The Wreck of USS Lexington - A Broken Lady, Deep Beneath the Waves
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 20 พ.ค. 2024
- In a break from tradition- as an experiment -we will look at a single shipwreck in this video, instead of several. The subject of today's video is USS Lexington, CV-2, as I found I could make a video focused entirely on her wreck.
A wreck split into multiple pieces, though each piece shows the same remarkable level of preservation as other deepwater American shipwrecks of the period.
The pictures, of course, coming from RV Petrel's expedition to the wreck.
My friend Cecil Wiswell was one of the youngest aboard at 17 and one of the last to leave.
He considered the next 80 years of his life a gift.
He told me stories!
And, on his 90th birthday, he bought himself a Harley, he was that cool.
Knowing him was a gift
Knowing most anyone from the greatest generation was an invaluable gift in life's educational journey.
The fact he could ride a motorcycle at 90, he must have felt fortunate
My Grandfather was on the Lex when she sank.He was in shark infested waters for 16 hours before being pick up. RIP grandpa Larry, he was a great man. He died in 1986.
Lady Lex. Gone but not forgotten.
In the late 70's I worked with a man who was on the Lexington. He told me the radar antenna jammed and he had to climb up and try and get if free. He said after the sinking him and other crewmen ended up on an Island for awhile till they were finally picked up. It was interesting to see the radar antenna he was struggling with.
That's odd, since there were at least three destroyers tasked with picking up survivors . Also, any land is lhundreds of miles away without any provisions ?
@@jerrymccrae7202 I think he said they were picked up but dropped off. They got picked up again later.
@535tony OK I didn't remember reading that, thank you much for clearing that up! Stay safe an have a great week!
13:21 😮I 13:21 🎉to😊 13:21 inch
My Dad served on the Lexington 1938-1940 as part of the Marine contingent. He loved the Lexington and my Mom told me when he heard it had been lost, he went down to the street corner and cried. I have the his photo album with the photos of his time on the "Lady LEX".
My grandfather was also a sea marine on the Lexington his name was Miles P Green ! My god I'd love to see that album !
It’s worth mentioning that the ship proper is indeed a war grave however the empty uncrewed aircraft are not. They’re simply tagged as debris that fell off the ship. I think it would be perfectly reasonable to salvage the incredibly rare TBD devastator torpedo planes they suffered such appallingly high casualty rates. The devastator was an already outdated design by early WW2 and these even have their neutrality stars still visible along with the prewar rudder marking. I would love to see an old TBD fly just yo see how dangerous it really was to its own crew
Agreed
The fact those aircraft haven't lost their paint or markings is absolutely astounding.
Older paint formulations likely included lead, and were much more long lasting than currently available green formulations.
The Lady Lex deservered her own video .What a brave ship
That Mk 15 torpedo sure speaks volumes as to the failure of US torpedoes early in the war.
Until just now I was not aware that one of these things had been found. These torps were a total embarrassment to the people who designed and built them.
The mk 15 was the worst weapon in the history of the US Navy, closly followed by the mk 13 the garbage air dropped torpedo and the reason why at least one of the big Japanese carriers wasn't sunk at Coral Sea.
The last TBD in naval service was scrapped in November 1944. The U.S.S. Midway museum in San Diego has one of the replicas used in the movie, "Midway." An impressive exhibit!
My high school friend's dad served on the Lexington when it went down. We were seniors in 1970. His family name was Martwick. The sinking affected his dad and he wouldn't talk about it. His brother in Chicago had a cat in the late 1960's. He was a cool cat, couldn't be bothered. They used him to film cat food commercials. If anybody ever saw Morris the Cat, his owner was the carrier sailor's brother, Martwick. My friend Bill Martwick worked as a ticket taker on the Queen Mary in Long Beach in the late 60's. Jacques Cousteau had a marine museum on board. One morning Jacques rolled in and Martwick demanded the $5 parking fee. He used to like to piss people off and Jaques Cousteau was just another target to him. $5 or you don't get in. Jacques threw a $5 bill at him and roared in to the parking lot cussing him out in French. If I didn't write this down, nobody would ever hear about these things.
