Deep water discovery of a lost American aircraft carrier that sunk in 1942

Screenshot: YouTube

The wreckage of the USS Lexington, an aircraft carrier that was lost during a battle with Japanese forces during the Second World War has been found at the bottom of the Coral Sea, off the eastern Australian coast. 

The shipwreck was recently discovered by the R/V Petrel, a research vessel financed by Paul Allen, co-founder of Microsoft. It was lying 3,000 meters deep and was situated 900 kilometers off the eastern coast of Australia. The ship had taken part in the Battle of the Coral Sea in May 1942 along with the USS Yorktown, against three Japanese aircraft carriers. The Lexington, struck by multiple torpedoes and bombs on the 8th May, was then sabotaged and sunk, never again to be found. At least until now. Over 200 crew members perished in the wreckage.

The team of researchers recently published photos and videos showing the wreck of the USS Lexington, accompanied by the plane wrecks which were particularly well preserved.

The teams found a design of Felix the Cat on one of the planes, beside which we can still distinguish four Japanese flags. This is explained by the custom at the time of marking the number of enemy vehicles had been beaten by a vessel. In total, 35 of them were on board the USS Lexington, and Paul Allen’s team confirm having seen eleven.

The Battle of the Coral Sea -the first aeronaval battle in history -is considered a strategic victory for the Americans and the Australians, despite heavy losses. For the first time, the coalition had prevented the Japanese empire from expanding. The United States had a decisive victory a month later during the Battle of Midway.

Credits: R/V Petrel

Remember that the expeditions led by Paul Allen and his teams have also succeeded in the discovery of the USS Indianapolis, the USS Ward, the USS Astoria, Japanese battleship Musashi and the Italian World War II destroyer Artigliere.