The Essex-Class Carrier Called “Blue Ghost” After Imperial Japan Lied About Sinking It Multiple Times

USS Lexington (CV-16) in Corpus Christi, Texas

Parked in the warm waters of Corpus Christi Bay, the USS Lexington looks like she could still fight a war tomorrow.

This aircraft carrier survived 21 bombs, 5 torpedoes, and even a kamikaze attack.

Now she’s got new battles: teaching kids about war and peace. Here’s the story of the toughest ship in Texas.

The Beginning of an Essex-Class Legend

The USS Lexington is the fifth of her name. She was initially USS Cabot, but shipyard workers asked to change her name after Japanese forces sank the original USS Lexington (CV-2) at Coral Sea on May 8, 1942.

Navy Secretary Frank Knox approved their petition on June 16, 1942, making this the fifth vessel honoring the first battle of the American Revolution.

Mrs. Theodore Douglas Robinson broke the traditional champagne bottle across her bow during the September 23, 1942 launching ceremony.

Captain Felix Bidwell Stump took command when Lexington commissioned on February 17, 1943, beginning her journey toward Pacific combat.

Heisman Winner Lost During Training

Disaster struck during the carrier’s Caribbean shakedown cruise on June 2, 1943.

Lieutenant Nile Kinnick, Iowa football star and 1939 Heisman Trophy winner, piloted an F4F Wildcat when oil began spraying across his windshield.

His engine failed four miles from the carrier, sending his fighter into the sea with no chance of survival.

After navigating the Panama Canal in July, Lexington arrived at Pearl Harbor on August 9 with Air Group 16 aboard.

The air group contained 32 F6F-3 Hellcat fighters, 35 SBD-5 Dauntless dive-bombers, and 18 TBF-1 Avenger torpedo bombers.

Rear Admiral Charles Pownall’s Task Force 15 launched Lexington’s first combat mission against Japanese positions on Tarawa on September 18.

Midnight Torpedo Attack Near Marshall Islands

Lexington steamed toward Kwajalein Atoll with Task Group 50.2 on December 4, 1943, hunting Japanese naval forces.

Her morning strike destroyed cargo ship Kembu Maru, damaged cruisers Isuzu and Nachi, and eliminated 30 enemy aircraft.

Japanese Betty bombers counterattacked at 7:20 PM, forcing American gunners to open fire against aircraft barely visible in the darkness.

At 11:22 PM, enemy parachute flares lit the night sky, revealing Lexington’s position to approaching torpedo planes.

A single torpedo struck the carrier’s starboard side ten minutes later, killing seven men in the Chief Petty Officers’ mess and two on the fantail.

The blast knocked out Lexington’s steering gear, causing her to circle helplessly while leaking oil and settling five feet by the stern.

Fast Carrier Task Force Flagship

Rear Admiral Marc Mitscher selected the repaired Lexington as flagship for the newly formed Task Force 58 on March 8, 1944.

From her bridge, Mitscher directed the most powerful naval force ever assembled, beginning with a raid against Mille Atoll.

TF-58 aircraft supported General Douglas MacArthur’s amphibious landings at Hollandia, New Guinea, on April 13.

Lexington’s planes struck the major Japanese naval base at Truk Atoll on April 28, destroying ships and ammunition dumps.

During furious counterattacks, her gunners shot down 17 enemy fighters while Hellcats from VF-16 protected the task force.

Tokyo Rose announced Lexington sunk for the second time after this battle, cementing her reputation as “The Blue Ghost.”

Downing 300 Planes Over The Marianas

American carrier aircraft virtually eliminated Japanese air defenses over Saipan with surprise strikes beginning June 11, 1944.

Vice Admiral Jisaburo Ozawa’s Mobile Fleet launched 430 carrier aircraft against the American Fifth Fleet on June 19.

Lieutenant Alexander Vraciu, flying from Lexington, shot down six Japanese dive bombers in eight minutes using only 360 rounds of ammunition.

American fighters destroyed over 300 Japanese aircraft on that single day, earning the nickname “Great Marianas Turkey Shoot.”

Back on Lexington’s flight deck, the grinning Vraciu held up six fingers for photographers, creating an iconic image of American air dominance.

Japan lost irreplaceable veteran pilots in the slaughter, crippling their naval aviation for the remainder of the war.

Island-by-Island Toward The Philippines

Task Force 58 used Eniwetok Atoll as its forward base through August 1944, striking Japanese positions across the Central Pacific.

Lexington’s aircraft flew continuous sorties against Japanese forces on Guam, where Marines battled for control of the strategic island.

The carrier arrived in the Caroline Islands on September 7, launching Air Group 19 against Japanese bases on Yap and Ulithi.

Captain Ernest W. Litch directed the air group’s focus toward the Philippines, hitting airfields on Mindanao and the Visayan Islands.

Fighter sweeps targeted Manila harbor and shipping along Luzon’s west coast, preparing for General MacArthur’s return.

Raids hit Okinawa on October 10 and Formosa on October 12, destroying hundreds of Japanese aircraft that might threaten the Leyte landings.

19 Torpedoes Sink The Mighty Musashi

Admiral William Halsey’s Third Fleet, with Lexington in Task Group 38.3, covered the Leyte landings on October 20, 1944.

American scouts spotted Vice Admiral Takeo Kurita’s Center Force approaching through the Sibuyan Sea on October 24.

Lexington launched waves of torpedo bombers and dive bombers alongside aircraft from Intrepid, Essex, and other carriers.

Strike coordinator Commander David McCampbell directed concentrated attacks against super-battleship Musashi throughout the day.

American aviators scored 19 torpedo and 17 bomb hits on the 72,000-ton behemoth, gradually overwhelming her damage control teams.

The pride of the Imperial Japanese Navy capsized and sank that evening, taking 1,023 sailors with her to the seabed.