I appreciate hearing tidbits like this. These websites preserve things that add to the fabric of history that is still being written. I really believe that one day, that anecdote about Jacque Costeau will end up in some written or spoken account of his life, or Martwicks!
a true beauty of a ship and a lady still after her end. love the video thank you for your efforts
the wings aren't really 'snapped'. They are just in the wingfold, a normal position for storing planes on the decks
My grandfather served on this ship before the war. He joined the army when wwii broke out and served in combat. I can’t imagine what he would have felt when this wreck was found.
Although I joined the Navy 36 years after she sunk I still feel a bond with my shipmates who met their end aboard her.
I always had a morbid fascination with shipwrecks. Thank you for making so many great videos on this topic
Had the pleasure of befriending a particular individual by the name of EJ Thorndike. While restoring his vast collection of John Deere tractors
Man he sure love this flat top
Shared ALOT of drinks with that man
( sorry Elizabeth)
A toast for virtually every man who served on the lady lex.
Excellent video young man
I think you really hit a good niche with these wreck videos. Not to say your other naval history content isn’t amazing, but there are other established channels already doing that. There is no one doing these in-depth wreck analyses however, and that really helps your channel stand out
My chief engineer on ocean tugs, Lester L. Anderson, was on the Lady Lex @Coral Sea, serving as a Chief Bos’n Mate in ‘42. He was a good man, crew mate, and always had a great story to tell. He also ate hot sauce on his corn flakes. For flavor, as he so often said. I still have his picture. Rest well Chief, you earned it.
My great uncle Gorton served on the Lady Lex up until thd day she sank. He marked on his old service map the voyage it had taken across the pacific, through midway, then Japan to where it met it's fate. He passed a few years back but i still have the map penciled with his historical markings
The USS Yorktown was found to be in very good shape when was located back in 1998, with the wreck being 3 miles down.
Probably better than the videos covering multiple ships. Very good video.
Good video. Even in her shattered and sorry state, Lexington still gives off hints of being the lady of war she once was.
If we could raise these aircraft, all could be restored to flying condition and then placed in a museum. When you look at the restoration of glacier girl or some of the more damaged aircraft recovered, it’s amazing what can be done
Why restore it to flying condition only to be put in a museum? Just to have one of the planes in the present condition would speak louder than to attempt restoration.
@@krautyvonlederhosen I’m ex Navy and an Airline pilot. Love airplanes and to fly them. But these should only be restored… too valuable to lose to an accident. They I could see one of them restored and one of them stabilized only and placed on display at the Navy’s aviation museum.
@@bret9741 the effort to bring them to flying status would in all respects be to remanufacture a complete aircraft. See the Zero and P61 restorations of wrecks recovered in New Guinea. There are virtually no usable parts and everything must be created by hand. Also see the P40 restorations going on in New Zealand. Dad was a Naval Aviator flying PBY&PBMs. He took me to Pensacola…….I didn’t want to leave.
Glacier girl was a bit different. They were able to fire its cannon once it was raised in pieces from that 200+ foot hole they dug. 81 years in salt water for these aircraft has done enough damage that it would mostly be have to be rebuilt from scratch. Not to mention raised from great depth both of which would be extremely expensive.
My best friend's grandfather served aboard the Lexington and was present at the Coral Sea engagement. He was later reassigned to the aircraft carrier USS Randolph for the duration of the war. ⚓ 🇺🇸
I knew a navy veteran when i was a kid, back in 73 that was on the Lex, Jimmy Simmons. He drove truck for aqua slide and dive in south Texas.
RIP Mr. Simmons
A great way to start the day
Agreed.
My dad was aboard Phelps when they sank the Lex. As a kid I went to Phelps reunions with dad in the 70s. I can still remember those men crying when they talked about it...
The current state of damage control at the time played a large role in her loss, poor practices and inexperience made her sinking inevitable. But the Navy learned from these mistakes and quickly developed proper and effective practices that saved many ships from being total losses. That the USS Franklin suffered far more damage yet sailed home under her own power is a testament to the new procedures effectiveness.
Thank you for sharing this important aspect of American history.
Dad was on Yorktown and he remembered watching Lexington explode and burn
Musta sucked that not that long later the yorktown was also burning slipping under the waves
How many people now have Larry Gatlin songb”she’s a broken Lady” playing in their head?
I grew up from a man, Archie Ridgway, who served on the Hornet, (I think, this talk we had in the late 70’s was a long time ago) His ship sunk, he was in the water for 30 hours.
