|url={{NHLS url|id=03001043|photos=y}}|title=Accompanying Photos|publisher=[[National Park Service]]|access-date=2012-09-04}}

==Further reading==
*{{cite journal |last1=Thorne |first1=Phil |title=Battle of the Sibuyan Sea |journal=Warship International |date=March 2022 |volume=LIX |issue=1 |pages=34–65 |issn=0043-0374}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|USS Lexington (CV-16)}}
*{{navsource|02/16|USS Lexington}}
*[http://www.usslexington.com USS Lexington Museum On the Bay] official website
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20130308121122/http://www.wwiiarchives.net/servlet/action/documents/usa/126/0 WWII Archives U.S.S. ''Lexington'' (CV-16) original Ship Action Reports Scanned in from the National Archives]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20120516004538/http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detail.cfm?ResourceId=922135347&ResourceType=Structure National Historic Landmark Program: ''Lexington, USS (Aircraft Carrier)'']
*{{HNSA|uss-lexington-cv-16}}
*[https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/l/lexington-cv-16-v.html USS ''Lexington'' pictures from the U.S. Naval History Center]

{{Essex class aircraft carrier}}
{{National Register of Historic Places in Texas}}

{{Corpus Christi}}

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lexington (Cv-16)}}
[[Category:Essex-class aircraft carriers]]
[[Category:Ships built in Quincy, Massachusetts]]
[[Category:1942 ships]]
[[Category:World War II aircraft carriers of the United States]]
[[Category:Cold War aircraft carriers of the United States]]
[[Category:Tourist attractions in Corpus Christi, Texas]]
[[Category:Museums in Nueces County, Texas]]
[[Category:Museum ships in Texas]]
[[Category:National Historic Landmarks in Texas]]
[[Category:Military and war museums in the United States]]
[[Category:Military and war museums in Texas]]
[[Category:Naval museums in the United States]]
[[Category:Ships on the National Register of Historic Places in Texas]]
[[Category:National Register of Historic Places in Nueces County, Texas]]