O
On May 4, 1942, a fl eet of air-
craft carriers and destroyers
from the Japanese navy set
out to seize Port Moresby on
New Guinea, and therefore
take control of the Coral
Sea. A fl eet of American
ships, including the aircraft
carrier the USS Lexington,
moved in to stop them, thus
sparking the four-day Battle
of the Coral Sea, regarded
as the fi rst air-sea battle in
military history. It was also
the fi rst time that opposing
ships engaged each other
without ever having their
targets within sight.
The USS Lexington, also
known as the “Blue Ghost,”
launched its planes into
combat during the battle,
helping the Allied forces
to successfully repel the
Japanese before taking di-
rect hits from two Japanese
torpedo bombers. Her crew,
despite taking heavy losses,
managed to contain the fi res
from those torpedoes as well
as additional fi re from oth-
er Japanese dive bombers.
On May 8, four days after
the battle began, an uncon-
trollable fi re overtook the
Lexington, forcing her com-
mander to abandon ship.
After many of the surviving
crew were rescued, the USS
Phelps, a destroyer, fi red
fi ve torpedoes into her side
to sink her. While the U.S.
Navy celebrated its strategic
victory over the Japanese,
which would set the stage
for winning the Pacifi c The-
ater in World War II, the
Lexington descended to her
watery grave nearly 2 miles
below the surface, never to
be seen again.PHOTOS: COURTESY U.S. NAVYBOATINGMAG.COM | JUNE 2018 | 93