USS Lexington (CV-16)

USS Lexington underway on 16 August 1958
History
United States
Name	Lexington
Namesake	Battle of Lexington USS Lexington (CV-2)
Ordered	9 September 1940[1]
Builder	Fore River Shipyard
Laid down	15 July 1941
Launched	23 September 1942
Commissioned	17 February 1943
Decommissioned	23 April 1947
Recommissioned	15 August 1955
Decommissioned	8 November 1991
Reclassified	CVA-16, 1 October 1952 CVS-16, 1 October 1962 CVT-16, 1 January 1969 AVT-16, 1 July 1978
Stricken	8 November 1991
Status	Museum ship
General characteristics
Class and type	Essex-class aircraft carrier
Displacement	27,100 long tons (27,500 t) (standard) 36,380 long tons (36,960 t) (full load)
Length	820 feet (249.9 m) (wl) 872 feet (265.8 m) (o/a)
Beam	93 ft (28.3 m)
Draft	34 ft 2 in (10.41 m)
Installed power	8 × Babcock & Wilcox boilers 150,000 shp (110,000 kW)
Propulsion	4 × geared steam turbines 4 × screw propellers
Speed	33 knots (61 km/h; 38 mph)
Range	14,100 nmi (26,100 km; 16,200 mi) at 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph)
Complement	2,600 officers and enlisted men
Armament	12 × 5 in (127 mm) DP guns 32 × 40 mm (1.6 in) AA guns 46 × 20 mm (0.8 in) AA guns
Armor	Waterline belt: 2.5–4 in (64–102 mm) Deck: 1.5 in (38 mm) Hangar deck: 2.5 in (64 mm) Bulkheads: 4 in (102 mm)
Aircraft carried	36 × Grumman F6F Hellcat 36 × Douglas SBD Dauntless 18 × Grumman TBF Avenger
USS Lexington Museum on the Bay
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. National Historic Landmark
USS Lexington Show map of Texas USS Lexington Show map of the United States
Coordinates	27°48′54″N 97°23′19″W / 27.81500°N 97.38861°W / 27.81500; -97.38861
Built	1942
NRHP reference No.	03001043[2]
Significant dates
Added to NRHP	31 July 2003
Designated NHL	31 July 2003[3]

USS Lexington (CV/CVA/CVS/CVT/AVT-16) is an Essex-class aircraft carrier built during World War II for the United States Navy. Originally intended to be named Cabot, the new aircraft carrier was renamed while under construction to commemorate the recently-lost USS Lexington (CV-2), becoming the sixth U.S. Navy ship to bear the name in honor of the Battle of Lexington.

Lexington was commissioned in February 1943 and saw extensive service through the Pacific War. For much of her service, she acted as the flagship for Admiral Marc Mitscher, and led the Fast Carrier Task Force through their battles across the Pacific. She was the recipient of 11 battle stars and the Presidential Unit Citation. Following the war, Lexington was decommissioned, but was modernized and reactivated in the early 1950s, being reclassified as an attack carrier (CVA). Later, she was reclassified as an antisubmarine carrier (CVS). In her second career, she operated both in the Atlantic/Mediterranean and the Pacific, but spent most of her time, nearly 30 years, in Pensacola, Florida, as a training carrier (CVT).

Lexington was decommissioned in 1991, with an active service life longer than any other Essex-class ship. Following her decommissioning, she was donated for use as a museum ship in Corpus Christi, Texas. In 2003, Lexington was designated a National Historic Landmark. Though her surviving sister ships Yorktown, Intrepid, and Hornet carry lower hull numbers, Lexington was laid down and commissioned earlier, making Lexington the oldest remaining fleet carrier in the world.