|
CV 2 USS Lexington |
Class: Lexington
CV 3 Saratoga
Builder: Fore
River Shipbuilding, Quincy Massachusetts
Bethlehem Steel
Commissioned: 1927, 14 December
Displacement: 38,750 tons (standard)
47,650 ton (deep load)
Length: 270.5 m / 888
ft.
Beam: 32.1 m / 105
ft 6 in
Draught: 8.4 m / 27 ft 6 in
(standard)
9.9 m / 32 ft 6 in (deep draught)
Flight Deck: 263.8 x 32.3 m / 866 x
106 ft
Armament: 203 mm / 8 in x 8
127
mm / 5 in x 12 (as completed)
Armor: 127 – 178 mm /
5 – 7 in (vertical belt)
50 mm / 2 in (deck)
Machinery: Turbo-electric / 16
boilers / 4 shafts
Power: 134,300 kW /
180,000 hp
Speed: 33 knots
Fuel: 2,650 tons
(original)
Range: 18,520 km /
10,000 nm @ 10 knots
Aircraft: 83 (original
assignment)
36
fighters – 2 squadrons
32
bombers – 2 squadrons
12
plane observation squadron
3 utility planes
Complement: 2,750 men
|
Saratoga (foreground) and Lexington |
The USS Lexington (CV 2) and her sister
ship the Saratoga (CV 3) were
converted from battle cruiser to carrier while under construction because of a
treaty resulting from the Washington Naval Conference of 1922. America’s first two real carriers came with
hulls built to take a torpedo hit and a size that made it adaptable to aircraft
that were rapidly evolving into larger size and weight. These long, sleek ships displaced over thirty
thousand tons but their sixteen boilers and turbo-electric machinery made them
surprisingly fast – capable of exceeding thirty-three knots if necessary. Their size enabled the concentration of a
large air group that could be launched quickly for maximum striking power. By 1929 fleet exercises made it evident that
the carrier was a highly prized offensive platform despite the fact that its
fleet of biplanes was not yet powerful enough to deliver a fatal punch.
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8 inch guns for cruiser protection |
The Lexington and her sister ship were initially
armed with eight inch guns, grouped in four turrets of two guns apiece. These were in line with the ship’s starboard
island and its signature eighty foot stack that was constructed to disperse
exhaust safely above flight operations on the deck below. The guns were of such weight that they
contributed to a slight permanent right list of the carrier, which could be
offset by using fuel oil as counter-ballast.
The initial thinking was the carrier would need this means of defending
itself from enemy cruisers that might attack at night or in bad weather, for
instance, when aircraft would be unable to launch. As carrier offensive doctrine developed,
however, it became the rule that three heavy cruisers would combine with the
carrier as a permanent tactical unit, providing her defense against
conventional surface ships. In April,
1942 these guns were removed from the Lexington
and replaced by weapons suited to protect the carrier from attacks from the
air. It had become evident that the
greatest threat to a carrier was aircraft from another carrier. Thus, the primary carrier role was to destroy
the opposing carrier in order to prevent its own destruction.
|
Large 80 foot stack of Lexington |
American
doctrine held that the best carrier defense was a quick and powerful carrier
offense. This view was shared by the
Japanese. Both countries would forego
the weight penalty of armored flight decks and build theirs using wood
planks. This enabled them to pack more
planes onboard to maximize their striking power. The rules of battleship conflict still applied,
but at a much greater distance: victory
goes to the side that first finds the enemy’s range and then pours down upon it
maximum destructive force. Carriers
needed to be quick on the draw. While
Japan stored its planes in the hanger deck American doctrine had as many planes
as possible parked on the flight deck, ready to launch. The problem was that the Japanese were able
to group the air wings of multiple carriers into a single force and then effectively
coordinate the attacks of her torpedo planes and dive bombers. During the early portion of the war American
carriers acted independently and their torpedo and dive bombing attacks were
typically disorganized and piecemeal. Despite
this, the U.S. Navy was able to blunt the Imperial Navy’s thrust into the Coral
Sea in their first carrier engagement despite the greater number of American
ships sunk.
|
Early fighters and torpedo planes |
The great
loss for the United States in the battle of the Coral Sea was the sinking of
the Lexington. Her deck was struck by two bombs but the
greater damage was caused by two torpedo strikes on her port side. Still the Lexington was able to put out the
fires and recover her airborne aircraft.
