From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Five ships of the United States Navy have borne the name Lexington, after Lexington, Massachusetts, where the colonial militia first fought back against the British in "the shot heard 'round the world".
- The first Lexington was a 14-gun brigantine originally named Wild Duck purchased in 1776 and used by the Continental Navy until her capture in 1777.
- The second Lexington was a 24-gun sloop commissioned in 1826 and sold in 1860.
- The third Lexington was a sidewheel steamer converted to a gunboat and used in the American Civil War.
- The fourth Lexington (CV-2) was an aircraft carrier first commissioned in 1927, and lost in the 1942 Battle of the Coral Sea.
- The fifth Lexington (CV-16) was commissioned in 1943, fought in the rest of the Pacific War, and is now a museum ship.
