January 8, 1921-The keel of the battlecruiser Lexington is laid in Quincy, Massachusetts.
July 1, 1922-The Lexington is ordered for completion as a carrier, instead of the scheduled battlecruiser design.
October 3, 1925-The Lexington is launched.
December 14, 1925-The Lexington is commissioned. The ship then embarks on a shakedown cruise.
April 7, 1928-The Lexington arrives in San Pedro, California and joins the battle fleet there. The ship carries out exercises and transport runs in Hawaii, the Caribbean, the West Coast, and around the Panama Canal.
December 7, 1941-The Lexington dispatches search planes to find the Japanese strike force that had attacked Pearl Harbor. The carrier then leaves to rendezvous with the Indianapolis forces, as well as those of the Enterprise.
December 18, 1941-The Lexington returns to Pear Harbor with the other ships.
December 19, 1941-The Lexington departs for the island of Jaluit, but the orders are cancelled on December 20, when the carrier is ordered to protect Wake Island along with the Lexington’s sister-ship, the Saratoga. Upon the loss of the island three days later, both the Lexington and the Saratoga return to Pearl Harbor. The Lexington is assigned to patrol near Oahu for around 2 weeks.
January 11, 1942-The Lexington departs Pearl Harbor as the flagship of Task Force 11.
February 16, 1942-The Lexington readies for an attack on the island of Rabaul.
February 20, 1942-The Lexington is attacked by 18 enemy bombers. Even though many of the carrier’s aircraft were away, all but one aircraft was shot down. Lieutenant Butch O’Hare received the Medal of Honor and also became an ace for shooting 5 aircraft down that day.
March 6, 1942-The Lexington completes patrols in the Coral Sea. The ship then meets Task Force 17, with the Yorktown as flagship.
March 10, 1942-The Lexington and Yorktown launch an attack against Salamua and Lae, in new Guinea. These aircraft inflict major damage on the bases and shipping in the area.
March 26, 1942-The Lexington arrives in Pearl Harbor after completing the mission.
April 15, 1942-The Lexington and escorting ships leave Pearl Harbor to meet Task Force 17.
May 1, 1942-The Lexington rendezvous with Task Force 17, and the ships leave to prevent Japanese ships from commencing Operation MI in the Coral Sea.
May 7, 1942-Searchplanes launched from the Lexington report contact with an enemy force, and the carrier launches its aircraft. The sortie results in the sinking of the light carrier Shoho, opening the Battle of the Coral Sea.
May 8, 1942-The Shokaku is located in the morning, and the Lexington launches an air strike, heavily damaging the carriers. At 11:00 a.m., enemy aircraft find the Lexington. Almost half an hour later, the Lexington is hit by a torpedo. Fires raged aboard ship, but two hours later, the control teams had the ships fires controlled, and the ship seemed out of trouble. However, shortly before 4:00 p.m., an explosion ripped through the ship, and at 5:07 p.m., the ship was abandoned. The destroyer Phelps was ordered to sink the Lexington. The carrier sank at 7:56 p.m.
Statistics
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