With the deluge of new photographs coming in from the RV Petrel, I think that it would be best to have a dedicated post for the aircraft that have been discovered. The photos and information will be arranged by type of aircraft.
The wreck analysis post is here: The Wreck of the USS Lexington, an Ongoing Analysis
The current count of definite separate aircraft with released photos is: 2x F4F-3, 8x TBD-1, 3x SBD-3/-4.
F4F-3 Wildcat
This is the aircraft of Lt. Noel Gayler, one of the pilots of VF-3 that was transferred to VF-2 on the Lexington (detailed below).
Gayler had claimed two kills and two partial/shared kills before the Battle of the Coral Sea, and had dropped 30 lb bombs on a Japanese airfield on New Guinea on March 10th, 1942. At the battle, he was credited with two more kills and a possible before landing back on Lexington. By then the ship was damaged such that aircraft were unable to take off again. He went over the side when the order to abandon ship was given at 1710.
For his actions, he was awarded the Navy Cross three times. The rest of his carrier was very successful, he commanded several ships, became the director of the NSA, rose to the rank of Admiral, and became the Commander in Chief of United States Pacific Command (CINCPAC) in August of 1972. Adm. Gayler retired from the Navy in 1976. He passed on July 14th, 2011 at the age of 96.
Aside from the damage to the tail and engine, the other damage of note to me is the wings. They look to have come loose from the fuselage and have a certain bend to them when they've come to rest on the bottom, giving them a sort of gull-wing profile. Also, where the guns were located is of note. The F4F-3 had four .50 caliber machine guns mounted in the wings, and these look to have deteriorated very badly as well.
This looks to be another Wildcat, or more correctly, whats left of one. It looks like part of the starboard wing, in the middle of the pile of rust is part of a propeller, and the rest looks like it might be engine parts. Of note is the bomb hardpoint on the underside of the wing.
Below is an image of what one of VF-3's Wildcats would have looked like in its day.
The Lexington's own fighter squadron would have been VF-2, but VF-2 took possession of some nineteen of FV-3's fighters and twelve of its pilots before the battle. They were given new tail numbers, but the logo of VF-3 wasn't painted over.
Back row, left to right: ENS Newton Mason, LT(JG) Howard Clark, ENS Edward Sellstrom, LT(JG) Willard Eder, LT(JG) Howard Johnson, LT(JG) John Lackey, ENS Leon Haynes, LT(JG) Onia Stanley Jr. ENS Dale Peterson, LT(JG) Marion Dufilho, LT(JG) Rolla Lemmon.
Front row, left to right: LT(JG) Robert Morgan, Lt. Albert Vorse Jr., LCDR Donald Lovelace, LCDR John Thatch, Lt. Noel Gayler, Lt. Edward O'Hare, ENS Richard Rowell.
Of these 18 men, four were killed at the Battle of the Coral Sea.
Ensign Newton H. Mason (Far left, back row)
LT(JG) Howard F. Clark (Second from left, back row)
Ensign Dale W. Peterson (Third from right, back row)
Ensign Richard M. Rowell (Far right, front row)
Other significant people in this photo are Medal of Honor recipient Lt. Edward 'Butch' O'Hare (Second from right, front row), the USN's first ace of the war. He was MIA in November 1943 and was declared dead the next year.
In the center of the front row is LCDR John 'Jimmy' Thatch, the creator of the Thatch Weave tactic. This tactic gave the Wildcat a way to even the odds against the more maneuverable Japanese A6M 'Zeke' fighters.
Only seven of these 18 men lived to see the end of the war.
TBD-1 Devastator
This is the most numerous type that has been discovered around the wreck, with many of Torpedo Squadron Two's [VT-2] aircraft being discovered.
T-1
BuNo 0345
T-3
This is possibly the aircraft that can be seen in the next photo that was blown over the side by the detonation of torpedo warheads on the hanger deck.
T-5
Of interest here is the location of the roundel in the top photo. Just in front of it, the faint outline of an older roundel can be seen. This can also be seen on T-11, and on T-12 the roundel wasn't painted over at all.
