Wreckage of USS Lexington Located in Coral Sea

[DavidB-AU]

Wow. Just wow.

 

[Ozexpatriate]

Interestingly the red dot insignia was still on US Navy aircraft, (which I didn't realize) officially until May 6 1942 - as evident in what looks like it might be a Vought Vindicator, Douglas Dauntless or Devastator in the video resulting from the May 8 sinking of CV-2.
 
The red dot was officially removed on May 6 to avoid confusion with the Japanese Hinomaru roundel.

Edited March 6, 2018 by Ozexpatriate

[DavidB-AU]

Looks like a Douglas Devastator.

 

Cheers

David

[lapford34102]

 

Looks like a Douglas Devastator

Yep, that's a Devastator.  Lots more photo's here including a Wildcat

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/r9l1yy0je3wj3dp/AAA7hWRgc9JCygpmmPbVWQoFa/Photos?dl=0

Assume it has War Grave status.

 

Stu

Edited March 6, 2018 by lapford34102

[Legend]

Incredible that the Devastator is so well preserved. In our excitement over looking at the wreck we need to remember that people died on this boat. I’m not so up on my Pacific War history. How did she sink? Was it in the Battle of the Coral Sea?

[jwealleans]

Scuttled after severe damage at the Coral Sea. I'm looking forward to seeing more of this. There can't be many capital ships from WW 2 which haven't been located now - Yamato and the four carriers from Midway?

[DOCJACOB]

Yamato has already been located after expeditions in around 1982.

[sem34090]

From a railway enthusiast's perspective it might be interesting to get some divers down into the Bristol Channel... and also to those ships where (I believe) some Dean Goods' and LSWR Ilfracombe Goods' ended up sunken during the Great War. The latter, although it would be disrespectful to disturb the wreck, would be extremely interesting due to the lack of a preserved example.

 

I seem to remember they have 3D scanned a few wrecks, so perhaps that is the way forward - allowing us to explore the wrecks without having to actually go in their, to a war grave, and possibly disturb that grave.

 

Of course, if they were to 3D scan a ship containing an Ilfracombe Goods then perhaps we could see an RTR model of one? Unlikely, I know.

[Georgeconna]

That Devastator would be worth a few bob. Rare as hens teeth,

 

I Wonder will it be recovered.

[lapford34102]

 

That Devastator would be worth a few bob. Rare as hens teeth,

 

I Wonder will it be recovered.

 

From 2 miles down,where's Howard Hughes when you need him ?

 

Stu

[Georgeconna]

I am sure the US Navy will come up with a Plan!! Stranger things have happened not too mind the providence behind the Wreck. The Egyptians could do a nice restoration job on it. for a few quid

[royaloak]

That Devastator would be worth a few bob. Rare as hens teeth,

 

I Wonder will it be recovered.

I would expect it to be classed as a war grave so unlikely to be any recovery from it.

 

If the plane is away from the ship then permission might be given but there would have to be many conversations and lots of paperwork filled in. 

[sem34090]

So if one of the LSWR locos (The 0395's... not the KESR-type Ilfracombes) to which I have now lost the reference was to be found separate to the ship is sank on there's a chance of recovery?

 

Mind you... it would've been at least 100 years.

 

I know there's a few bits of 8F under the sea, but I'm trying to remember where I saw reference to 0395's and Dean Good's being lost.

[Dunsignalling]

I would expect it to be classed as a war grave so unlikely to be any recovery from it.

 

If the plane is away from the ship then permission might be given but there would have to be many conversations and lots of paperwork filled in. 

Would that be likely if the vessel was scuttled? Unless it was done in a hurry with casualties not recovered beforehand, of course.

 

Heck of a job getting anything up from that far down, though.

 

John

[royaloak]

Would that be likely if the vessel was scuttled? Unless it was done in a hurry with casualties not recovered beforehand, of course.

 

Heck of a job getting anything up from that far down, though.