Then, to add insult to injury, the ship that picked him and several other mates ALSO got hit and sunk. 19 hours in the water this time…
He said just taking a bath brought back horrible memories.
RIP, Mr Ridgway.
You’re channel is one of my favorite on the platform mate! I feel very lucky to have found you before you blow up and have huge success, it’s only a matter of time before you hit 100K subs man! Keep up the great work you really have big channel quality and your scripts, editing are brilliant. Delivery is great, you really are on your way. I’ll do my small part by liking, commenting, and sharing great videos like this one! God speed !
10:56 You would not believe this plane has spent 80 years at the bottom of the ocean! The paint and insignia looks like it was applied last week! Amazing preservation! These planes should really be salvaged and restored into some sort of half-decent museum condition for display.
my great great grandpa was on that ship he was a deck holder and a greaser for the propeller shafts he was at sea alone for 3 days after she was sunk
Then-LT Noel Gayler was a character, according to the book "Queen of the Flat-tops" by war correspondent Stanley Johnston, who was aboard Lex during its final cruise. By the end of the battle, he had 8 kills, 4 of which were on the 8th before Lex sank. This made him the Navy's leading ace at the time.
While the crew were abandoning ship, Johnston says Gayler dove off the stern and swam about 100 yards away from the ship. He then swam back and climbed one of the ropes that men were using to climb down into the water. When one of the other pilots who was still on the flight deck asked him why he came back, he said (paraphrased): "Oh, I didn't know any of those other fellows out there. When are you all planning on going over?"
Gayler went on to become CINCPAC, though, so he wasn't a complete goofball.
I appreciate these videos of yours. I'm sure my lost Shipmates would also appreciate these. The wreck sites are handled as well as can be expected. They are Honored as are the Sailors who paid the ultimate price for our Freedom. Thank you. USS Independence CV-62 1983 to 1986
*YES!* Thanks for doing my favorite ship.
This is GREAT! THANK YOU for covering this fantastic vessel!
Great vid Skynea, fascinating pictures.
Lady Lex. Gone but not forgotten.. Lady Lex. Gone but not forgotten..
The aircraft down there are in spectacular condition, I hope to see more content about aircraft wrecks like the ones in this video. Really enjoyed this one and am looking forward to what you have in store for the future.
What a very interesting video of the war ships you've discussed, very informative. Thank you for a lesson on war history.
Go get those warbirds!
Great video.
Thanks for posting it.
Nice job! I esp appreciate your clear narration to help explain what we are looking at. thank you
I never talked with guys who were on the Lexington when that battle happened but I did speak with guys who did and they told unbelievable stories. Said they tried right up until the order to abandon ship was given to save her. And several crews had to be almost taken off by force because they believed they could still save her. Sailors take their ship very seriously. Same thing happened to the Yorktown when she went down at Midway. They sort of left that out of many accounts as it was felt at the time, it made the Navy look a bit undisciplined, which it wasn't but dedication to a ship is not something you can discount either.
Outstanding video in a very good overview of the wreck thank you sir
Great pictures.
A very informative video. Thank-you.
Excellent! Thank you.
Every dammn Dauntless should be raised and put together to one full plane for exhibition. No matter what the plane was a part of the turning point in the war, And i like it for it's cute rubber duck appearance.
Great video.
My Grandfather worked at the torpedo station in Newport, RI during the war. The very same place where the "Dud" torpedoes, like the one in this video, were manufactured until they came up with a better detonator for them.
they raised a portion of titanic with bags of diesel, and the navy has a purpose built gizmo to raise deep deep stuff, its doable
Lady Lex and Sister Sara, carriers before the Navy knew what carriers were for. The Navy ddfaced the ladies with big gun turrets and seaplane catapults like they were removed unused.
Both ships were outfitted with biplanes of wood snd fabric that were light enough some of them could be lased to the overhead on the hangar deck, allowing each boat to have over 100 aircraft, way more than they were rated for. And way more than they had pilots for. Good to have spares when you are still writing The Book on how you do stuff.
Special attention was paid to stories of damage control and failures in building the new Essex class carriers thereby making them able to withstand much more punishment later on. This is only one of the legacies that the old flattops left behind. In that, they still live on.