T-8
T-12
As mentioned above, T-12 here had not been repainted to move the number and roundel back further onto the tail.
During the attack on the Shoho on May 7th, this aircraft was flown by Chief Aviation Pilot M.H. Georgius, with Sea2c R.R. Ghilardi as the observer, and with Aviation Ordnanceman 3rd Class N.I. Auld Jr. as the gunner. The all-enlisted man crew hit the carrier with their torpedo, helping to send it to the bottom of the sea.
The next day, Chief Aviation Pilot B.C. Shearn claimed a torpedo hit on the Shokaku, but the Japanese ship had managed to evade the torpedoes. It was crippled by dive bombers from Yorktown and Lexington though, which forced it to return to Japan for repairs.
The numbering is incorrect in the below drawing, but it shows how well the paint has survived despite being so deep underwater for so long.
Except for T-3, the most common damage is the engine decaying into a pile of rust and the tail breaking off.
SBD-2 and SBD-3 Dauntless
This is a very badly damaged dive bomber. It looks as though most of the damage was due to fire, and the scorched paint on the tail can still be seen. The perforated dive flaps can be seen on both wings, as can the arrestor hook under the tail.
SBD-3 can be seen stenciled in the red stripe on the rudder.
I'm unsure who the crew of this aircraft were, but it was probably part of VB-2, which was Lexington's dive bomber group. If the numbers at the top of the fin and on the wing are '11', then this would be 2-B-11, BuNo 4531.
This is another SBD that has been gutted by fire. This is probably an older aircraft than the first Dauntless since the insignia on the wing is so much more worn. The wings would have been repainted at least twice by the time of the battle, and the roundel would have just been masked off while the rest was painted. This would probably be from VS-2, so this would be 2-B-11.
The dive bombers suffered greatly in the fires amidships. Based on the black number (possibly an 8) on the top of the fin, this is probably from VS-2 as well.
There's no real telling from this photo aside from it being a Dauntless. The starboard wing has been torn off, and the tail has been twisted around.
It's hard to tell exactly how many of the SBDs there are since the tail shown above could be from some other aircraft, or from the one that's inverted. They're just in such poor condition.
Sources:
http://www.uniform-reference.net/insignia/usn/usn_ww2_enlisted.html
http://usnhistory.navylive.dodlive.mil/2018/03/09/modern-treasure-uss-lexington-reveals-rare-f4f-wildcats/
http://www.navsource.org/archives/02/02a.htm
The wreck analysis post is here: The Wreck of the USS Lexington, an Ongoing Analysis
The current count of definite separate aircraft with released photos is: 2x F4F-3, 8x TBD-1, 3x SBD-3/-4.
F4F-3 Wildcat
This is the aircraft of Lt. Noel Gayler, one of the pilots of VF-3 that was transferred to VF-2 on the Lexington (detailed below).
Gayler had claimed two kills and two partial/shared kills before the Battle of the Coral Sea, and had dropped 30 lb bombs on a Japanese airfield on New Guinea on March 10th, 1942. At the battle, he was credited with two more kills and a possible before landing back on Lexington. By then the ship was damaged such that aircraft were unable to take off again. He went over the side when the order to abandon ship was given at 1710.
For his actions, he was awarded the Navy Cross three times. The rest of his carrier was very successful, he commanded several ships, became the director of the NSA, rose to the rank of Admiral, and became the Commander in Chief of United States Pacific Command (CINCPAC) in August of 1972. Adm. Gayler retired from the Navy in 1976. He passed on July 14th, 2011 at the age of 96.
Aside from the damage to the tail and engine, the other damage of note to me is the wings. They look to have come loose from the fuselage and have a certain bend to them when they've come to rest on the bottom, giving them a sort of gull-wing profile. Also, where the guns were located is of note. The F4F-3 had four .50 caliber machine guns mounted in the wings, and these look to have deteriorated very badly as well.
Below is an image of what one of VF-3's Wildcats would have looked like in its day.
