# Aircraft carrier USS Lexington, lost in 1942 Battle of the Coral Sea, is found **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 6, 2018, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aircraft-carrier-uss-lexington-lost-in-1942-battle-of-the-coral-sea-is-found/810113 "2018-03-06T14:30:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2018, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aircraft-carrier-uss-lexington-lost-in-1942-battle-of-the-coral-sea-is-found/810113/1 "2018-03-06T14:30:28Z")
Not so mundane or pointless at all, I’d say: > **[Billionaire explorer discovers sunken US WWII aircraft carrier | CNN Politics](https://www.cnn.com/2018/03/05/politics/uss-lexington-aircraft-carrier-wreckage-found/index.html)** > > Wreckage from the USS Lexington -- a US aircraft carrier sunk by the Japanese during World War II -- has been discovered 500 miles off the Australian coast by a team of explorers led by billionaire Paul Allen, the Microsoft co-founder announced on... > **[USS Lexington (CV-2)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Lexington_(CV-2))** > > USS Lexington (CV-2), nicknamed "Lady Lex", was the name ship of her class of two aircraft carriers built for the United States Navy during the 1920s. Originally designed as a battlecruiser, she was converted into one of the Navy's first aircraft carriers during construction to comply with the terms of the Washington Naval Treaty of 1922, which essentially terminated all new battleship and battlecruiser construction. The ship entered service in 1928 and was assigned to the Pacific Fleet for he ---
**Author:** ![Methyl\_Ethyl\_Death](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Methyl\_Ethyl\_Death](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Methyl_Ethyl_Death)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2018, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aircraft-carrier-uss-lexington-lost-in-1942-battle-of-the-coral-sea-is-found/810113/2 "2018-03-06T14:47:09Z")
That’s fascinating news, but why did it take so long to find her? She was scuttled by the navy so one would think they would have taken the time to mark her location on a map. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_stainless_steel_rat/32/5727_2.png) [@The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Stainless_Steel_Rat)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2018, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aircraft-carrier-uss-lexington-lost-in-1942-battle-of-the-coral-sea-is-found/810113/3 "2018-03-06T14:57:29Z")
M.E.D., I’d hazard a guess that (1) given the state of the art in 1941, the measurements might have been off by several miles (after all, they were in the process of sinking and evacuating, so the readings might have been a bit off) and (2) Nobody wanted to spend mucho dollars and time finding a wreck 2 miles under the sea where it was no navigation hazard (it was a Billionaire who decided to go find it, he had the money to finance the deep-sea search). IMHO as always; YMMV. Still, a pretty neat trick and it looks well-preserved. Thanks for sharing. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2018, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aircraft-carrier-uss-lexington-lost-in-1942-battle-of-the-coral-sea-is-found/810113/4 "2018-03-06T17:40:33Z")
Interesting news, thanks! But why does CNN report this under “Politics”? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2018, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aircraft-carrier-uss-lexington-lost-in-1942-battle-of-the-coral-sea-is-found/810113/5 "2018-03-06T18:01:27Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > But why does CNN report this under “Politics”? 😕 Because the article is actually under the “U.S. Military” subcategory, which is where they put all kinds of news related to the US Armed Forces, current and historical. And “U.S. Military” is a subcategory of “Politics” there. That’s a “Microsoft answer”. Perfectly accurate and relevant and completely unrevealing. Why does CNN put “U.S. Military” under “Politics”? 😕😕 I dunno. Maybe [Clausewitz](https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Carl_von_Clausewitz). > [@Carl von Clausewitz](#): > > War is merely the continuation of politics by other means. ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2018, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aircraft-carrier-uss-lexington-lost-in-1942-battle-of-the-coral-sea-is-found/810113/6 "2018-03-06T18:06:47Z")
Very cool. What can be done about the [theft of historic shipwrecks by rogue salvage operations](https://www.google.com/search?source=hp&ei=n9aeWtX4JsOH0wKur4CwAg&q=shipwrecks+stolen+by+salvage&oq=shipwrecks+stolen+by+salvage&gs_l=psy-ab.3..33i160k1l3.9832.19521.0.19603.31.30.0.0.0.0.221.3842.0j19j4.23.0....0...1c.1.64.psy-ab..8.18.3133.0..0j46j35i39k1j0i67k1j0i131k1j0i20i264k1j0i131i20i264k1j0i131i67k1j0i46k1j0i22i10i30k1j0i22i30k1.0.XeO50XSy3hU)? Can we place a guard over the wreck? ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2018, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aircraft-carrier-uss-lexington-lost-in-1942-battle-of-the-coral-sea-is-found/810113/7 "2018-03-06T18:08:22Z")
