The Debris Field of USS Lexington - Broken, Yet Well-Preserved

[@Bob-tn5xn]

Thanks for this update ! Gramps joined the sea marines in 1936 at 15 with his dead brothers birth certificate and was assigned to the LEX from then on , Allen's first video showed his gun station and a crew photo with him in it ! Miles P Green First Loader ! He survived the sinking and was even one of the marines that re-boarded from the destroyer before the sinking that retrieved the ice cream while waiting ! He was always upset about his brand new Florsheim wingtips in his locker that he couldn't save ! That really got his goat , he did save a horrifically burnt sailor in the water when they first jumped over but he never knew his name or his fate , later on while awaiting assignment in san Diego he joined the 4th Marine Raiders C/P company and was issued a boys anti tank gun which he soon deemed useless in close in jungle fighting and thew it into the ocean upon the exit from the New Georgia campaign ! He survived the Raiders into their disbandment but stayed with his group as 6th marine recon co. For the Okinawa invasion where on I'm guessing on about the third or 4 the day he was hit with a mortar round after assaulting a bunker with a satchel charge ! He survived the war and lived a long productive life and is buried in Stanhope Iowa !

[@Intrepid42643]

I’ll have to visit What’s his name?

[@diysecuritygear9594]

I believe he said it. Miles P Green.

[@johncaldwell-wq1hp]

Wow !!--you should write a book about this gentleman,--A huge Salute to your Grandfather,-!!--these men,-were Legends !

[@Intrepid42643]

@ I vow I will visit his grave and pay my dearest respects to him Mark my words

[@Intrepid42643]

Which cemetery?

[@yakhooves]

I'd think the deliberate reuse of ship names like Lexington, Hornet, Wasp, and Yorktown during the second world war would be the most commonly understood examples of reusing names of sunken or out of service ships. I am completely caught off guard that people didn't know that too! Awesome video!

[@michaeldobson8859]

I personally don’t like the naming of major warships after Presidents. It’s all for political reasons and carries no patriotic representation like Lexington or Saratoga. After all what did Gerold Ford ever do for freedom or liberty?

[@blueborealis]

People being stupid, ill informed and belligerent about it should not be surprising :/

[@yakhooves]

@@blueborealis Not in general, but those who are who sought out a pretty specific historical naval history channel is a little surprising to me.

[@buzz5969]

Im surprised NOT EVERYONE SERVES their countries, but it happens….

[@richardcutts196]

Just realize how stupid the average person is and then realize half of the people out there are stupider.

[@steadyrest7048]

Thank you, for the well-done video. There was a very friendly short man that went by the name of Maxi who walked our neighborhood daily. He lived just up the street from my parent's home and when I saw him in later years, he was always wearing his Lexington cap. He once talked to me about his time on the ship which included the sinking. Wish now that I had wrote it all down immediately after. Maxi was very well liked because of his sincere friendliness to all. He looked much younger than his age, I believe he passed on at 96 still active to the end.

[@timreed-dq3nx]

I got to wonder around the USS Lexington CV16 museum alone, at night. One of the most awesome things I ever did.

[@HM2SGT]

That musical instrument is a euphonium and almost certainly part of the ship's band. Hard to imagine a sailor toting that for fun like a harmonica or trumpet or banjo!

[@buzz5969]

I find it amazing a war ship carries a band, are they going to play music and try to pacify the enemies or are they gonna FIGHT?

[@HM2SGT]

@buzz5969 Sailors don't only have one job. Being the ship's band probably wasn't the primary duty, who knows what these Blue Jackets had for ratings- perhaps they were gunners mates, or bosun's mates, ordinarily tending to the ship, but prepared and practiced at playing instruments for a special occasions. They'd be excused from their regular Duty for practice- or practice would be held at the end of watch. It's not like you have an 8-hour day with 16 hours off at sea. War on the off chance they were dedicated musician man, they probably were ammunition passers or litter bearers or runners or talkers at action stations.

