# 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:** 12\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2018, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aircraft-carrier-uss-lexington-lost-in-1942-battle-of-the-coral-sea-is-found/810113/21 "2018-03-10T19:29:37Z")
> [@DesertDog](#): > > 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: Roll your eyes til they fall out of your head, if makes you feel good about yourself. There is a difference between a graveyard and a multi-million dollar fighting machine built with public funds and you fucking well knew that before you posted. Sunken warships have been salvaged before. Not all of them are treated like the USS Arizona, nor should they be. Do you feel they same way about recycling old tanks and other vehicles that are lost in battle? Do we need to genuflect before everything in which a soldier or sailor died? ---
**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 10, 2018, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aircraft-carrier-uss-lexington-lost-in-1942-battle-of-the-coral-sea-is-found/810113/22 "2018-03-10T19:44:53Z")
> [@Scumpup](#): > > …Do you feel they same way about recycling old tanks and other vehicles that are lost in battle? … It depends upon whether on not there are any remains inside. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2018, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aircraft-carrier-uss-lexington-lost-in-1942-battle-of-the-coral-sea-is-found/810113/23 "2018-03-10T23:51:58Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > It depends upon whether on not there are any remains inside. If you believe there are any remains inside the Lexington, you should read more. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2018, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aircraft-carrier-uss-lexington-lost-in-1942-battle-of-the-coral-sea-is-found/810113/24 "2018-03-10T23:58:44Z")
[It’s officially a war grave.](https://www.cnbc.com/2018/03/06/uss-lexington-sunk-in-world-war-2-found-by-microsofts-paul-allen.html) Of her crew, 216 were killed that day, mostly by fire, and the remains of some must have gone down with or perhaps aboard her. ---
**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 11, 2018, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aircraft-carrier-uss-lexington-lost-in-1942-battle-of-the-coral-sea-is-found/810113/25 "2018-03-11T00:06:33Z")
I don’t know if abandoning ship includes removing bodies and body parts or not. I initially wondered why the aircraft weren’t flown off, but I guess Lexingtoon was in no condition to launch aircraft, and I understand that Yorktown had a hole in her flight deck. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2018, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aircraft-carrier-uss-lexington-lost-in-1942-battle-of-the-coral-sea-is-found/810113/26 "2018-03-11T01:21:58Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > [It’s officially a war grave.](https://www.cnbc.com/2018/03/06/uss-lexington-sunk-in-world-war-2-found-by-microsofts-paul-allen.html) Of her crew, 216 were killed that day, mostly by fire, and the remains of some must have gone down with or perhaps aboard her. Ships in shallower water were salvaged during the war. Don’t pretend that there are even bones, let alone bodies, aboard at this point. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2018, 11:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aircraft-carrier-uss-lexington-lost-in-1942-battle-of-the-coral-sea-is-found/810113/27 "2018-03-11T11:26:12Z")
Dial it back. I have no idea why you’re being snippy in your replies, but this isn’t the forum for it. > [@Scumpup](#): > > Ships in shallower water were salvaged during the war. Don’t pretend that there are even bones, let alone bodies, aboard at this point. > [@Scumpup](#): > > Roll your eyes til they fall out of your head, if makes you feel good about yourself. There is a difference between a graveyard and a multi-million dollar fighting machine built with public funds and you fucking well knew that before you posted. Sunken warships have been salvaged before. Not all of them are treated like the USS Arizona, nor should they be. Do you feel they same way about recycling old tanks and other vehicles that are lost in battle? Do we need to genuflect before everything in which a soldier or sailor died? > [@Scumpup](#): > > If you believe there are any remains inside the Lexington, you should read more. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2018, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aircraft-carrier-uss-lexington-lost-in-1942-battle-of-the-coral-sea-is-found/810113/28 "2018-03-11T12:30:16Z")
