Miloch <Miloch_member@newsguy.com> wrote in
news:p7ktid013pb@drn.newsguy.com:
> https://www.cnn.com/2018/03/05/politics/uss-lexington-aircraft-carrier-
> wreckage-found/index.html
>
> 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
> Monday.
>
> One of the first US aircraft carriers ever built, the vessel dubbed
> "Lady Lex" was located at the bottom of the Coral Sea -- nearly two
> miles below the surface -- by the expedition crew of Research Vessel
> Petrel on Sunday, Allen said.
>
> The Lexington was lost in May 1942 along with 216 of its crew and 35
> aircraft during what is considered the first carrier battle in history
> -- the Battle of the Coral Sea.
>
> "To pay tribute to the USS Lexington and the brave men that served on
> her is an honor," Allen said in a statement. "As Americans, all of us
> owe a debt of gratitude to everyone who served and who continue to
> serve our country for their courage, persistence and sacrifice."
>
> https://youtu.be/-K-V_ah6IIs
>
> Along with the USS Yorktown, the Lexington and its fleet faced off
> against three Japanese aircraft carriers and is credited with helping
> to stop Japan's advances on New Guinea and Australia.
>
> The battle occurred just one month before the US Navy "surprised
> Japanese forces at the Battle of Midway and turned the tide of the war
> in the Pacific for good," according to Allen.
>
> "The Battle of the Coral Sea was notable not only for stopping a
> Japanese advance but because it was the first naval engagement in
> history where opposing ships never came within sight of each other,"
> read the statement from Allen.
>
> US ships were able to rescue more than 2,000 sailors before the
> Lexington ultimately sank from the damage sustained from a bombardment
> of Japanese torpedoes.
>
> "As the son of a survivor of the USS Lexington, I offer my
> congratulations to Paul Allen and the expedition crew of Research
> Vessel (R/V) Petrel for locating the "Lady Lex," sunk nearly 76 years
> ago at the Battle of Coral Sea," Navy Adm. Harry B. Harris of US
> Pacific Command said Monday in a statement.
>
> "We honor the valor and sacrifice of the 'Lady Lex's' sailors -- all
> those Americans who fought in World War II -- by continuing to secure
> the freedoms they won for all of us," he said.
>
Allen also found the wreck of the
USS Indianapolis and the Japanese
battleship Musashi (sister ship of the
Yamato)
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