Ship:Lexington

14.8

Lexington

Aircraft Carrier | U.S.A. | Tier VIII

Tech Tree Position

stock

 top

General

Research price161000 exp

Purchase price11,500,000

Hit Points54,300

Secondary Armament #1

127 mm/38 Mk.12 on a Mk.24 mount8 х 1 pcs.

Firing Range4.5 km

Rate of Fire10 shots/min

Reload Time6 sec

HE Shell127 mm HE Mk32

Maximum HE Shell Damage1,800

Initial HE Shell Velocity792 m/s

Chance of Fire on Target Caused by HE Shell5 %

Secondary Armament #2

127 mm/38 Mk.12 on a Mk.32 mount4 х 2 pcs.

Firing Range4.5 km

Rate of Fire10 shots/min

Reload Time6 sec

HE Shell127 mm HE Mk32

Maximum HE Shell Damage1,800

Initial HE Shell Velocity792 m/s

Chance of Fire on Target Caused by HE Shell5 %

AA Defense

20 mm Oerlikon on a Mk.4 mount52 х 1 pcs.

40 mm/56 Bofors on a Mk.2 mount9 х 4 pcs.

127 mm/38 Mk.12 on a Mk.24 mount8 х 1 pcs.

127 mm/38 Mk.12 on a Mk.32 mount4 х 2 pcs.

Maneuverability

Maximum Speed33 knot

Turning Circle Radius1180 m

Rudder Shift Time21.9 sec

Concealment

Surface Detectability Range14.5 km

Air Detectability Range10 km

Battle Levels

12345678910

14.8

Lexington

Aircraft Carrier | U.S.A. | Tier VIII

Tech Tree Position

stock

 top

General

Research price161000 exp

Purchase price11,500,000

Hit Points57,300

Secondary Armament #1

127 mm/38 Mk.12 on a Mk.24 mount8 х 1 pcs.

Firing Range4.5 km

Rate of Fire10 shots/min

Reload Time6 sec

HE Shell127 mm HE Mk32

Maximum HE Shell Damage1,800

Initial HE Shell Velocity792 m/s

Chance of Fire on Target Caused by HE Shell5 %

Secondary Armament #2

127 mm/38 Mk.12 on a Mk.32 mount4 х 2 pcs.

Firing Range4.5 km

Rate of Fire10 shots/min

Reload Time6 sec

HE Shell127 mm HE Mk32

Maximum HE Shell Damage1,800

Initial HE Shell Velocity792 m/s

Chance of Fire on Target Caused by HE Shell5 %

Maneuverability

Maximum Speed33 knot

Turning Circle Radius1180 m

Rudder Shift Time15.6 sec

Concealment

Surface Detectability Range14.5 km

Air Detectability Range10 km

Battle Levels

12345678910

VIII

11,500,000

Lexington — American Tier VIII aircraft carrier.

Following the Washington Naval Conference, a decision was made to convert two Lexington-class battlecruisers into aircraft carriers. These ships exerted a substantial influence on future aircraft carrier design; the flight deck and outer sides of the hangar were integrated into the hull, providing longitudinal strength to the entire ship. Such a design allowed for a fully enclosed hangar space. At the time when the Japanese forces attacked Pearl Harbor, USS Lexington was in the process of transferring planes to Midway. During the Battle of the Coral Sea, USS Lexington sustained several bomb hits. Eventually, the decision was taken to scuttle the ship, and destroyer USS Phelps was tasked with sinking Lexington using torpedoes.

Modules

	Hit Points (HP)	Armor (mm)	Armor (mm)	Main Turrets (pcs.)	Secondary Gun Turrets (pcs.)	AA Mounts (pcs.)	Torpedo Tubes (pcs.)	Hangar Capacity (pcs.)		Research price (exp)	Purchase price ()
Lexington (A)	54,300	6	178		8/4	52/9/8/4				0	1,200,000
Lexington (B)	57,300	6	178		8/4	16/2/23/8/4				27,000	3,000,000

	Speed (knot)	Average Damage per Second (HP/min)	Loadout	Hit Points (HP)		Research price (exp)	Purchase price ()
F6F Hellcat	160			1,400		0	600,000
F4U-1D Corsair Tiny Tim	169			1,460		18,000	1,500,000
F4U-1D Corsair HVAR 127 mm	169			1,460		18,000	1,500,000

	Maximum Torpedo Damage (HP)	Speed (knot)	Hit Points (HP)		Research price (exp)	Purchase price ()
TBF Avenger	6,467	120	1,800		0	600,000
SB2C Helldiver	6,467	125	1,880		18,000	1,500,000

	Maximum Bomb Damage (HP)	Speed (knot)	Hit Points (HP)		Research price (exp)	Purchase price ()
SBD Dauntless		122	1,890		0	600,000
SB2C Helldiver		125	1,980		18,000	1,500,000

	Maximum Speed (knot)		Research price (exp)	Purchase price ()
Propulsion: 180,000 hp	33		0	500,000

Compatible Upgrades

Slot 1
Slot 2
Slot 3
Slot 4
Slot 5

Player Opinion

Performance

Warning. The data presented in the AA Defense sidebar section may be incorrect.

