USS Lexington, a 33,000-ton aircraft carrier, was converted while under construction from the battle cruiser of the same name. Built at Quincy, Massachusetts, and commissioned in December 1927, Lexington was one of the U.S. Navy's first two aircraft carriers that were large and fast enough to be capable of serious fleet operations. During the late 1920s, through the 1930s and into the early 1940s, she took an active part in the development of carrier techniques, fleet doctrine and in the operational training of a generation of Naval Aviators.

displacement: 41,000 tons
length: 888 feet
beam: 105½ feet
draft: 32 feet
speed: 34¼ knots
complement: 2,122 crew
armament: 8 eight-inch and 12 five-inch guns
aircraft: 81

My friend and shipmate, Jim Hazelwood was an enlisted man in the U.S. Navy during WWII. He was ship’s company on the USS Lexington when it came under attack attack by several Japanese torpedo bombers as described in the book, "Queen of the Flat-Tops." Jim’s battle station was atop the ship’s island about 60 feet above the flight deck. Around the upper rim of the island was a catwalk with a platforms for machine gun mounts. At 1121 hours the Lex was under attack by torpedo and dive bombers. All of the ship’s batteries were in action and the the blast of the second torpedo that struck Lex on her port side was almost inaudible because of the extreme noise of her weapons.

Jim was manning his 50 cal machine gun when a light bomb hit the Lex’s funnel. It exploded and kills and wounds several men on the catwalk. Moments later, the Zero dive bombers machine guns wounds and kills many more of the men around the catwalk. Jim told me about the sudden moaning eerie wail of the Lex’s steam siren. It seems that a jap bomb struck and kinked the metal tube in which the lanyard, operating the whistle from the bridge was housed. When the tube bent it pulled the lanyard tight causing the whistle to continue to hoot and moan until somebody turned off the steam to it.

The Japanese did not sink the Lex. They damaged her to a degree that secondary internal fires created an inferno that cooked off airplane fuel and some 20,000 pounds of torpedo war-head guncotton. The ship was abandoned because all resources to fight the fires and continue damage control were 100% out of commission. She became an internal infrerno.  One of our Destroyers sank her with two torpedoes.

Jim Hazelwood, also told me that he had to swim away from the Lex which was drifting towards some of the men in the water. She drifted away and floated down wind leaving a stream of swimmers and loaded rafts strung out for nearly 1,000 yards. It is speculated that shark attacks were not reported probably because of the the repeated heavy explosions that may have scared the sharks away and also perhaps of the abundance of fish that were killed great distances from the Lex.

Jim Hazelwood found himself , by the grace of God, alive and swimming among his shipmates whose thoughts were, "we are only a 400 mile swim from Australia." The survivors were rescued by the Carrier and Destroyers that were part of that Task Force and from Australia were shipped back to the States. Jim had met the "White Elephant!" in the Battle of the Coral Sea, 7-8 May 1942.

In early May 1942, Lexington returned to the South Pacific in time to join USS Yorktown (CV-5) in successfully countering the Japanese offensive in the Coral Sea. On 7 and 8 May 1942 her planes helped sink the small Japanese aircraft carrier Shoho and participated in attacks on the large carriers Shokaku and Zuikaku. In turn, however, she was the target of Japanese carrier planes and received two torpedo and three bomb hits. Though initial damage control efforts appeared to be successful, she was racked by gasoline explosions in the early afternoon of 8 May. When the fires raged out of control, Lexington was abandoned by her crew and scuttled, the first U.S. aircraft carrier to be lost in World War II.

Lexington's task force sortie from Pearl Harbor 15 April, rejoiningTF 17 on 1 May 1942. As Japanese fleet concentrations threatening the Coral Sea were observed, Lexington and Yorktown moved into the sea to search for the enemy's force covering a projected troop movement the Japanese must now he blocked in their southward expansion, or sea communication with Australia and New Zealand would be cut, and the dominions threatened with invasion.

On 7 May search planes reported contact with an enemy carrier task force, and Lexington's air group flew an eminently successful mission against it, sinking light carrier Shoho. Later that day, 12 bombers and 15 torpedo planes from still unlocated heavy carriers Shokaku and Zuikoku were intercepted by fighter groups from Lexington and Yorktown, who splashed nine enemy aircraft.