[@buzz5969]

Served on 5 ships, no bands or Id volunteered to get outta duty!😁⚓️🇺🇸✌🏻🍻

[@HM2SGT]

@buzz5969 I volunteered for NTC RTC San Diego band because I was musically inclined in school. Sent home from my mouthpiece for my saxophone but never needed it because they gave me a big damn Bass drum! Taught me what Navy really stands for! I never spent much time at Sea though, a couple of tiger cruises and getting shuffled around places with my Marines. I suppose things were different back in the day, you read and see stories about the bands on the various ships have in competitions. Didn't Arizona have a dance band? It's only been a decade Four three since I read that in the library Naval Hospital Portsmouth Virginia

[@JoshuaTootell]

Never on my ships either, but I served in a more modern time. I did however volunteer for Drill Team during "A" School as a mechanic ​@@buzz5969 Lots of room for instruments on a carrier, and could be transporting a band for some sort of dignitary or event.

[@garysanborn641]

Very good video.. As a saxophone player, the horn really did drive home the personal loss. RIP to the crew who didnt survive.

[@ligmasack9038]

great work as always Skynea

[@Normandy1944]

My friends dad served on both Lexington's. We have been trying to find out why he was left in Pearl when CV2 went to the Coral Sea.

[@OrbitFallenAngel]

Wow! Well please tell your friends Dad Thank You for his service to our Country!! ❤🇺🇸🙏🏻 Maybe it was a good thing that he was left at Pearl Harbor instead of being there for the Battle of the Coral Sea... Think of it in that way and it will be a little bit better... I mean who knows what could have plausibly happened if he had gone along with the Lexington?!... Maybe it was God's Will!! 🙏🏻❤🇺🇸

[@Normandy1944]

@@OrbitFallenAngel We've bantered back and forth on out comes. One being, if he'd had been at Coral Sea and possibly killed, my friend wouldn't exist. 🤯

[@HansLasser]

Super interesting pictures! Thank you!

[@ald1144]

I can understand people who don't know there are ships with same name at different points in time. We all come in with different levels of knowledge. What I don't understand is that their first reaction is to be arrogant about their knowledge instead of considering, 'gosh, maybe that guy knows something I don't?'

[@TropicTrdr]

I really enjoy your videos while drinking my coffee on Sunday mornings. I also deeply respect Paul Allen for his work in uncovering hidden history that I thought would never be seen again. My opinion, for what it is worth is that the undisclosed frame lying in top of the bridge is some sort of hull to deck or expansion joint that got twisted as the structure broke up. Riveted ships have those so that the hull sections and other major structures can flex in a seaway. I remember seeing them on the USS Long Beach, (CGN-9) which while modern, still employed some of that technology. The circular plate near the fire control station may be the base plate for one of the legs of the tripod mast with conduit that ran inside to the devices on top. It appears that the platform buckled and folded over the legs on the way down. My reasoning is based on my experience putting a new mast on my ship, the USS Chandler (DDG-996) at Todd Shipyard in Seattle. Superstition dictates that a coin or several are placed there before the mast goes in. That welding machine was most likely in the Shipfitter's (Hull Technician's) shop or one of the repair lockers. Keep up the good work.

[@ald1144]

I wish we could get another Lexington in the fleet, along with the other historical names.

[@burisleifwenden1784]

The new administration should ask the navy to rename the newest carrier Lexington. It would be the 250th anniversary of the battle. No more politician names.

[@Chilly_Billy]

Far better than kissing the ring of former Presidents. Especially those still living. Naming carriers after them raised them to the level of British royalty, which is totally against American tradition.

[@cdfe3388]

Legacy carrier named are now going to frigates, which is complete bullshit.

[@robertf3479]

@@burisleifwenden1784 I agree, override Secretary Del Toro's decision and dump the Clinton and Dubya names, replace them with Lexington and Yorktown or Hornet.

