Gray Lady

(Screen capture from YouTube video below)

It was pretty exciting to learn that R/V Petrel had discovered the wreckage of USS Lexington (CV 2) in the Coral Sea where she was lost on the 8th of May, 1942.

A colleague at work shared some of the photos from R/V Petrel's UAV with me, then I read c w's write up over at his place. Seeing that opening photo sent a shiver or two down my spine. The squadron insignia of that Wildcat sitting on the sea floor, VF 3 or Fighting Three, was a fighter squadron assigned to USS Lexington. That squadron insignia is still in use, by VFA-31, the Tomcatters (callsign Felix) stationed at NAS Oceana.



(Source)

A brief look at the squadron's early history -

VFA-31, was originally established as VF-1B on July 1, 1935 flying the F4B, making it the second oldest active US Navy squadron behind VFA-14 which was originally established in 1919.

On 1 July 1937, the squadron combined with VF-8B and was redesignated VF-6, flying the F3F. Between the years 1937 and 1943 VF-6 flew the F3F-1 and two variants of the F4F Wildcat and ended with the F4F-4.

On 15 July 1943, VF-6 swapped designations with VF-3 and began flying the F6F Hellcat. 

Through the years the squadron and their predecessors have served on many of the Navy's aircraft carriers, including the first, the USS Langley; the second, USS Lexington; and the sixth, USS Enterprise. They were aboard Enterprise during the Attack on Pearl Harbor as well as the battles of Wake Island, Marcus Island, Midway, Guadalcanal, and the Eastern Solomon Islands. The squadron also saw aerial combat over the Philippines, Formosa, Okinawa, and China.

On 7 August 1948, VF-3A was redesignated VF-31. For almost four years, the squadron flew the F9F Panther, the squadron's first jet aircraft. (Source)

Stars & Stripes has a write-up of the discovery of USS Lexington's final resting place which includes this video -

(Note that the write-up's headline is wrong. HMS Ark Royal was the first aircraft carrier sunk in WWII. USS Lexington was the first American carrier sunk in WWII. As Buck would say, "ever the pedant.")

It's amazing the equipment available in these modern times to explore the depths of the oceans. I know I complain a lot about Microsoft products, but if Paul Allen wants to spend some of his money to do these sort of projects, heck I'll buy the next Windows release to support that. (Installing it though is another thing entirely, I make no promises.)

There were a couple of things about USS Lexington that I didn't know. While I knew that she was originally designed as a battlecruiser and then converted to be an aircraft carrier, I didn't know that she was built up in Quincy, Massachusetts. (It's pronounced "kwinzee" by the way. No, not "Massachusetts" you smart alecks, "Quincy" is pronounced that way.)

While I knew that USS Lexington was seriously damaged by Japanese air attacks at the Battle of the Coral Sea and had to be "put down" by a U.S. destroyer, I did not know that that event took place 11 years (to the day) before I was born. Three years before the Nazis surrendered in Europe.

I always liked the distinctive look of USS Lexington and her sister USS Saratoga (CV 3).

(Source)

She was the fifth, though not the last of her name -

• USS Lexington (1776), brigantine acquired in 1776 and captured in 1777
• USS Lexington (1825), sloop-of-war in commission from 1826–1830 and 1831–1855
• USS Lexington (1861), gunboat in commission from 1861–1865
• USS Lexington II (SP-705), later USS SP-705, a patrol vessel in commission from 1917–1918
• USS Lexington (CV-2), Lexington-class aircraft carrier commissioned in 1927 and sunk in 1942
• USS Lexington (CV-16), Essex-class aircraft carrier in commission from 1943–1991, now a museum in Corpus Christi, Texas

Unfortunately due to our (terrible custom) of naming aircraft carriers for politicians, CV-16 will probably be the last to carry the name of the first battle of the Revolution, where British regulars faced off against colonial militiamen on the 19th of April, 1775. (Also not too far from Chez Sarge.)

USS Lexington's sister ship, USS Saratoga, was also named for a Revolutionary War battle. She was also the fifth (and again not the last) of her name.

• USS Saratoga (1780), 18-gun sloop-of-war launched in 1780; lost at sea the following year
• USS Saratoga (1814), 26-gun corvette built on Lake Champlain for service in the War of 1812
• USS Saratoga (1842), 22-gun sloop-of-war; commissioned 1843; served until 1888
• USS Saratoga (ACR-2), later name for the armored cruiser USS New York (ACR-2)
• USS Saratoga (CV-3), Lexington-class aircraft carrier commissioned in 1927; active in World War II; was sunk by atomic bomb test in 1946
• USS Saratoga (CV-60), a Forrestal-class aircraft carrier; commissioned 1956; decommissioned 1994

CV-60 used to be tied up to a pier here in Little Rhody, not far from where I work. I still remember cresting the ridge on the road leading past the Naval Undersea Warfare Center and seeing USS Iowa (BB 61), USS Saratoga (CV 60), and USS Forrestal (CV 59) lined up along the waterfront.

First time I'd ever seen an aircraft carrier up close and personal. Those two Forrestal-class carriers dwarfed that battleship. Of course, the Nimitz-class carriers make the old Forrestal-class ships look small.

History excites me.

Can you tell?

VFA-31's newest look.