On the morning of the 8th, a Lexington plane located Shoksku group; a strike was immediately launched from the American carriers, and the Japanese ship heavily damaged.

The enemy penetrated to the American carriers at 1100 and 20 minutes later a torpedo to port struck Lexington. Seconds later, a second torpedo hit to port directly abreast the bridge. At the same time, she took three bomb hits from enemy dive-bombers, producing a 7° list to port and several raging fires. By 1300 her skilled damage control parties had brought the fires under control and returned the ship to even keel; making25 knots, she was ready to recover her air group. Then suddenly Lexington was shaken by a tremendous explosion, caused by the ignition of gasoline vapors below, and again fire raged out of control. At 1508 Capt. Frederick C. Sherman, fearing for the safety of men working below, secured salvage operations, and ordered all hands to the flight deck. At 1707, he ordered,"abandon ship!" and the orderly disembarkation began, men going over the side into the warm water, almost immediately to be picked up by nearby cruisers and destroyers. Admiral Fitch and his staff transferred to cruiser Minneapolis, Captain Sherman and his executive officer, CDR. M. T. Seligman insured all their men were safe, then were the last to leave their ship.

Lexington blazed on, flames shooting hundreds of feet into the air. A destroyer closed to 1500 yards and fired two torpedoes into her hull, with one last heavy explosion, the gallant Lexington sank at 1956, in 15°20'S. 1oo°30' E. She was part of the price that was paid to halt the Japanese oversee empire and safeguard Australia and New Zealand, but perhaps an equally great contribution had been her pioneer role in developing the naval aviatorsand the techniques which played so vital a role in ultimate victory in thePacific.

Lexington received two battle stars for World War II service.

 

 