> [@gnoitall](#): > > Why does CNN put “U.S. Military” under “Politics”? 😕😕 > > I dunno. Maybe [Clausewitz](https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Carl_von_Clausewitz). Love this! ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2018, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aircraft-carrier-uss-lexington-lost-in-1942-battle-of-the-coral-sea-is-found/810113/8 "2018-03-06T19:01:48Z")
> [@Sailboat](#): > > Very cool. > > What can be done about the [theft of historic shipwrecks by rogue salvage operations](https://www.google.com/search?source=hp&ei=n9aeWtX4JsOH0wKur4CwAg&q=shipwrecks+stolen+by+salvage&oq=shipwrecks+stolen+by+salvage&gs_l=psy-ab.3..33i160k1l3.9832.19521.0.19603.31.30.0.0.0.0.221.3842.0j19j4.23.0....0...1c.1.64.psy-ab..8.18.3133.0..0j46j35i39k1j0i67k1j0i131k1j0i20i264k1j0i131i20i264k1j0i131i67k1j0i46k1j0i22i10i30k1j0i22i30k1.0.XeO50XSy3hU)? Can we place a guard over the wreck? Can the salvage thieves work two miles down? ---
**Author:** ![Methyl\_Ethyl\_Death](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Methyl\_Ethyl\_Death](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Methyl_Ethyl_Death)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2018, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aircraft-carrier-uss-lexington-lost-in-1942-battle-of-the-coral-sea-is-found/810113/9 "2018-03-07T01:05:00Z")
> [@The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](#): > > M.E.D., I’d hazard a guess that (1) given the state of the art in 1941, the measurements might have been off by several miles (after all, they were in the process of sinking and evacuating, so the readings might have been a bit off) and (2) Nobody wanted to spend mucho dollars and time finding a wreck 2 miles under the sea where it was no navigation hazard (it was a Billionaire who decided to go find it, he had the money to finance the deep-sea search). IMHO as always; YMMV. > > Still, a pretty neat trick and it looks well-preserved. Thanks for sharing. That makes sense, thanks for the reply. I agree with **carnivorousplant**. I can’t imagine salvagers having the technology to access the wreck two miles deep. IMHO, even if possible, artifacts from Lexington do not have the monetary value of artifacts from the Titanic, also two miles deep. ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2018, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aircraft-carrier-uss-lexington-lost-in-1942-battle-of-the-coral-sea-is-found/810113/10 "2018-03-07T17:58:17Z")
> [@Methyl\_Ethyl\_Death](#): > > IMHO, even if possible, artifacts from Lexington do not have the monetary value of artifacts from the Titanic, also two miles deep. It’s not artifacts, but the steel they want. Ships from that era – especially military ships (military service places more value on long service life, ruggedness, and resistance to damage instead of cost reduction) contain a LOT of steel. All steel made today (and essentially all steel since July 1945) contains radioactive trace elements from open-air atomic testing. Steel made before that does not. Such [“low-background” steel](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Low-background_steel) is especially valuable for certain technical applications (and we cannot make more of it, as I understand it). The depth of the _Lexington_’s resting place is enough to protect her from these thieves…for now. As technology (and access to it) improves, and the world’s supply of low-background steel is consumed, there may come a point at which the perceived value leads someone to attempt plundering her. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2018, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aircraft-carrier-uss-lexington-lost-in-1942-battle-of-the-coral-sea-is-found/810113/11 "2018-03-07T20:10:07Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > Can the salvage thieves work two miles down? Go visit the traveling Titanic exhibit and see the answer. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2018, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aircraft-carrier-uss-lexington-lost-in-1942-battle-of-the-coral-sea-is-found/810113/12 "2018-03-07T20:16:10Z")
Those slowly rusting hulks like the Lexington represent the investment of vast amounts of public money and human labor. If they can be salvaged and their unique steel put to use, then they should be salvaged. At this point there are no human remains left onboard and we already fetishize war and the military more than enough. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2018, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aircraft-carrier-uss-lexington-lost-in-1942-battle-of-the-coral-sea-is-found/810113/13 "2018-03-07T20:25:18Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > Go visit the traveling Titanic exhibit and see the answer. I don’t think that the scavengers have the resources of Robert Ballard. ---
