Planes of the USS Lexington CV16 @ Corpus Christi

[Pogmusic]

I love those "A" model Phantoms!!!!

[Sasquatch]

Outstanding photo Derek...very cool to trace the history of the bird!

--Tom

[RickH]

They don't give the F4H-1 any special due. Apparently they paint the aircraft with no regard for prior history, nor do they follow the paint schemes as laid out by NAVAIR.

Last edited by RickH on Thu Jul 22, 2010 6:56 pm, edited 1 time in total.

[SIDSIKO]

145315 wa accepted on charge 2nd of October 1959 and spent it's entire life with the RDT&E at Pax River, then retired to NAS Memphis as a ground training aid on the 12th of March 1965.

[WarbirdRadio]

My dad's been a volunteer on the Lex for years... The last time we went down I took a role of pics and interviewed the Executive Director. If you're interested the story (with pics) is linked below. The podcast is posted in the archives.

http://www.warbirdradio.com/2009/11/war ... #more-1102

v/r
Matt Jolley

[deskpro590]

Just visited her last weekend. (First time to visit) Noticed the GH-3 was no where to be seen. They are coming along with the T-2 though. Here are the pics from my visit on August 14. http://www.flickr.com/photos/yellowjacket3048/sets/72157624776348138/show/

[RareBear]

The elevators on the Yorktown are not operational. The starboard one is clear above, and the hangar bay door can be opened, so some planes could be lifted off the flight deck and put into the hangar deck. Not many, though, without majorly rearranging things on the hangar deck.

Matt, you need to take the short trip to Charleston and do an interview on the Yorktown. We could use the publicity.

Walt
(Yorktown volunteer)

[Garth]

I was wondering the same thing about the USS Yorktown since she is subject to hurricanes on the eastcoast.

I don't believe that Yorktown has a functioning elevator. Having been aboard her recently as this past July, and aboard six or seven times since 1993, I've seen no evidence of such - although plenty of evidence to the contrary:

Forward centerline elevator pit is now the movie theater

Port side mid-ships deck edge is "plated over". Not sure if that's the right word, but that part of her deck has the newer rubberized coating and between the recollections and pictures I have it looks like it covers completely the area where the elevator joins the flightdeck proper

Starboard size aft port-quarter elevator is in the lowered position and set up as the entry point to the ship, and looks like it has the stairways welded to it, as well as looking like it's been extended (and covered with teak decking).

Interesting thing about the Yorktown is that when there's a hurricane she's where they put the local and State police helicopters. From the video that they used to show on board, they land the helos on the lowered starboard elevator and then wheel them into the hangar bay. She's also 5 degrees down by the bow due to the bottom shifting when Floyd or Hugo tore through back in the 90s.

[deskpro590]

Wow. Just view a video on youtube showing the Yorktown and her aircraft. Yorktown seems to be a better museum and her aircraft in better shape than Lexington's. Why is that? $$?

[p51]

Nie photos, I was wondering what condition she was in. The only time I ever saw her, she was in port at Pensacola when I was a kid and still being used as a training ship. Our USN guide had a borken hand if memory serves and I think he wasn't exactly sober. I do recall them letting the group get as close to the end of the catapult as we wanted, way too close for my taste!
I too wonder about the birds out on the deck when the next storm comes raging through...