Dragon Model Ships 1/700 USS Lexington CV16 Aircraft Carrier Kit

The fifth United States Naval ship named "Lexington" (CV-16), also known as "The Blue Ghost", was laid down as Cabot on July 15, 1941 by Bethlehem Steel Co., Quincy, Mass., renamed Lexington June 16, 1942, launched September 23, 1942.After Caribbean shakedown and yard work at Boston, Lexington sailed for Pacific action via the Panama Canal, arriving Pearl Harbor August 9, 1943. She raided Tarawa in late September and Wake in October, then returned to Pearl Harbor to prepare for the Gilbert Islands operation. From 19 to 24 November she made searches and flew sorties in the Marshalls, covering the landings in the Gilberts. Her aviators downed 29 enemy aircraft on 23 and 24 November.After the war, the Lexington was decommissioned at Bremerton, Wash., April 23, 1947 and entered the Reserve Fleet there. Designated attack carrier CVA-16 on October 1, 1952, she began conversion and modernization in Puget Sound Naval Shipyard on September 1, 1953, receiving the new angled flight deck.Into 1969