The famous aircraft carrier, USS Lexington, now a floating museum, is a popular attraction in Corpus Christi, TX. Visitors learn about the way the staff lived there, about the victories of the ship, and about its resistance against any attack.
USS Lexington used to be a nightmare for the Japanese during the Second World War. Nowadays, it is a great tourism attraction in Corpus Christi, Texas.
Tourists can get on board the ship during the summer season. There are different types of aircraft to see on board USS Lexington also known as Lex or Lady Lex. There are phantoms, skyhawks, Tomcats, Cougar, Corsairs and others.
Visitors can spend hours going through the ship looking at everything that is to see there. There is for example a flight simulator giving the tourists the possibility to try how it feels to be a fighter pilot. If you are more interested in the life of the people who served on the ship you can visit its hospital, barber shop, chapel, kitchen or e.g. the engine room.
All seems rather small when you realize that it has been a home for 1550 souls. Sitting in the captain’s chair is also a great experience.
USS Lexington is almost 280 meters long and she is as tall as a 19-storey house. Her main deck is bigger than three football pitches. She was launched in September 1942 and started its service on 17th February 1943.
For the Japanese, it was an indestructible nightmare. As server Idnes.cz reports, they used to call the ship Blue Ghost because of her unusual blue color. The ship survived even the worse attack by a kamikaze pilot in 1944 when 47 people died.
She served for almost 50 years, longer than any other US warship. During that time it traveled some 335,000 kilometers. And some 300,000 airplanes were launched from this aircraft carrier. It was also the first one where women started to serve in 1980.
Its service ended in 1980s when it was replaced by a newer ship, USS Forrestal. Among all the places that wanted the ship, Corpus Christi has proved to be the best. The ship has been transported there in 1992 and has been a great tourism attraction ever since.