[@Twitchguy]

Agreed we need to stop giving politicians names on ships! None of them for decades now have done anything worthy of the respect of having the pinnacle of us navy strength named after them

[@2000spqr]

That band that rests on the pilot house may very well be the decking band that would be on the flightdeck wedged between the wood planks every other few feet. Those bands were placed in between the wood planking every 3 to 5 feet in sequence i do believe. The destruction of the ship was incredibly violent explosions on the surface and implosions during the decent. Amazing photos!

[@Norbrookc]

One of the interesting things is that Lexington CV-2 was sunk by planes from Zuikaku and Shokaku, and the final blows to sink Zuikaku came from Lexington CV-16.

[@richardcline1337]

Karma can be, and often is, a real b^tch!

[@larsandersson7389]

Fantastic work. Thank you.

[@timmotel5804]

Good Day. Very interesting and informative. Thank You.

[@michaelsnyder3871]

The fire control station was the 5" control station where the Mk.19 fire control directors would have been placed on either side. The 8" mounts were removed earlier at Pearl Harbor and replaced with 1.1" quad mounts and the 8" fire control directors which were fore and aft removed also. The CXAM air search radar was at the top of mast. This was a flat panel "wire mattress" as shown. The "x" configuration of the debris is probably something else.

[@adamford8708]

Thanks for the video!

[@OrbitFallenAngel]

Always a awesome adventure Skynea!! I love your videos!! You always give great details and you always explore everything!! As for the people who don't understand that the US Navy reuses names especially when it comes to ships!!😂😂 I swear you cannot, i repeat, you CANNOT fix stupid!!!

[@wheels-n-tires1846]

My father was aboard Phelps, having transferred off of California after Pearl Harbor. I went to Phelps reunions as a kid in the 70s and 80s., thats where I met Adm Zumwalt, who was a new Ensign on Phelps. I still remember the guys, in tears, talking about sinking Lex...

[@missouridrifter7901]

Yep, Navy re-uses names. The USS Juneau (CL-52) was sunk at the Battle of Guadalcanal. I served onboard the USS Juneau (LPD-10) in the 70's-80's. It is now decommissioned

[@joelgrimes7591]

My uncle served on both Lexingtons during WWII. Aviation ordinance mate.

[@jamesricker3997]

2:25 A early war Mk-15 Torpedo not going off, I am shocked.

[@raigarmullerson4838]

Love the content, brother. Cheers from Estonia

[@franksposato6072]

The Lexington is absolutely the Titanic of the South Pacific. They both the same length, sunk in major pieces in similar depths almost the same distance from a British colony. And both have a sister that sank in one piece but shallow enough to dive on.

[@OverlordGrizzaka]

A lady to the last. She didn't roll over, she went down with her head up.

[@DIGGER19860]

I remember being on a family vacation when we where in Charleston SC we visited the Yorktown. I was so confused this one wasn't a rectangle and had a more modern deck and the big one, it was floating. I knew about the sunken Yorktown and i was like, but i thought it was sunk in ww2 to the tour guide. That was when I learned they reused names. I was 13, it was 1999.

[@July41776DedicatedtoTheProposi]

I was 13 in 1966. My Uncle Leo served as the pay ensign on the USS Arizona from June 1936 until Sept 1941. He was a personal friend of Admiral Kidd who died at bridge leaving only his Annapolis ring welded to the bridge exterior shield where he hand rested

[@andrewbaluk1663]

electrical item might be a slip ring assembly for something designed to rotate.

[@interestedviewer8569]

The 20mm is there. You can see the bet barrel by the splinter shielx.

[@jehb8945]

Touching up on the radar the only other image I've ever seen of the CXAM 1 radar was a photo of a non-operational set on USS West Virginia that was aboard her at Pearl harbor though not operational at the time and this was in an old squadron signals publications in action which once upon a Time was the only way for hobbyists to have an idea of paint schemes on anything and they were cheap.

