Have the Lexington, Wasp and Hornet wrecks ever been found?

[lmritger]

Thinking about the recovery of lost USN assets such as TBDs and Buffaloes got me to wondering if any of the other carriers we lost in the dark months of 1942 have been located. The wreck locations appear to be known, but has there ever been an expedition to find and photograph them, or maybe poke around on the nearby seabed to see if there are any stray aircraft nearby which might've come off of the ships as they went down?

For that matter, have there been any other expeditions out to Midway to renew the search for the Akagi et al?

Lynn

[Pat Carry]

Oher than the Yorktown, I have never heard of the others being found. It would be cool to at least find where they lay.

[John Dupre]

There was a Japanese expedition after the Ballard one and they claimed to have found a small piece of one of the Japanese carriers and photos seem to show that it was a portion of one of them. They did not find the entire wreck or wreck site. Don't know if they ever went back.

I think the Lexington is pretty deep don't know about the Wasp and Hornet though they were closer to the Solomons so maybe it isn't as deep there. Any one would be cool but I have a soft spot for the Lex since my father-in-law served aboard her for about two years just prior to Pearl Harbor. He served in some capacity on a dozen or so ships and the Lex was always his favorite.