Awesome video
Slap me between two pieces of bread and call me a sandwich! I was absolutely transfixed by this video, well done!👏
Well, the incredible technology for recovering deep ocean objects exists. Evidence of it is the many things salvaged from Titanic's resting place. I think the Navy should make an effort to recover some of the aircrafts, and certainly, the radar antenna.
Lexington was an iconic vessel, still is. We owe it to her.
Amazing video. There is something odly compelling, seeing these wrecks. The guns pointed skywards, the aircraft Sat on the bottom, hidden in permanent darkness, all quiet and peaceful after an awful journey to the bottom.
The Navy needs to recover those devistators.
The Navy has the equipment to do it
Great video!
I haven’t heard any news about the efforts, but as of January there was apparently a private effort to recover four of the Devastators from the wreck owing to the lack of any in a museum.
Normally I’d doubt it, but the company leading the effort is the same one that’s recovered a ton of old warbirds from Lake Michigan, so they have some experience in the field. Last update to their website was in July, seems they’re having an interesting time trying to get navy permission
The A&T website is down. Hope they are still around and can get permission.
Thanks for this 👍🇳🇿
Thank you!
The sinking of the Lexington helped save the Yorktown at Midway... at least for the first attack. One of the men on the Lexington saw the av-gas lines feeding the fires on the hanger deck. He suggested draining the av-gas lines when being attacked, and filling them with an inert gas. The fires from the first attack on the Yorktown were quickly brought under control, and she was back in operation ( at a reduced speed ) before the second attack. In fact, the attacking Japanese pilots thought she was a different carrier since she looked undamaged. And, the US Navy continued draining the av-gas lines for the rest of the war. Just that one change probably saved numerous US carriers in battle. And, it can be traced directly back to the loss of the Lexington.
Amazing 😊
First time to your channel. Good job. Subscribing right now
Never Forget 🇺🇸
👍🏻🏴 Very distinctive warships.
A fine video my friend! I did not know she was broken up, as bad as you showed :(
Lexington and saratoga were converted to carriers from battlecruisers, with all the design compromises that entails. Makes I.D. of the wreck fairly easy though.
I saw the video released when they found Lexington. No one ever said that the wreck was in pieces. Interesting new info.
If you're looking to see a slightly more accessible 1.1 inch mount there is one on the battleship North Carolina in Wilmington, NC. It's just forward of her superstructure on the starboard side if my memory is correct!
That is correct. There is also a 1.1 mount on display in the hanger of CV-10.
The Fighting Lady, she and her crew waded into the enemy and threw haymakers til the end.
The only museum where you can find a TBD Devastator is at the National Museum of Naval Aviation in Pensacola Florida
Ohhhh those TBDs...and the "bent" wings are simply folded. The Navy is infamously opposed to recoveries, though, even ones far less fraught than these would be...
The navy even goes so far as attempting to steal aircraft from salvors after having been written off.
Like the wine bottles on Titanic, the visible round in that 20mm magazine appears to have its projectile pushed into the case, and maybe the primer popped out the back. Oerlikon rounds, like rifle ammunition, aren’t filled to the brim with powder so that makes sense.
It’s also interesting to see crud coming out of the 1.1” barrels. They were chromed. You can see the shiny ends of the barrels sticking out of their jackets where the chrome kept rust from forming, but not internally?
That picture at the start of this video show the Lexington after they torpedoed her with 8 torpedo's . She was never liked by the navy due to the fact she was built on a cruisers hull and not purposely built carrier hull . That also why it took 8 torpedoes to sink her lol . They just did not want her to survive was the bottom line .
They did raise the CSS Hunley with her crew aboard. The TBD's would be a national treasure and worth raising.
At least she sunk in a deep water and rather near the routes where Australian patrol crafts and navy warships frequently passes by, that would hopefully keep those Chinese grave robbers out of her for the time being.
I honestly worry about her wreck being illegally salvaged given the fate of wrecks in Java sea and around the South China sea (or what’s left of them). But at least her wreck being so deep would make it uneconomical for those jerks given how much the cost of equipment and other stuffs would outweigh the value. I mean, they haven’t touched those deep wrecks in Iron Button Sound so that should be a good sign.
It’s sick what they have done. Mostly British and Dutch and some American ships but they will get whatever they can before we end up glassing them.
If there was a way to recover one of the Devastators
There is. Look how fast/easy they recovered the OceanGate sub.