The Lexington's own fighter squadron would have been VF-2, but VF-2 took possession of some nineteen of FV-3's fighters and twelve of its pilots before the battle. They were given new tail numbers, but the logo of VF-3 wasn't painted over.
Front row, left to right: LT(JG) Robert Morgan, Lt. Albert Vorse Jr., LCDR Donald Lovelace, LCDR John Thatch, Lt. Noel Gayler, Lt. Edward O'Hare, ENS Richard Rowell.
Of these 18 men, four were killed at the Battle of the Coral Sea.
Ensign Newton H. Mason (Far left, back row)
LT(JG) Howard F. Clark (Second from left, back row)
Ensign Dale W. Peterson (Third from right, back row)
Ensign Richard M. Rowell (Far right, front row)
Other significant people in this photo are Medal of Honor recipient Lt. Edward 'Butch' O'Hare (Second from right, front row), the USN's first ace of the war. He was MIA in November 1943 and was declared dead the next year.
In the center of the front row is LCDR John 'Jimmy' Thatch, the creator of the Thatch Weave tactic. This tactic gave the Wildcat a way to even the odds against the more maneuverable Japanese A6M 'Zeke' fighters.
Only seven of these 18 men lived to see the end of the war.
TBD-1 Devastator
This is the most numerous type that has been discovered around the wreck, with many of Torpedo Squadron Two's [VT-2] aircraft being discovered.
BuNo 0345
This is possibly the aircraft that can be seen in the next photo that was blown over the side by the detonation of torpedo warheads on the hanger deck.
T-4 (inverted) and T-9
Of interest here is the location of the roundel in the top photo. Just in front of it, the faint outline of an older roundel can be seen. This can also be seen on T-11, and on T-12 the roundel wasn't painted over at all.
T-11.
BuNo 0291
During the May 7th attack on the IJN aircraft carrier Shoho, this aircraft was crewed by Radio Electrician J.E. Mattis as the pilot, Aviation Radioman 3rd Class F.D. Kreeger as the observer, and L.E. Bartel as the rear gunner. Mattis also flew this aircraft to attack the Shokaku on the 8th of May.
As mentioned above, T-12 here had not been repainted to move the number and roundel back further onto the tail.
During the attack on the Shoho on May 7th, this aircraft was flown by Chief Aviation Pilot M.H. Georgius, with Sea2c R.R. Ghilardi as the observer, and with Aviation Ordnanceman 3rd Class N.I. Auld Jr. as the gunner. The all-enlisted man crew hit the carrier with their torpedo, helping to send it to the bottom of the sea.
The next day, Chief Aviation Pilot B.C. Shearn claimed a torpedo hit on the Shokaku, but the Japanese ship had managed to evade the torpedoes. It was crippled by dive bombers from Yorktown and Lexington though, which forced it to return to Japan for repairs.
The numbering is incorrect in the below drawing, but it shows how well the paint has survived despite being so deep underwater for so long.
SBD-2 and SBD-3 Dauntless
This is a very badly damaged dive bomber. It looks as though most of the damage was due to fire, and the scorched paint on the tail can still be seen. The perforated dive flaps can be seen on both wings, as can the arrestor hook under the tail.
SBD-3 can be seen stenciled in the red stripe on the rudder.
I'm unsure who the crew of this aircraft were, but it was probably part of VB-2, which was Lexington's dive bomber group. If the numbers at the top of the fin and on the wing are '11', then this would be 2-B-11, BuNo 4531.
It's hard to tell exactly how many of the SBDs there are since the tail shown above could be from some other aircraft, or from the one that's inverted. They're just in such poor condition.
Sources:
http://www.uniform-reference.net/insignia/usn/usn_ww2_enlisted.html
http://usnhistory.navylive.dodlive.mil/2018/03/09/modern-treasure-uss-lexington-reveals-rare-f4f-wildcats/
http://www.navsource.org/archives/02/02a.htm
I really do like this post. However, I do believe their is an error. SBD-3 4531 was in VS-2, not VB-2. Also, the SBD that only has the wings remaining is SBD 2116 from VB-2.
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