USS Lexington has been found in her watery grave at the bottom of the Coral Sea after 76 years. For anybody wondering what some of her aircraft looked like during that battle, look no further… they are here to be seen as they looked that May morning… simply fantastic
https://www.paulallen.com/uss-lexington-wreck-located-rv-petrel/
castelnuovo posted this news story earlier; diorama ready photo here:
Well, seeing how i started typing it around the same time, I missed it in there.
Hope they get over to the Solomons and find Hornet and Wasp, and maybe the cruisers in Iron Bottom.
I’d like to see him take a crack at finding the four Japanese carriers lost at Midway. Ballard found the Yorktown, and some debris likely from Kaga. But none of their wrecks has yet been located.
Ballard explored Iron Bottom sound years ago and located several wrecks at that time.
Here is a link to a photo essay of Lady Lex including Coral Sea action shots, pre war, and the wreck as found
https://www.nationalreview.com/photos/uss-lexington-ww2-aircraft-carrier/#slide-1
I picked up Ballards book on the Guadalcanal wrecks at a flea market,it’s very impressive
Would be interesting to see what those 4 carriers look like, since I’ve never seen or heard anything on the Japanese scuttling them with a few fish.
Yes, until Shattered Sword was published, it was previously acknowledged that only Akagi and Hiryu were torpedoed to scuttle them.
I wish they would release some side scan sonar of the wreck. I could do a Lex wreck like I did the Musashi.
I’m also waiting and hoping to see what the ship is like and how much of it is intact. It really took a pounding internally. I was surprised how well the stern looks and the condition of the aircraft which were all staged aft. When the torpedo lockers and AV Gas tanks blew, it looked as if the whole area from midships to aft was destroyed.
Remained the “Lady” all the way, taking care of her charges.