Overall, Lexington is a strong tier VIII aircraft carrier. She is fast — 33.6 knots — but she turns like a brick, and her huge size advertises her presence for miles around. Although she has a strong wing of aircraft, careful usage of her bomber aircraft is vital as the anti-aircraft power of most tier VIII ships and above that she will encounter begins to be very competitive. The higher health pool of its planes will help immensely in survival and in attack potential. The CV itself has a large detection radius of 14.5km, so careful positioning behind islands and such is vital in survival.

Attack aircraft

You have two choices in upgrading your attack planes: the HVAR 127mm rockets or the Tiny Tims. The HVARs have an HE pen of 32mm but launches the payloads more densely, making it easier to hit DDs even when mis-targeted. They are somewhat less effective in attacking targets with a thick deck armour due to lack of penetration (ex. Izumo, Großer_Kurfürst, etc, but are useful for Republique, Alsace, most cruisers) and don't deal as much damage (max 2000). Then they have the Tiny Tims. Tiny Tims are heavy rockets that hit hard (68mm of pen) but only 6 rockets are launched. You'll have to aim carefully in order to be successful in hitting destroyers with these rockets. It is best advised to use these against larger targets due to the inaccuracy of the Tiny Tims. But if you are able to hit destroyers with these, it will reward you greatly.

Torpedo bombers

American torpedo planes are not as good as IJN ones as they lack speed (35kts) and range (3.9km). However, they are able to deal more damage when all of them hit. They have a good amount of HP, which allows you to drop your payload at a closer distance. When you upgrade to SB2C Helldivers, they drop 3 torps instead of 2: giving you more chances in succeeding the drop. Closing the distance when attacking is recommended to maximize the damage and flood chance. Due to low torpedo speed, attacking cruisers will require large amounts of lead.

Dive bombers

They are effective against all BBs and cruisers as you can use HE bombs to cause multiple fires. They're not recommended to be used against destroyers as they are not very accurate (unless the target is on low HP). Of course these being bombers, beware of going into a cluster of enemy ships if you fancy dropping your payload nearby them. Upgrading to the SB2C Helldiver will increase your attacking flight from 2 to 3 and bombs you to drop 1 extra bomb per payload (amounting to 6 bombs dropped at a time).

Ship Interestingly — perhaps in a nod to her battlecruiser origins — Lexington has a greater amount of armor than would be expected of a carrier, even retaining almost a proper armor belt. Captains should be advised, though, that while her armor may bounce the odd destroyer shell, it also means cruiser and battleship armor-piercing rounds have a greater chance of causing full penetration or citadel damage that would otherwise overpenetrate on softer targets. Her speed is pretty decent at 33 knots meaning that repositioning is easier when needed. Although care must be used when moving the ship because her rudder is slow and she is very easy to hit because she turns like a brick slowly but overall Lexington can be deadly when handled correctly.

Pros:

• Planes have a decent health pool that allows them to get closer to drop payloads on enemy ships.
• Reasonable good plane restoration time, boosted even further with commander skills and upgrades.
• All plane types are highly flexible that allows them to be used in almost any situation.
• Attack aircraft are reasonably fast.
• HVAR rockets have 33mm of penetration and are dropped in large amounts (24 per drop)
• Can equip Tiny Tim rockets with high alpha damage, penetration and fire chance.
• High alpha strike and fire chance with AN-M65 bombs, with six (6) bombs per drop.
• One of the best AA defenses of all carriers that will quickly shred low hp planes.
• Excellent ship speed of 33 knots, only Shokaku is faster by 1 knot.

Cons:

• Large ship that looks like a huge brick with poor concealment to go with it.
• Very large turn radius and slow rudder shift.
• Torpedo bombers and dive bombers have poor speed that prevent opportunities that other carriers get.
• Lexington's hull has weak armor, takes large amounts of damage from all sources despite its look.
• Only 6 Tiny Tim rockets are launched per attack run and have questionable accuracy that causes poor performance against smaller ships.
• Individual HVAR rockets deal low damage and have low fire chances unlike Tiny Tim rockets.
• Stock dive bombers drop only 2 bombs per attack run which means upgrading them are a priority.

