WW2 aircraft carrier found after 76 years

Wreckage from the USS Lexington, a U.S. aircraft carrier that was sunk during World War Two, has been found off the coast of Australia

Height of Japanese expansion, 1942

Wreck discovered by search team led by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen at depth of around 3,000 meters in Coral Sea, some 800km off Australia’s north east coast

USS Lexington: Scuttled on May 8, 1942 after suffering massive damage by Japanese forces during Battle of Coral Sea – key moment in halting Japan’s advance in Pacific war.
216 crew members died in fighting

Japan
PACIFIC OCEAN
Hawaii (U.S.)
Pearl Harbor
Australia
2,000km 1,250 miles

SPECIFICATIONS (as built) Displacement 36,580 tonnes 
Length 270m
Beam 32.6m

Propulsion Four turbo-electric generators, 47,200hp
Top speed  33 knots (62km/h)
Range  19,000km at 10kn 
Crew 2,791 (including air group)

Wreck shows stunningly intact features, including 5-inch gun with rifling still visible inside barrel

Ship went down with 35 aircraft. So far 11 planes have been found, including Grumman F4F-3 Wildcats

Sources: www.paulallen.com, Encyclopaedia Britannica, www.navsource.org
Pictures: Douglas Curran/AFP/Getty Images, U.S. Navy © GRAPHIC NEWS