[@JGCR59]

(Mega Nitpick) USS Phelps didn't look like in the picture at 2:32 at the Battle of Coral Sea. Back then she had 4 twin five inch single purpose mounts. These were later replaced as seen here by two twin and one single 5 inch DP mounts

[@wheels-n-tires1846]

Good catch, you beat me to it!! My dad was aboard Phelps from just after Pearl Harbor (he was originally on the California) until late 43/early 44 when he went to subs...

[@Chez8922-kf6cy]

That last photo. Wow.

[@nx014]

How about a video on the USS Sims DD-409) ?

[@RW4X4X3006]

A a kid growing up, my next door neighbor was a crewman in Lexington. The fires were tremendous and out of control - and the heat was making the metal red hot. They couldn't get over the side fast enough to get relief from it, according to him.

[@davidbarnsley8486]

Amazing how stuff can just settle on the bottom With regards to boat names are we at number five for the enterprise

[@himat]

Never Forget

[@buzz5969]

Never forget what?

[@deafmusician2]

I grabbed my head when i saw the birds laying on the bottom

[@usernamesreprise4068]

The object arrowed at 10.55 looks to me like the base of a gun mount with its traversing ring visible at the outer edge of the circle and its operating and training power supply coming up through the middle, given the sheer size and amount of the retaining bolts around the edge of the mounting plate I would imagine it was possibly a forty millimeter twin barrel high angle anti aircraft gun weighing around seven tons, on the left hand side seems to be whats left of the circular blast shield built around such weapons..

[@michaelsnyder3871]

The picture is of the USS Phelps AFTER her rebuilding in 1944, as at the time of the battle, she had four Mk.22 twin gun mounts designed for 35 degree elevation and surface fire only.

[@markmaki4460]

Hey i caught that too - but for a moment i was confused, never having seen her with the shiny new 5"-38s (or not remembering).

[@OriginalCoalRollers]

Screw titanic, this kind of video is where it’s at

[@johncaldwell-wq1hp]

I heard a Val-Dive bomber,-crash-dived,-on the Lexington,-with its bomb-right near the "Bridge-Funnel"area-where the pilots-came out on deck--I think that on the "Dog--Fights"-show years ago,--

[@marcusdarkallius1194BC]

Has Dr. Ballard explored this wreck yet? Perhaps getting ship artist and historian,Ken Marshall to help document this wreck.

[@kevinstich7603]

I have seen a welder like that at Lockheed Shipbuilding

[@vger9084]

Those Mk 15 destroyer torpedoes were as about as bad as the Mk 14 submarine torpedoes. Robert A. Heinlein, the science fiction writer, was a radio operator aboard Lexington in 1931.

[@patrickmccrann991]

Both were improperly tested before the war with live warheads. Cost saving was the excuse used by the Bureau of Ordnance. This effected both the Mk 14 and Mk 15 torpedoes. Bureau of Ordnance refused for many months to test the torpedoes; Submarine and Destroyer skippers were not firing them correctly. It took Vice Admiral Lockwood, ComSubPac, with Admiral Nimitz backing and orders from Admiral King before Bureau of Ordnance finally got off their ass and tested them properly. By then, Lockwood had already tested them in Hawaii and found the same problems Bureau of Ordnance ultimately did!

[@edwardpate6128]

@@patrickmccrann991 Sad how many ships and sailors lost due to that inadequate testing.

[@patrickmccrann991]

@edwardpate6128 Not so many men and ships lost, but failed attacks that may have cost the enemy dearly and shortened the war.