@@SoloRenegadeTo be fair, the OceanGate sub isn’t as deep and the parts that were still intact were still more structurally sound than the aircraft are. Not to say it isn’t impossible, but it would be a lot harder than salvaging the ocean gate sub is. The structural integrity factor is also why salvaging artifacts from Titanic herself is a lot harder than the sun was.
@@sirboomsalot4902 Wrong
OceanGate sub was at 3800m
Lexignton is 3000m
The aircraft are still structurally sound, did you not look at the pictures. very little corrosion.
"Not to say it isn’t impossible, but it would be a lot harder than salvaging the ocean gate sub is. "
wrong, it would actually be easier.
Heck the USN recovered an entire F-35 at 3700m not long ago.
Salvaging artifacts from the Titanic has NOTHING to do with those airplanes. we wouldn't be fishing the airplanes from the Lexington's hangar deck. The airplanes aren't even on the ship.
Normally I say to not mess around with War graves but so long as no bodies are in the planes to be disturbed I'd be ok with at least raising up some of the more accessible Devastators! A couple in museums would be nice and if you could get one to fly!!!!!!.....😍
@@albertoswald8461 the airplanes are in a cluster away from teh actual ship itself. they could raise about 4 good ones without disturbing anything else. The aircraft were unoccupied and parked on the deck of the carrier when she sank.
I'd be ok with them just getting them restored, even if they never flew them. But seeing an airplane from WW2 that used to be at the bottom of the ocean flying again is something special too.
I serves on the second USS LEXINGTON and got the privilege to decommission and cross-deck to USS FORRESTAL. Enjoyed this video
Was that the Essex class lexington
Yes, a war grave, but I do believe in at least try and preserve parts of the wreack for future generations. They only come once in a life time. In a way puting some of the stuff in a museum helps preserve the memories and honor them that have died. I do not believe in saveing a hole ship, but at peast parts of to remember them.
Better keep an eye on her. Chinese salvors are violating all kinds of wrecks,, including the WWII wrecks.
She delivered some serious American hurt on the Japanese before going down.
the wings aren't snapped, they are FOLDED
The Wildcats and the Dauntlesses wings are snapped. They didn’t have folding wings (the F4F-4s with the folding wings didn’t arrive until right after Coral Sea)
@@sirboomsalot4902unnily enough, there are still folding mechanisms visible in the wings for example in 12 minutes and after that?
I did my initial carrier quals on her replacement.
Wow!
Personally , I'd be for raising the devastators.
After seeing the wreck of the Yamato and its somewhat.... kit-form condition, you're certainly on the nose about Lexington suffering explosions after she sank
If all parties needed would sign off on it. The company that raised the Kursk would be a great place to start.
Paul Allen was a great man, financing all those expeditions to discover several WWII wrecks
Because he spent so much of his money on vehicles of war, and because he also purchased a German Tiger tank, the left called him a racist. All because he didn’t give his money to them.
The technology used to find these wrecks is amazing, perhaps in the future it will be there to lift aircraft from the wrecks or small pieces but not if it intrudes into the inside and disturb any war grave area.
Leave her alone, leave her boys alone.
This was really interesting and the pictures were amazing but I was wondering why you don't have a bit more information even at the end of the video like casualties etc
He has already done a full video on USS Lexington CV-2. That information is contained in that video th-cam.com/video/eMp5FDScf4o/w-d-xo.html
@@anthonysmith3577
Thanks
Uss Lexington was a American air craft carrier and it was bombed and torpedoed during battle of coral sea may 1942❤
Perhaps someone out there can help me discover which ship my dad was on. He told stories of joining when war was declared. leaving San Francisco on the brand new aircraft carrier. He served in the coral sea, was stationed at Pearl Harbor during the war. Fought at midway. His ship was badly damaged. He told that after the battle he along with some group had to tow the damaged vessel out to very deep water, then torpedoed, but the fools sunk their “protection ship” instead. He told of having to rescue the crew of their protection ship first, then still had to finish their job and return to Pearl Harbor with no protection ship. Of course my dad’s military records all burned in a fire???? Can anyone help with the story? I swear I’ll pay better attention this time.
Leave the ship as a war grave but grab the planes.
The Fighting Lady.
Allegedly Ernest King,, who captained the Lexington in the 30s and always regarded her as his favorite command, never forgave Frank Fletcher for losing her.