The USS Lexington was scuttled after the Battle of the Coral Sea in May 1942 after it was struck by Japanese bombs and torpedoes. It remained on the bottom of the sea–its location unknown–until this month, when Allen’s company Vulcan found its wreckage two miles down in the Coral Sea, about 500 miles off the east coast of Australia, reports CNBC. Yet though the Lexington has now been found, it will remain in the water depths as it is considered a war grave by the United States military.
We've located the USS Lexington after she sank 76 yrs ago. #RVPetrel found the WWII aircraft carrier & planes more than 3000m (~2mi) below Coral Sea near Australia. We remember her brave crew who helped secure 1st strategic US win in the Pacific Theater https://t.co/20ehjafD7d pic.twitter.com/HIvxNUDbsX
— Paul Allen (@PaulGAllen) March 5, 2018
“Lady Lex” went down with 35 planes. So far, #RVPetrel has found 11 of them. Here’s a look at two Douglas TBD-1 Devastators, resting on top of each other, and a close up of a Grumman F4F-3 Wildcat. https://t.co/19CuqvopwB pic.twitter.com/FEWZYD0iEo
— Paul Allen (@PaulGAllen) March 6, 2018