[@thomasheyart7033]

Like the USS Iowa is a museum yet there is a new USS iowa. Of course BB-61 is the best

[@RealBelisariusCawl]

3:26 This is like telling a Trekkie that the Enterprise was never destroyed over Genesis, and that the Enterprise-A is the same ship

[@Mag_Aoidh]

Everybody is an expert behind a keyboard…

[@buzz5969]

Im an expert behind everything …keyboard, hand set, smart board etc etc….😊

[@paulbarthol8372]

Too bad the navy doesn't also reuse admiral's names. When they get their star they can choose a new name, like popes and English kings. Admiral Nimitz lll. 😊

[@michaeldobson8859]

As an engineer, studying the Lex and Sara sister carriers, we should consider the Lexington class of carrier a failed design or a ship that was lost from design failures. Lex should have been able to absorb the hits that she received if properly designed. The fuel delivery system of piping is typically blamed for her loss as a result of fuel leaks. Based on the size of the ship and the integral design of the hull / flight deck, the ship should have been one of the most survivable in the fleet. However the ship class was known to lack maneuverability even though she was the fastest large displacement ship in the fleet. Mostly due to her inadequate rudder system design. A torpedo hit should not be able to distort the hull to the extent that it causes internal systems to rupture and cause secondary damage and loss of the ship. Future ship designs actually test for-this in shock testing since WWII on US Navy ships. Absorbing impacts such as torpedo strikes is a method used since the pre WWII designs were competed. This helps to prevent or at least limit hull whip effects that expand the damaged area into the ship after an underwater hit occurs. Dividing and separating the carrier hanger deck areas as well as fire curtain spray systems in the hanger and hanger doors incorporated in the sides of the hanger are key design features to limit damage on the hanger deck. Isolating and foam spray systems limit the spread of fires internal to the ships hanger areas. In WWII Naval Aircraft used hi octane gasoline for fuel, whose vapor is itself very flammable. After the loss of Lady Lex, the naval design group modified all aircraft carrier ships and designs to run the fuel delivery piping to be run outside the hull as directly as possible to the flight deck and hanger areas,just to prevent what happened to the Lex from ever happening again. Again history has shown that the Lexingtons loss was not the fault of the crew but the design itself being faulty given the service and potential for battle damage. Striking an underwater mine could have brought the same or similar results to the Lex. Just the one change to reroute the fuel lines external to the ship would most likely have saved the Lexington, which would have placed her at the battle of Midway. That would have been something special.

[@jeffreycler495]

The Lexington and Saratoga were to be battlecruisers as first conceived. The Washington Naval Treaty of 1922 prevented the construction of battlesships and battlecruisers . These designs were the first ever for the US Navy in the constrution of large fleet carriers. There was a learning curve. The navy learned that filling up fuel lines and tanks with nitrogen gas reduced the chance of fires from ruptured lines.We learned to fear the Japanese Long Lance Torpedo which could sink a battleship.

[@michaelsnyder3871]

Fuel air explosions in carriers were a major problem when aircraft were still powered by AVGAS. IJNS Taiho was an armored carrier that was lost to a single Mk.14 with a TORPEX warhead that punched pieces of the torpedo protection system into the AVGAS tank. The fumes begin to move through the carrier carried by the internal ventilation. The damage control officer tried to ventilate the ship without patching the fuel tank, spreading the fumes throughout the ship, until final a spark, probably from a motor, set her off, the armored deck actually reflecting the blast back through the hull. The USN not only adopted flexible tanks under armor, but filling the fuel system with CO2 when time was available. They also moved anything that could cause a spark above the level of the fume saturation. But because they were conducting air ops when they were hit, Bunker Hill and Franklin's AVGAS systems helped feed the fires until they could be suppressed and the system shut off and emptied. Also, the Lexington class was the only US carrier with the hanger being part of the hull, the flight deck being a structural member until the Forrestal class.

[@johnlorrieboskovic2836]

Lack of proper separation capabilities on the hangar deck was the major downfall of the IJN's carrier designs. Once a fire started, it was impossible to contain.

[@RobertPaskulovich-fz1th]

The USS Lexington had a library, all those books are now on the bottom of the Coral Sea - what a waste.

[@July41776DedicatedtoTheProposi]

Along with over 200 sailors.