Avenging Pearl Harbor At Cape Engaño

Lexington’s planes found Vice Admiral Jisaburo Ozawa’s Northern Force off Cape Engaño on October 25, 1944.

Dive bombers from Air Group 19 joined Essex aircraft in punishing attacks on the light carrier Chitose, sending her to the bottom.

Lexington’s aviators achieved poetic justice by sinking fleet carrier Zuikaku, last survivor of the Pearl Harbor attack force.

This symbolic victory avenged Lexington’s namesake, which Zuikaku helped sink at Coral Sea two years earlier.

Later that day, Lexington pilots joined in sinking light carrier Zuihō, further decimating Japan’s once-proud carrier fleet.

As Japanese forces retreated, Lexington’s Avenger torpedo bombers sank heavy cruiser Nachi with four torpedo hits off Luzon on November 5.

Japanese Suicide Plane Strikes Island

A Japanese Zero fighter deliberately crashed near Lexington’s island structure on November 5, 1944.

The flaming kamikaze destroyed much of the superstructure and sprayed burning aviation fuel across the deck.

Captain Ernest W. Litch directed damage control parties while maintaining flight operations from the unaffected flight deck.

Gunners kept their composure during the crisis, shooting down another kamikaze heading for USS Ticonderoga nearby.

Within 20 minutes, fire crews brought the major blazes under control without interrupting the carrier’s combat operations.

Despite Tokyo Rose claiming Lexington’s destruction for the third time, the Blue Ghost continued her wartime mission.

First American Warplanes Over Tokyo

Task Group 58.2 with Lexington sailed from Ulithi on February 10, 1945, heading directly for the Japanese homeland.

Vice Admiral John S. McCain directed the massive carrier strike force toward the first American air raids on Tokyo since Doolittle’s 1942 mission.

Nearly 1,000 American aircraft struck Tokyo airfields on February 16 and 17, catching Japanese defenders by surprise.

These raids eliminated air defenses that might have opposed the Marine landings on Iwo Jima planned for February 19.

From February 19-22, Lexington’s planes flew close support missions for Marines fighting on Iwo Jima’s black volcanic beaches.

After additional strikes on Japanese positions, Captain John F. Crommelin pointed Lexington toward Puget Sound for maintenance.

The Emperor Halts The Final Strike

Lexington rejoined Admiral Thomas Sprague’s Task Force 58 at Leyte in May 1945 for the war’s final offensive.

Air Group 94 hammered airfields on Honshu and Hokkaido throughout July while other squadrons targeted Tokyo industrial sites.

Commander Lester Wall Jr. led F4U-1D Corsairs from VBF-94 against the naval base at Kure on July 28, finding remnants of Japan’s fleet.

Wall’s aircraft dropped a 1,000-pound bomb directly down the stack of hybrid battleship/carrier Ise, breaking her keel.

On August 15, Lexington launched her final combat strike when flash messages arrived from Admiral Halsey’s flagship.

The jubilant pilots jettisoned their bombs and returned to the carrier as Emperor Hirohito announced Japan’s surrender.

Angled Deck for the Atomic Age

The Navy decommissioned Lexington at Bremerton, Washington, on April 23, 1947, after returning thousands of veterans home.

Cold War tensions prompted her recall on August 15, 1955, following a complete SCB-27C/SCB-125 modernization.

Puget Sound Naval Shipyard installed an angled flight deck, steam catapults, and enclosed hurricane bow during the reconstruction.

Captain A.S. Heyward Jr. recommissioned her as attack carrier CVA-16, ready for jet aircraft operations in the nuclear age.

Later redesignated anti-submarine carrier CVS-16, she patrolled the Pacific with submarine-hunting S2F Tracker aircraft.

Lexington faced her first major Cold War test during the Cuban Missile Crisis in October 1962, returning to front-line service.

200,000 Traps on Lady Lex

The Navy assigned Lexington as its aviation training carrier on December 29, 1962, based at Pensacola, Florida.

Captain C.T. Booth established regular training routes in the Gulf of Mexico, with cruises to Corpus Christi and New Orleans.

Student aviators from Naval Air Basic Training Command practiced carrier takeoffs and landings on her forgiving deck.

Lexington made history on October 17, 1967, when Lieutenant Junior Grade Gary L. Haas completed the ship’s 200,000th arrested landing.

The Navy redesignated her CVT-16 in 1969 and AVT-16 in 1978, reflecting her specialized training mission.

For nearly 30 years, Lexington qualified over 40,000 naval aviators, more than any other carrier in history.

Exploring USS Lexington Today

You’ll be able to walk the massive flight deck spanning 910 feet long and 142 feet wide, large enough for three football games simultaneously.

Examine 19 historic aircraft, including WWII-era planes and the Blue Angels F/A-18 Hornet on display.

Test your skills in the Virtual Battle Stations, climb inside a 5″/38 gun mount, or experience the flight simulator.

You can also tour the captain’s cabin and combat information center where Admiral Mitscher directed Pacific battles.

Don’t forget to visit the Pearl Harbor exhibit featuring immersive displays with powerful sound effects bringing history alive.

Discover the Scale Model Gallery containing over 440 detailed aircraft and ship models, the largest public collection in Texas.

Visiting USS Lexington

Find USS Lexington Museum at 2914 North Shoreline Boulevard, Corpus Christi, Texas 78402, prominently visible from the bayfront.

Visit daily from 9 AM to 5 PM September through May, with extended summer hours until 6 PM.

Purchase tickets at $20.95 for adults, with discounts for seniors ($17.95), military ($15.95), youth 13-17 ($17.95), and children 4-12 ($14.95).

Contact 1-800-LADY-LEX for information about guided tours, group rates, and special events aboard the historic carrier.
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