The wreckage of the US aircraft carrier USS Lexington, bombed by Japanese troops during World War II, was found off the coast of Australia this Sunday, 04, by a team led by Paul Allen, co-founder of Microsoft. The aircraft carrier, which was attacked in 1942, killed more than 200 crew members and was located 3,000 meters deep.
According to United States Navy sources, the USS Lexington carried 35 aircraft on board when it sank, and the team found 11 devices, including a Douglas TBD-1 Devastator, three Douglas SBD Dauntlesses and a Grumman F4F-3 Wildcat, at a depth of 3,000 meters and about 800 kilometers off the east coast of Australia.
Battle
The battle of the Coral Sea, which took place between 04 and 8 May 1942, was the first among aircraft carriers, through their respective planes. The Lexington, “affectionately” dubbed “Lady Lex,” was so damaged that the Americans decided to sink it at the end of the battle that cost the lives of more than 200 crew members.
Cited by Lusa, it is known that Admiral Harry Harris, who heads Pacific Command (PACOM) and whose father fought aboard the Lexington, welcomed the success of the exploration. “As the son of a survivor of the USS Lexington, greeting Paul Allen and the team of the Petrel research vessel for having located”. Lady Lex, “some 76 years after its sinking at the Battle of the Coral Sea sailors on the ship and all the Americans who fought during World War II to secure the liberties they have won for all of us. ”
It should be noted that the battle of the Coral Sea is considered by historians to be a strategic victory for the United States despite heavy human losses because it forced the Japanese empire to halt its expansion for the first time.