The ship was even proceeding at a respectable twenty-five knots. It was shortly before one that afternoon when
a devastating explosion, caused by igniting gas vapors, rocked the ship. The earlier forward-most torpedo strike had
cracked the hold containing highly volatile aviation fuel. Two more explosions were to follow leaving
the Lexington listing badly and
consumed in smoke. The end came the
evening of 8 May, 1942 following the removal of her remaining living members of
the crew.
|
Internal fires made flight deck a hot griddle |
|
Forward torpedo cracked aviation fuel hold |
A carrier air group at the time of the Lexington was
typically divided into four squadrons of about 18 aircraft each, in addition to
several aircraft in reserve. These
squadrons would be broken into groups of fighters, torpedo planes, dive bombers
and scout planes. The scout planes would
be the same as dive bombers except that they would carry an auxiliary tank for
additional fuel in place of bombs.
Torpedo planes could sometimes serve as a horizontal bomber by a change
in ordinance. Fighter squadron sizes
increased from 18 to 27 by the time of the battle of Midway. Carriers during the Guadalcanal campaign
would have as many as 36 fighters on board, reflecting the importance of an
active air defense. By late 1942 the
U.S. Navy had lost the Lexington, Yorktown and Hornet, leaving the Enterprise
as the lone fleet carrier left to fight in the southwest Pacific. It would be May of the following year before
the first Essex class carriers
steamed into the Pacific.
|
US doctrine stored planes on flight deck |
Fighters of the Lexington
|
F4B-1 |
F4B-1 Boeing
·
First carrier-based
fighter able to deliver a large bomb in a near vertical dive
o
500 lb. bomb
·
F4B-2: landing gear strengthened for carrier
operations
o
No longer
possible to carry large bomb on aircraft centerline
|
F2A Buffalo |
F2A Buffalo Brewster
·
Navy’s first
monoplane fighter
·
1939, June –
entered squadron service
·
Inferior to
Wildcat in maneuverability
Speed: 323 mph @ 16,500 ft
Ceiling: 34,000 ft
Guns:
0.50
caliber mg x 2 / wings
0.50
caliber mg x 2 / engine cowling
Bombs: 100 lb. on rack under each wing
|
F4F Wildcat |
F4F Wildcat Grumman
·
1940,
December – entered squadron service
·
Inferior to
Japanese Zero
Speed: 331 mph @ 21,300 ft
Ceiling: 37,000 ft
Guns: 0.50 caliber mg x 4 / wings
Bombs: 100 lb. on rack under each wing
Torpedo Bomber
|
T4M |
T4M Martin
·
1928, August
·
Fabric-covered
metal wings
·
Three man
crew
Speed: 114 mph
Ceiling: 10,150 ft
Guns: 0.30 caliber mg / rear
cockpit
Payload:
Torpedo
or
Bombs
|
TBD Devastator |
TBD Devastator Douglas
·
1937, June –
entered squadron service
·
Used at
Midway: 1942, June
·
Three-place
torpedo plane
Pilot
Bombardier-navigator
Used Norden bombsight
Gunner
·
Bombing mission: 3 men
·
Torpedo mission: 2 men
·
Older and
less capable than Japanese Navy’s B5N Kate
Speed: 206 mph @ 8,000 ft
Ceiling: 19,700 ft
Guns:
0.30
caliber mg – forward firing
0.30
caliber mg – aft
Payload:
Torpedo
or
1,000
lb. bomb
|
TBF Avenger |
·
1942, June 4
– first combat mission: flown from
Midway Island
·
Three man
crew
Pilot –
released torpedo
Bombardier /
ventral gunner
Radio operator
/ turret gunner
·
Heaviest single
engine warplane of World War II
·
Never deployed
on Lexington
Speed: 276 mph
Ceiling: 25,000 ft
Guns:
0.50
caliber mg x 2 / wing
0.50
caliber mg / rear turret
0.30
caliber mg / ventral
Payload:
Torpedo
or
2,000
lb. bombs
Dive Bombers
|
SBD Dauntless |
·
1941, March –
entered squadron service
·
Navy’s
principal dive-bomber first 2.5 years of war
Speed: 250 mph @ 16,000 ft
Ceiling: 27,100 ft
Guns: 0.50 caliber mg x 2 /
forward fuselage
0.30
caliber mg x 2 / rear cockpit
Bombs: 2,250 lb. maximum