> [@Methyl\_Ethyl\_Death](#): > > 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. nm ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2018, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aircraft-carrier-uss-lexington-lost-in-1942-battle-of-the-coral-sea-is-found/810113/29 "2018-03-11T16:28:27Z")
> [@Scumpup](#): > > Ships in shallower water were salvaged during the war. Don’t pretend that there are even bones, let alone bodies, aboard at this point. > **[World War II Pilot Remains Found at Bottom of the Ocean](https://www.newsweek.com/remains-world-war-ii-pilot-found-831639)** > > "When it comes to families, I think it's about giving them answers." There just so happens to be some recent news that shows you may not be correct. ---
**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 11, 2018, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aircraft-carrier-uss-lexington-lost-in-1942-battle-of-the-coral-sea-is-found/810113/30 "2018-03-11T16:53:09Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > [https://www.google.com/amp/www.newsweek.com/remains-world-war-ii-pilot-found-831639%3Famp=1](https://www.google.com/amp/www.newsweek.com/remains-world-war-ii-pilot-found-831639%3famp=1) > > There just so happens to be some recent news that shows you may not be correct. Wow. ---
**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 11, 2018, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aircraft-carrier-uss-lexington-lost-in-1942-battle-of-the-coral-sea-is-found/810113/31 "2018-03-11T17:24:54Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > [https://www.google.com/amp/www.newsweek.com/remains-world-war-ii-pilot-found-831639%3Famp=1](https://www.google.com/amp/www.newsweek.com/remains-world-war-ii-pilot-found-831639%3famp=1) > > There just so happens to be some recent news that shows you may not be correct. I read about that yesterday, but the aircraft were not identified. This link says they found _two_ aircraft, an F6F Hellcat and a TBM (General Motors) Avenger. > [@](#): > > But identifying these remains could take months, if not years, to give answers, he said. The agency could not confirm to Newsweek how many people were found at the two sites during the dives, but per historical records, there were four bodies that were not recovered, Romero said. The Hellcat has a crew of one, and the Avenger has a crew of three. So… ‘four bodies were not recovered’ in 1944? In 2015/2016? Since (apparently) only the remains of one person were discovered, is it probable that they were from the Hellcat? ---
**Author:** ![Corry\_El](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecae2f/32.png) [@Corry\_El](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Corry_El)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2018, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aircraft-carrier-uss-lexington-lost-in-1942-battle-of-the-coral-sea-is-found/810113/32 "2018-03-11T17:39:05Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > [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: > The aircraft in the photos in most of the article is F5. The most convincing explanations seem to be that it’s Lt. Noel Gayler’s a/c. Squadron marking of VF-3 (the cat), 4 aerial victory flags\* and a bombing mission symbol match and apparently letters in Gayler’s name can be made out on close inspection. It was assigned to VF-2 at Coral Sea, but the squadron had taken on a/c and pilots from VF-3 formerly on Lexington. Gayler was one the pilots who landed on Lexington then abandoned ship later when the a/c could no longer be flown off. Which particular F4F-3 it was in terms of the permanent identity of USN planes, their Bureau Number, doesn’t seem to be known. 3979, 4035, 3978, 4016, 4005, 4003, 3986, 3982, and 3981 were the 9 F4F-3’s which went down with Lexington. The squadron assignment numbers (F-5) could change. [http://www.aviationarchaeology.com/src/USN/LLMay42.htm](http://www.aviationarchaeology.com/src/USN/LLMay42.htm) \*Apparently for 1 bomber and ‘assists’ on two others in the Feb 20 1942 action defending Lexington in the abortive raid on Rabaul plus a Type 95 Recon Floatplane during the raid on Lae, New Guinea Mar 10, dropped bombs there too, all with VF-3. The Feb 20 action was where Butch O’Hare was credited with 5 bombers: he was in Washington DC in late April to receive the MOH and not at Coral Sea. VF-3 claimed a total of 15 Japanese bombers in that action and a dive bomber claimed another: unusually accurately for WWII aerial claiming, 15 of 17 Type 1 Land Attack Planes (later codenamed ‘Betty’) of the 4th Air Group either failed to return or ditched. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aircraft-carrier-uss-lexington-lost-in-1942-battle-of-the-coral-sea-is-found/810113.md?page=1)