 

John

With people mentioning War Graves and loss of life I assumed the ship had been sunk during a battle, if it was sunk without loss of life then things might be a bit different, now where did I put that 2 mile long chain and grapple hook?

 

Edit-

Loss of 216 souls during the battle, it reads as if it would have been a horrific situation with the explosions going off etc.

Edited March 6, 2018 by royaloak

[jjb1970]

However much that Devastator is worth, I doubt it'd come anywhere near what it'd cost to recover from that depth if you wanted to avoid destroying the thing while bringing it up. Personally I think the ship and all that went down with it should be allowed to rest in peace.

[steve1]

Let's hope it gets War Grave status if appropriate, and that it is not robbed by the scrap vultures as happened to too may other similar wrecks.

 

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/feb/28/bones-mass-grave-british-war-wrecks-java-indonesia

 

steve

[PhilJ W]

Would that be likely if the vessel was scuttled? Unless it was done in a hurry with casualties not recovered beforehand, of course.

 

Heck of a job getting anything up from that far down, though.

 

John

IIRC the casualties were removed before the vessel was scuttled.

[Bon Accord]

Let's hope it gets War Grave status if appropriate, and that it is not robbed by the scrap vultures as happened to too may other similar wrecks.

 

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/feb/28/bones-mass-grave-british-war-wrecks-java-indonesia

 

steve

 

Unfortunately war grave status (or whatever the US version of it is) has no meaningful legal protection to go with it if the wreck is in international waters or the territorial waters of a foreign state. However, the saving grace here and with the other US vessels lost at Midway/Coral Sea etc is the depth of water - being a couple of miles down will keep them safe from the scrap metal thieves, for now at least.

[Big James]

Indianapolis and the Lexington both located within months. After what’s been happening to HMS prince of Wales and HMS repulse as well as many other battle of the Pacific era wrecks I’m glad that both are to deep to reach with conventional diving equipment.

 

Big james

[DavidB-AU]

Let's hope it gets War Grave status if appropriate, and that it is not robbed by the scrap vultures as happened to too may other similar wrecks.

It's 10,000 feet down and unlike HMS Edinburgh it's not carrying any gold.

 

Cheers

David

[Annie]

Interestingly the red dot insignia was still on US Navy aircraft, (which I didn't realize) officially until May 6 1942 - as evident in what looks like it might be a Vought Vindicator, Douglas Dauntless or Devastator in the video resulting from the May 8 sinking of CV-2.

 

The red dot was officially removed on May 6 to avoid confusion with the Japanese Hinomaru roundel.

My Dad was in the in the RNZAF during the Pacific War and he said that the Americans would shoot at anything that moved whether friend or foe so I'm not surprised they had to take the red dot insignia off their aircraft.  Not big on target identification were the Americans  

[RANGERS]

My Dad was in the in the RNZAF during the Pacific War and he said that the Americans would shoot at anything that moved whether friend or foe so I'm not surprised they had to take the red dot insignia off their aircraft.  Not big on target identification were the Americans  

My dad was in the Artillery during the move on Italy, he told a similar tale. When the Germans fired, the Brits ducked; when the Brits fired, the Germans ducked; if the Italians fired, nobody ducked but when the yanks fired, everybody ducked!

[t8hants]

My dad was in the Artillery during the move on Italy, he told a similar tale. When the Germans fired, the Brits ducked; when the Brits fired, the Germans ducked; if the Italians fired, nobody ducked but when the yanks fired, everybody ducked!

My German mates Uncle told me almost the same thing, he was captured and became a POW at Leamington Spa.  Forty years later he was still carrying the photo of the English girl he met and fell in love with, but his mother wouldn't let him marry.

[jjb1970]

It's also worth pointing out that we wouldn't have been able to defeat Germany without US support (and the USSR). As well as US industrial capacity the US shouldered a proportionately greater burden of fighting and dying from D Day on. And the war against Japan was primarily a war between the US, China and Japan with British and Commonwealth support in SE Asia.

Edited March 8, 2018 by jjb1970