In between coverage of the Shell Houston Open and the Valero Texas Open we made a visit to Corpus Christi located on the Gulf of Mexico shoreline.

And upon arriving into Corpus Christi it was difficult not to miss the sight of the USS Lexington anchored near the entrance to the port area of this Texas city.

USS Lexington (CV 16), nicknamed “The Blue Ghost”, was built during World World 11 and was originally intended to be named Cabot.  But when word arrived during construction that the USS Lexington (CV 2) had been lost in the Battle of the Coral Sea she was renamed while under construction to commemorate the earlier ship.

USS Lexington was commissioned in February 1943 and saw extensive service through the Pacific War.

For much of her service she acted as the flagship for Admiral Marc Mitscher, and led the Fast Carrier Task Force through their battles across the Pacific.

Following the war USS Lexington was decommissioned, but was modernized and reactivated in the early 1950s, being reclassified as an attack carrier (CVA). Later she was reclassified as an antisubmarine carrier (CVS). In her second career, she operated both in the Atlantic/Mediterranean and the Pacific, but spent most of her time, nearly 30 years, on the east coast as a training carrier (CVT).

USS Lexington was decommissioned in 1991 and was then donated for use as a museum ship in Corpus Christi.

In 2003, USS Lexington was designated a National Historic Landmark.  Though her surviving sisterships Yorktown, Intrepid and Hornet carry lower hull numbers, Lexington was laid down and commissioned earlier, making Lexington the oldest remaining aircraft carrier in the world.

So hereunder is a selection of photographs from our visit of the USS Lexington.

* Click on photographs to enlarge.