Lexington: A Photo Gallery

Ehan Umatiya, Reporter|September 17, 2018

The Uss Lexington was the 5th ship with the namesake of Lexington and a is a World War II-vintage Essex Class aircraft carrier. The ship served all around the globe. These are some photos of me and my friends on the Lexington in Corpus Christi.

This plane cockpit was pulled from a plane that was stripped for parts. This is the standard for a one-man fighter plane and was a design mimicked throughout WW2.
A common WW2 staple were these destroyers which packed a lot of punch and patrolled the seas looking for enemy ships to sink. these were a staple of WW2 patrol fleets.
This is a different angle on the destroyer this shows a better view the twin guns that could blow a hole in lightly armored ships these were often assigned to aircraft carriers to fight in skirmishes
This is a retired steam engine that was taken off of a normal WW2 plane. These engines were seen towards mid war and took off after that as they were faster and more efficient than a propeller engine.
This engine would have been seen in the early war on planes that ran on propeller engines. These engines were inefficient and had a tendency to overheat. The only reason these engines were used was because they could be cheaply and quickly be produced
This ship is a replica of the USS Utah. The Utah was a Florida class dreadnought ship with powerful cannons and battery strong enough to intimidate even the strongest of ships. She was sunk at Pearl Harbor after being hit by 2 torpedoes which caused major flooding during the sinking 64 men were killed
Boasting 4 pairs of 5 in. cannons the Lexington was a force to be reckoned with any plane could be taken down with the guns that could shoot up to 10 miles and a fire rate of 15 rounds per minute. The shells were also what you call close proximity shells that would detonate once within 70 ft of the target
The F-14 Tomcat has been a premiere fighter plane since it’s introduction in the 1970’s it was a predecessor to some of our most dominant planes today. With it’s rotating wings it could change the angle of its wings for complex maneuvers and was also compact enough to store on an aircraft carrier.
The F9F-8T Cougar was a jet-powered airplane. Over 700 of these planes were built and at one point was the bulk of the Navy’s power. These were also the first swept wing planes used by the navy’s blue angels.
The F2H-2 Banshee was a second version of the FH Phantom and was also carrier suitable. The plane was larger, heavier and more powerful than the Phantom and had 4 20mm cannons so it was a serious force in the sky. This plane had a major role in the Korean war as a prominent frontline fighter.
The AH-1S Cobra is a tank killing weapons carrier for the U.S. Army. The original design was conceived in 1965 and was widely used in Vietnam. These helicopters are widely used even today throughout the U.S. military
The hornet’s value was first seen during operation desert storm when 2 F/A 18c’s took out 2 MIG’s en route to Iraqi targets during the battle the F/A 18 Hornet’s were carrying 4 Mk. 84 2000 lb pound bombs and 2 AIM-9 and 2 AIM-7 sidewinders and sparrows each
The A7-B Corsair was Modeled after the F-8 Supersonic and was a replacement for the Douglas A-4 Skyhawk these planes were deployed onboard the USS Ranger in Vietnam.
The A6-E Intruder was a support plane and a bomber. The Intruder was a formidable opponent in any scenario with its advanced electronics and quick payload delivery. The plane continues to serve with engine and weapon upgrades.
The Buckeye was developed as a low-cost trainer aircraft. This aircraft was used for initial flight, carrier qualifications, gunnery, and bombing

 

 

This plane is the TA-4 Skyhawk the sky hawk was a 2 seater fighter jet this plane had 3 different versions. The first version was the EA-4F this model was flown as a training plane it was flown by the electronic countermeasures squadron to electronically simulate missiles for training purposes. Another model of the plane was the TA-4F which was fully combat capable and was used on the frontlines. Then there was the TA-4J which was used solely for training purposes to train amateur pilots.
This is 1 of the Lexington’s steam turbines these could easily power a city of 10,000. These turbines were solely responsible for powering the entire ship which required an enormous amount of power.
This is a picture of sitting in one of the Lexington 2 person cannons. These cannons were 5-inch barrel machine guns and could easily knock an aircraft out of the sky.