LEXINGTON AVT 16

Ship Name and Designation History

This section lists the names and designations that the ship had during its lifetime. The list is in chronological order.

Essex Class Aircraft Carrier Keel Laid July 15 1941 as CABOT Named changed June 16 1942 Launched September 26 1942 USS LEXINGTON CV-16 Commissioned February 17 1943 - Decommissioned April 23 1947 Reclassified Attack Aircraft Carrier (CVA) October 1 1952 While in reserve USS LEXINGTON CVA-16 Recommissioned August 15 1955 USS LEXINGTON CVS-16 Reclassified Anti-Submarine Support Aircraft Carrier (CVS) October 1 1962 USS LEXINGTON CVT-16 Reclassified Training Carrier (CVT) January 1 1969 USS LEXINGTON AVT-16 Reclassified Auxiliary Aircraft Landing Training Ship (AVT) July 1 1978 Decommissioned November 26 1991 Struck from Naval Register November 30 1991 Transferred January 23 1992 to the city of Corpus Christi, TX as a memorial

Naval Covers

This section lists active links to the pages displaying covers associated with the ship. There should be a separate set of pages for each incarnation of the ship (ie, for each entry in the "Ship Name and Designation History" section). Covers should be presented in chronological order (or as best as can be determined).

Since a ship may have many covers, they may be split among many pages so it doesn't take forever for the pages to load. Each page link should be accompanied by a date range for covers on that page.

1. Lexington Covers Page 1    (1944-91)

 

Postmarks

This section lists examples of the postmarks used by the ship. There should be a separate set of postmarks for each incarnation of the ship (ie, for each entry in the "Ship Name and Designation History" section). Within each set, the postmarks should be listed in order of their classification type. If more than one postmark has the same classification, then they should be further sorted by date of earliest known usage.

A postmark should not be included unless accompanied by a close-up image and/or an image of a cover showing that postmark. Date ranges MUST be based ONLY ON COVERS IN THE MUSEUM and are expected to change as more covers are added.
 
>>> If you have a better example for any of the postmarks, please feel free to replace the existing example.

 

Postmark Type --- Killer Bar Text	Date From to Date To	Thumbnail Link To Postmark Image	Thumbnail Link To Cover Image

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1st Commissioning February 17 1943 to April 23 1947

 

Locy Type 2(n)

1946-02-10

As CV-16
Cachet by Walter G. Crosby

 

Locy Type 2# (Br. #16094)

1945-12-25

As CV-16

 

Locy Type 2z

1945-09-28

As CV-16

 

Locy Type 7z*

1944-04-12

As CV-16

 

Locy Type 9efsu

1945-05-23 to 1945-05-28

As CV-16
Mark from back of cover

 

Locy Type F USCS Postmark Catalog Illus. L-33

1945-09-06

As CV-16

 

Locy Type F USCS Postmark Catalog Illus. L-33c

1945-09-06

As CV-16

 

Locy Type F USCS Postmark Catalog Illus. L-33i

1945-09-06

As CV-16

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2nd Commissioning August 15 1955 to November 26 1991

 

Locy Type 2

1956-08-04

As CVA-16

 

Locy Type 2(n) (CVA)

1961-05-14

As CVA-16

 

Locy Type 2(n) (CVS,USS)

1956-08-04

As CVS-16

 

Locy Type 2t(n+u) (CVT,USS)

1970-07-20

As CVT-16

 

Locy Type 2-1(n+) USCS Postmark Catalog Illus. L-33d

1978-11-21

As AVT-16
First Day of Use - New Cachet. Cover by the Stephen Decatur Chapter No. 4, USCS

 

Locy Type 2-1(n+) USCS Postmark Catalog Illus. L-33d

1978-11-25

As AVT-16
Cachet by the Stephen Decatur Chapter No. 4, USCS

 

Locy Type 2-1(n+) USCS Postmark Catalog Illus. L-33e

1983-12-20

As AVT-16
Cachet by Duane Rosendale

 

Locy Type 2-1(n+) (A,D1,USS)

1991-04-15

As AVT-16

 

Locy Type 7dit(n+u) (POW/MIA)

1972-06-12

As CVT-16

 

Locy Type 7n (C+,CVA)

1961-01-19

As CVA-16

 

Locy Type 7qt(n+u) (CVA,USS)

1963-02-12

As CVA-16

 

Locy Type 7qt(n+u) (CVS,USS)

1968-10-25

As CVS-16

 

Locy Type 7qt(n+u) (CVT,USS)

1973-02-17

As CVT-16

 

Locy Type 9efu

1956-08-04

As CVA-16

 

Locy Type 9-1(n+u) USCS Postmark Catalog Illus. L-33f

1978-11-21

As AVT-16
First Day of Use - New Cachet. Cover by the Stephen Decatur Chapter No. 4, USCS

 

Locy Type 9-1(n+u) USCS Postmark Catalog Illus. L-33g

1984-11-15

As AVT-16

 

Locy Type LDC 2-1(n+) (Unlisted)

1991-11-26

As AVT-16
Last Day in Commission

 

Other Information

LEXINGTON earned 11 Battle Stars for WWII service

Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons...
Presidential Unit Citation - Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation (2) - Navy Expeditionary Service Medal - China Service Medal - American Campaign Medal - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (11 stars) - World War II Victory Medal - Navy Occupation Service Medal ("Asia" clasp) - National Defense Service Medal (2) - Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal (3) - Coast Guard Special Operations Service Ribbon - Philippine Presidential Unit Citation - Philippine Liberation Medal (2 stars)

NAMESAKE - Initially named CABOT after the first European explorer to reach the North American mainland. Renamed June 16 1942, to honor USS LEXINGTON CV-2 (lost one month earlier at the Battle of the Coral Sea), thus becoming the fifth U.S. warship to bear the name of the town in Massachusetts where Minutemen fought a detachment of British troops April 19 1775, opening the Revolutionary War with the "shot heard round the world."

 

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