U.S.S. Lexington

Naval Battles and Honors The Blue Ghost Bahia Mar Suites  Post War History USS Lexington Statistics

The USS Lexington, CV-16, is a World War II-vintage aircraft carrier. Commissioned in 1943, the ship served longer and set more records than any other aircraft carrier in the history of U.S. naval aviation. Commissioned on February 17, 1943, the Lexington was a part of the Fifth Fleet at Pearl Harbor and during World War II, the carrier participated in nearly every major operation in the Pacific Theater with a total of 21 months in combat.

Naval Battles and Honors. During WWII, the Lexington’s planes destroyed 372 enemy aircraft in the air and 475 on the ground. The ship's guns shot down 15 planes and assisted in downing five others, and damaged, sank or destroyed more than 900,000 tons of enemy cargo.  [Top]

The Blue Ghost. The Japanese reported sinking the U.S.S. Lexington more than four times during the war. Yet, each time the carrier returned to fight again, leading the Japanese to nickname the ship the "Blue Ghost."  [Top]

Post War History. After the war, the Lexington operated as a part of the Seventh Fleet in San Diego, California. Although no longer involved in combat, Lexington was deployed for offshore duty during tensions in Formosa, Laos, and Cuba. The Lexington was finally decommissioned in 1991 and was the oldest working carrier in the navy at the time. The USS Lexington now rests in Corpus Christi Bay, just across the ship channel from downtown Corpus Christi, Texas. The USS Lexington Museum is open daily for self-guided tours from 9am-5pm (except Thanksgiving and Christmas). www.usslexington.com  [Top]

USS Lexington Statistics

• Crew: 1,550 Men and Women
• Length of the Flight Deck: 910 Feet
• Length at the Water Line: 880 Feet
• Height (Water Line to Flight Deck): 52 Feet
• Maximum Width: 196 Feet
• Draft (Keel to Water Line): 30 Feet
• Displacement: 42,000 Tons
• Speed: 30+ Knots
• Range at Maximum Speed: 4,131 Miles
• Engines: 4 Westinghouse Steam Turbines Developing 150,000 Horsepower
• Screws/Propellers: Four, Sixteen Feet in Diameter
• Decks: Sixteen from Top of Pilot House to Double Bottom
• Fuel Storage: Ship's Fuel-1,500,000 Gallons. Aviation Fuel - 440,000 Gallons
• Medical Facilities: Surgical Facilities with 20-bed capacity. 2 Doctors/14 Corpsmen
• Dental Facilities: 2 Dentists/7 Technicians
• Library: Over 40,000 Books
• Catapults: Two Steam-Powered C-ll Catapults
• Catapult Launching Area: 211 Feet
• Flight Deck Landing Area: 90,000 Square Feet
• Hangar Bays: Three, Totaling Over 40,000 Square Feet
• Anchors: 15 Tons, 50 Pounds
• Food Service: the crew consumed 660 pounds of meat, 164 gallons of milk and 97 dozen eggs daily.  [Top]