Sam's photo taken in 1947.	click to enlarge.
Decommissioning Ceremony     USS Kittiwake (ASR-13)         29 Sep 94'    Norfolk  Nav.Base  Norfolk VA
Kittiwake's          Commanding            Officers LT L. H. COLLIER 1946 - 1948 LTT. C. HURST 1948- 1950 LT W. K. WILSON 1950 - 1952 LTP. P. ROGERS 1952- 1954 LT T. E. COLBURNE 1954 - 1954 LCDRW.D.BUCKEE 1954-1956 LCDRW.H.HIBBS 1956- 1958 LCDR W. M. SCOTT 1958 - 1960 LCDR P.O. POWELL 1960 - 1962 LCDR R. E. KUTZLEB 1962 - 1964 LCDR G. R. LANGFORD 1964 - 1966 LCDR H. H. SCRANTON 1966 - 1968 LCDR R. F. JAMES 1968 - 1970 LCDR W. J. MULLALY 1970 - 1971 LCDR S. MCNEASE 1971 - 1974 CDR F. K. DUFFY 1974 - 1977 CDR F. M. SCHERY 1977 - 1979 CDRP. F. FAWCETT 1979- 1981 CDRT.J.MARTIN 1981-1983 CDR R. J. NORRIS 1983 - 1985 CDRT.J.ERWIN 1985-1988 CDR J. S. TROTTER 1988 - 1991 CDRW.J.STEWART 1991-1993 CDR S. N. ZEHNER 1993 - 1994		USS KITTIWAKE      COMMISSIONED 18 JULY 1946                                                      THE COMMISSIONING PENNANT Upon the order "Break the commissioning pennant," a ship becomes the responsibility of the Commanding Officer, who, together with the ship's officers and men, have the duty of making her ready for any service required by our nation, whether in peace or at war. For centuries the commissioning pennant has been the symbol of a man-of-war. It is believed to date from the 17th century, when the Dutch were at war with the English. Dutch Admiral Harpertzoon Tromp hoisted a broom at his masthead to symbolize his intention to sweep the English from the sea. This gesture was answered by British Admiral William Blake, who hoisted a horsewhip indicating his intention to chastise the Dutch. The victorious British thus set the precedent for a long, narrow commissioning pennant to symbolize the original horsewhip as the distinctive symbol of a ship of war. The modem U.S. Navy commissioning pennant is blue at the hoist with a union of seven white starts, and a horizontal red and white stripe at the fly. DECOMMISSIONING CEREMONY 29 SEPTEMBER 1994 Navy tradition dictates that each ship constructed for the service be honored on four historic ceremonial occasion: Keel-laying, christening (or launching), commissioning, and decommissioning. The decommissioning ceremony is the time-honored ceremony which terminates the ship's active naval service. The ceremony today ends the active service of USS KITTIWAKE. It is a tribute to this workhorse warrior and the long line of rugged crew members, past and present, who served faithfully on her decks. Following 48 years of continuous, honorable, commissioned service, the order will be given to "Strike the commissioning pennant and secure the watch." For the final time, the commissioning pennant, ensign and union jack will be hauled down and the crew assembled on the pier. The fourth oldest U.S. Navy ship in continuous active service will have decommissioned.			click on photos to enlarge:
					There is a port of no return, where ships May ride at anchor for a little space And then, some starless night, the cable slips, Leaving an eddy at the morring place...Gulls, veer no longer. Sailor, rest your oar.  No tangled wreckage will be washed ashore.    by:   Leslie Nelson Jennings
DECOMMISSIONING CREW                                                                                                             OFFICERS CDR S. N. ZEHNER LCDR X. Z. HERRINGTON II LT A. A. SMITH III LT R. T. WINFIELD LTJG E. S. HUNTER CWO2 S. H. CLAYTON COMMANDING OFFICER EXECUTIVE OFFICER NAVIGATOR ENGINEER SUPPLY OFFICER FIRST LIEUTENANT                                                                           ENCMS (SWIMDV) EVANS COMMAND MASTER CHIEF CHIEF PETTY OFFICERS BMCS(SW/DV) RYDER DCC(SW) BURKE HTC(SWIDV) KELLY SKCS(SW) DELOSTRINOS EMC(SW) WILLIAMS HTC(SW/DV) BAXTER EMC(SWIDV) DRYDEN ENCS(SW) DATIG RMC(SW) LAMBERT BMC(DV) LAMBERTSEN HTC(SWIDV) MIKULSKI          CREW FR M.J. ALARCON EN2 S.L. ARNOLD BM1(SWIDV) G.D. BRANDON RM2 D.K. CASTO HT2(SW).J.H. CULBERTSON HT2(SW) ER. DURKIN YNl ED. FITZGERALD HM1(SW) J.L. HALL M53 D.L. JOHNSON ET3 T.T. LAWRENCE QM3(SW) T.G. MCMILLAN GMGl(SW) R.A. MURRAY BM2(SW) M.P. NELSON SKSN P.J. ORELLANA SN C.M. PETERSEN EN1(SW) D.B. RINEHART EN3 T.C. SCHNEIDER ICFN I.E SOMOSKY SN D.W. SPRINGER RM1(SW) B.J. THOMPSON EN1(SW) D.N. WALKER DC2 A.A. WILLIS SN R.L. WYNN               BM3(SW/SS/DV) J.J. ANDERSON EN2(DV) S.P. BAIN DC l(SW) J.D. BUSSARD EN3 W. CLEMONS GMG3 R.L. DONN EN2(DV) G.D. ELLEDGE MM1(DV/SS) K.J. GEST EN3(SW) J.W. HARTKE 5H2 L.M. JOHNSON EM3 J.L. LUCE EN E MESSINA HM2(SWIDV) D.D. MURRAY EM2 W.S. NOAKES 0S3 D.W. PARKER EN2 B.D. PIERCE SN T.L. ROSS BM1(SW) I.L. SMITH YN3 M.D. SPERLING SN R.M. STOKES MS1 D.E. THOMPSON RM3 B.J. WARFORD PN1 I. WOODS BM2(SWIDV) J.S. ANNON EM 1(SW) A.L. BOND BM3 A.E. CAINES ET2 R.D. CROSBY SN G.M. DRAPER RM3 R.A. EMANUELSON EM3(SW) D.E. GROVER IC 1(SW) A.A. JOHNSON EN3 M.T. KELLER EMl(SW) T.M. MCCULLOUGH MR2(SW) T.G. MINGS EM3 J.L. NAVARRET~E ET3 B.T. NUNLEY M53 M.W. PARKER SN I. RAUF 1C2(SW) F.E. SCHAEFER BM2 E.W. SMITH SN B.J. SPRING 0S3 R.B. STUBER MSSN D.R. TUCKER SN E.L. WATERS M52 C. WRIGHT
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