[@tomwarner2468]

We could've had an actual vessel to compare to the wreckage! If they hadn't decided to use cv-3 for a nuclear test target! And cv-6 survived the war ! The only one of a 3 ship class to do so ! Of course, it was scrapped !!

[@patrickmccrann991]

CV-6 was a Yorktown class carriers not a Lexington. Only two ships in the Lexington class, CV-2 Lexington and CV-3 Saratoga. There were 3 ships in the Yorktown class, CV-5 Yorktown, CV-6 Enterprise, and CV-8 Hornet. CV-4 Ranger and CV-7 Wasp were one-off ships that were found wanting operationally. There were 24 CV-9 Essex class ships completed with additional units canceled at the end of the war. 4 Essex class ships survive as museums; CV-10 Yorktown, CV-11 Intrepid, CV-12 Hornet, and CV-16 Lexington.

[@tomwarner2468]

@patrickmccrann991 I know the difference between a Lexington and a Yorktown class carrier!

[@darryl3392]

Lol like Star Trek that’s why we have 6x enterprise ships just with a letter change at the end of the ship number

[@stuartlent2645]

Luckily, my great uncle survived the battle of coral sea. He also survived Pearl Harbor. Eight hours after surgery he was helping evacuate personnel off a hospital ship.

[@ChrsGuit]

I'll never understand how Petrel did an extremely long, extensive video of their Musashi discovery, but we saw so little video and footage from Indianapolis and others... These are EXTREMELY historic discovery expeditions... I once asked this question on Petrel's Instagram, if they ever intended to release these videos and photo journals in full, or to create a long-form documentary like NatGeo did with Ballard's discoveries, and they simply said "no, never"... Lol, WHAT? It kinda strikes me as odd, to spend that kind of money and years of research, only to post a couple pictures. Not disparaging Petrel, but it kinda comes off like they were just trying to find as many as possible to say they did, given there's no extensive documentaries and they seemed to indicate no desire to share

[@cathybrind2381]

Recycling ships' names down the years is common practice fo rmany navies worldwide. Nothing new about it.

[@madmanmechanic8847]

Such a shame to let the aircraft sit and rot they have ways to bring them up they should be restored to flying condtion

[@JGCR59]

Re the 20mm I still find it funny that the Allies used basically the same gun as their premier AA gun that the axis used as their fighter cannon in the Me 109E and A6M2 zero. Apart from some field improvisations neither germany nor japan ever used the Oerlikon 20mm in a ground role and replaced it with more advanced guns on fighters. Also that gun was basically a development of the german WW1 Becker 20mm aircraft cannon

[@toddburks9182]

It was an informal part of the Wehrmacht doctrine to use the 20 mm against ground targets in both the eastern and western fronts. They were either single or quad mounted and either on trailer or truck. They were widely used and pretty effective against ground targets.

[@JGCR59]

@toddburks9182 that was tue 20mm Flak 38 which is a much heavier gun than the oerlikon fed by 20 round magazines not 60 round drums and firing a mich heavier cartridge

[@025Cedric]

Oerlikon was a swiss compagny if I am not mistaken they sold weapons to many nations

[@toddburks9182]

@ thought they were Swedish?

[@025Cedric]

@@toddburks9182 Oerlikon Contraves was a Swiss anti-aircraft artillery manufacturer famous for its adaptation of the 1916 20 mm Becker as the Oerlikon 20 mm autocannon design, which was used in the Second World War and remains in use. Copies and derivatives of these designs were made by German, French, British, and Japanese weapon manufacturers. Oerlikon Contraves was purchased by Rheinmetall in 1999.[2] en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rheinmetall_Air_Defence Maybe you talk about the bofor gun?

[@paulspydar4320]

If a ship is impossible to be saved and will sink on its own? Then why scuttle it?

[@CandyVan69]

I just served pot roast

[@kevinyoung9557]

Not as pretty as she was but still a lady till this day.

[@outfield1988]

Need to raise the ship and restore it back into service.

[@stuartlent2645]

I forget they called Lexington the fighting lady.