The USS Lexington

History

The first LEXINGTON was an armed brig purchased by the Continental Congress on March 16, 1776.  The ship was originally named Wild Duck, but was re-christened LEXINGTON to inspire the crew to participate in the American Revolution.  This LEXINGTON captured 18 enemy vessels before she was taken by the British in 1777.

The second LEXINGTON was a 691 ton, 18 gun sloop-of-war launched on March 9, 1826.  She saw action in the Mexican-American War and sailed to Japan with Admiral Perry in 1853.  She was de-commissioned in 1855.

An iron clad side-wheel steamer was the third LEXINGTON.  She joined the Western Flotilla at Cairo, Illinois, on August 12, 1861, in time to support the river campaign of the Union forces during the Civil War.   After participating in such campaigns as the Battle of Vicksburg, the ship was de-commissioned in June of 1865.

The fourth LEXINGTON was a converted battle cruiser originally named Constitution.  Before her keel hit the water, she was redesigned as an aircraft carrier.  On December 7, 1941, the LEXINGTON was en route to Midway, and escaped the bombing of Pearl Harbor.  During the following months, she stayed at sea and kept the Japanese at bay until the shattered U. S. Navy could be rebuilt.  On May 8, 1942, "Lady Lex" was sunk in the Battle of the Coral Sea.

USS LEXINGTON CV-16, is the 5th and final ship to be given this historic name.  An Essex-class carrier, LEXINGTON was originally named USS CABOT.  During 1942, word was received that the original carrier LEXINGTON CV-2, had been sunk in the Battle of the Coral Sea.  A campaign was launched to change the name of the new carrier to LEXINGTON and the rest is history.

USS LEXINGTON CV-16 was commissioned February 17, 1943.   During World War II, the USS LEXINGTON participated in nearly every major operation in the Pacific Theater.  She earned her famous nickname, "The Blue Ghost," because of her non-camouflaged blue color scheme and because she was repeatedly, and incorrectly, reported sunk by the Japanese propagandist, Tokyo Rose.   During World War II, her planes destroyed 372 enemy aircraft in the air and 475 on the ground.  During the signing of the Japanese surrender on September 2, 1945, CV-16 stood guard at the entrance to Tokyo Bay, then became the first foreign aircraft carrier to enter, dropping anchor after 67 days at sea.  She soon took on thousands of homeward-bound troops and arrived in San Francisco on December 15, 1945.  After World War II, she was modernized and reactivated in 1955.   Operating primarily with the Seventh Fleet out of San Diego, she kept an offshore vigil during tensions in Formosa, Laos, and Cuba.  The USS LEXINGTON was decommissioned on November 26, 1991.