**Author:** ![Kimballkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5a626/32.png) [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2018, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aircraft-carrier-uss-lexington-lost-in-1942-battle-of-the-coral-sea-is-found/810113/14 "2018-03-07T21:28:04Z")
Actually, Ballard [regrets disclosing its location. Further he wishes now he could have made a claim on the wreck to prevent salvage.](Robert Ballard, who was part of the expedition that found Titanic in 1985, now regrets disclosing its location. Further he wishes now he could have made a claim on the wreck to prevent salvage.) The salvaging has been done by other companies most notably [RMS Titanic, Inc](http://www.premierexhibitions.com/corporate/all/rms-titanic-inc). ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2018, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aircraft-carrier-uss-lexington-lost-in-1942-battle-of-the-coral-sea-is-found/810113/15 "2018-03-07T21:52:34Z")
> [@Sailboat](#): > > As technology (and access to it) improves, and the world’s supply of low-background steel is consumed, there may come a point at which the perceived value leads someone to attempt plundering her. [Since nuclear testing has almost completely ended, the problem of radioactive steel will solve itself over time.](https://hackaday.com/2017/03/27/low-background-steel-so-hot-right-now/) > [@Hackaday](#): > > After 1975, testing moved underground, reducing, but not eliminating, the amount of radiation pumped into the air. Since various treaties ending the testing of nuclear weapons, and thanks to the short half-life of some of the radioactive isotopes, the background radiation in the air has been decreasing. Cobalt-60 has a half-life of 5.26 years, which means that steel is getting less and less radioactive on its own (Cobalt-60 from 1945 would now be at .008% of original levels). As LB steel gets harder and harder to recover, more and more applications will find that modern steel has an adequately low level of background radiation. If the Lexington is ever salvaged, it may not be for monetary value. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2018, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aircraft-carrier-uss-lexington-lost-in-1942-battle-of-the-coral-sea-is-found/810113/16 "2018-03-07T22:32:23Z")
There are an immense number of pre-atomic age ships all over the place in significantly more accessible locations. E.g., there are 7 German WWI ships still in [Scapa Flow](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scapa_Flow#Salvage_operation) that have some to little salvaging done on them. In addition, there are several block ships that were sunk there during WWII. 2 miles down? Forget it. ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2018, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aircraft-carrier-uss-lexington-lost-in-1942-battle-of-the-coral-sea-is-found/810113/17 "2018-03-09T17:34:05Z")
> [@Scumpup](#): > > Those slowly rusting hulks like the Lexington represent the investment of vast amounts of public money and human labor. US public money and US human labor, in this case. I suppose it depends on how one feels about nation-states, tribalism and all that as to whether one minds unknown salvagers profiting from that source or not. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2018, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aircraft-carrier-uss-lexington-lost-in-1942-battle-of-the-coral-sea-is-found/810113/18 "2018-03-09T18:34:46Z")
I read that the F4F Wildcat may be the one Butch O’Hare flew. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2018, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aircraft-carrier-uss-lexington-lost-in-1942-battle-of-the-coral-sea-is-found/810113/19 "2018-03-09T19:35:02Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > I read that the F4F Wildcat may be the one Butch O’Hare flew. [Or maybe not.](https://twitter.com/CavasShips/status/970804230482284544/photo/1?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.oregonlive.com%2Ftoday%2Findex.ssf%2F2018%2F03%2Fpaul_allen_search_team_find_us.html) According to the linked tweet: > [@](#): > > B&W shot is April 1942: both these planes went down w/Lex. F1 flown by LCDR John Thach; F13 by LT Ed O’Hare. The aircraft in the photos in most of the article is F5. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2018, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aircraft-carrier-uss-lexington-lost-in-1942-battle-of-the-coral-sea-is-found/810113/20 "2018-03-10T18:51:49Z")
> [@Scumpup](#): > > Those slowly rusting hulks like the Lexington represent the investment of vast amounts of public money and human labor. If they can be salvaged and their unique steel put to use, then they should be salvaged. At this point there are no human remains left onboard and we already fetishize war and the military more than enough. You’re right. Let’s plow up Arlington Cemetery and put it to good use as a golf course and condo complex. Look at the [location](https://www.google.com/maps/@38.8783252,-77.0708597,13z?hl=en&authuser=0); they’d sell like hotcakes. :rolleyes: [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aircraft-carrier-uss-lexington-lost-in-1942-battle-of-the-coral-sea-is-found/810113.md?page=2)