Research

1. Upgrade to SB2C Helldiver (dive bombers, followed by torpedo bombers)
2. Upgrade to F4U-1D Corsair( Attack aircraft): choose between HVAR 127mm or Tiny Tim
3. Upgrade to Hull(B) for AA, CV health and rudder shift
4. Proceed to the Midway

Optimal Configuration

Upgrades

The recommended upgrades for Lexington are as follows:

• Slot 1: Air Groups Modification 1
• Slot 2: Aircraft Engines Modification 1
• Slot 3: Aerial Torpedoes Modification 1
• Slot 4: Bombers Modification 1
• Slot 5: Flight Control Modification 1

Upgrade Slot 5 offers players Concealment System Modification 1 , which stacks with Concealment Expert and Camouflage to bring Lexington`s surface detection down to a decent range of 11.8km. However, you would want Flight Control Modification 1 for more plane output.

Commander Skills

Recommended Commander Skills
Cost (points)	Attack			Defense		Support
1	Last Gasp Completely restores engine boost for the last attack squadron.	Improved Engine Boost +10% Aircraft engine boost time. ★★	Engine Techie -20% Engine Cooling cooldown time.	Air Supremacy -5% aircraft restoration time. ★★★	Direction Center for Fighters +1 fighter to CAP squadrons.	Search and Destroy +10% to action radius of Patrol Fighter and Interceptor squadrons.
2	Torpedo Bomber -10% torpedo arming distance. ★	Swift Fish +5% to torpedo speed. ★	Improved Engines +2.5% aircraft squadron speed. ★★★	Repair Specialist +1 In-flight Repair consumable +10% its action time.	Secondary Armament Expert +10% flak and continuous damage -10% secondary battery reload time.	Patrol Group Leader +1 fighter to Patrol Fighter or Interceptor squadrons.
3	Sight Stabilization +7.5% aiming speed. ★	Enhanced Armor-Piercing Ammunition +3% damage from AP bombs and rockets.	Pyrotechnician +1% chance of HE rockets causing a fire. +5% chance of HE bombs causing a fire. ★★	Aircraft Armor -10% continuous AA damage while in an aura. ★★★	Survivability Expert +25 aircraft HP per ship tier. ★★★	Interceptor Interceptors replace Patrol Fighters:  +10% action radius.  Invulnerable to fighters.  Cannot attack fighters.  Cannot spot ships.
4	Bomber Flight Control +5% speed all bomber types. ★★	Proximity Fuze -10% (absolute) to target's torpedo protection. ★★	Close Quarters Expert Secondary batteries: +20% range -30% dispersion.	Enhanced Aircraft Armor -25% damage from flak. ★★	Hidden Menace -15% ship detectability range. -20% Damage Control Party cooldown. +50% aircraft return time.	Enhanced Reactions -80% time before activated Patrol Fighters or Interceptors attack. +25% action time. +50% cooldown time.
Key: ★★★ - Extremely Useful      ★★ - Frequently Useful      ★ - Occasionally Useful     No stars - Not Useful

Consumables

Lexington has access to the following consumables:

• Slot 1: Damage Control Party 
• Slot 2: CAP Fighter  – 4 charges

All aircraft carrier consumables are automatically activated.
Attack Aircraft:

• Slot 1: Engine Cooling  – 2 charges
• Slot 2: Patrol Fighter  – 3 charges

Torpedo Bombers:

• Slot 1: Engine Cooling  – 2 charges
• Slot 2: Patrol Fighter  – 3 charges
• Slot 3: In-flight Repair  – 3 charges

Bombers:

• Slot 1: Engine Cooling  – 2 charges
• Slot 2: Patrol Fighter  – 3 charges

Signals

Recommended Signal Flags
Combat
Charlie Kilo +5% ship HP; +2.5% squadron HP. ★★★	Juliet Yankee Bissotwo -20% to flooding duration.	India Yankee -20% to fire duration.	Hotel Yankee -20% to damage received when ramming the enemy. +50% to damage dealt when ramming the enemy.	Victor Lima +1% chance for HE bombs and shells with a caliber above 160mm causing a fire. +0.5% chance for bombs and smaller shells causing a fire. +4% chance of torpedoes causing flooding. ★★★	India X-Ray +1% chance for HE bombs and shells with a caliber above 160mm causing a fire. +0.5% chance for bombs and smaller shells causing a fire. ★★★
Juliet Whiskey Unaone +15% chance of causing flooding. ★★★	Mike Yankee Soxisix +5% to secondary battery maximum firing range. -5% to maximum dispersion of secondary battery shells. -5% to secondary battery loading time.	November Echo Setteseven +5% continuous AA damage at all ranges. +5% damage from flak bursts. ★★★	Sierra Mike +5% to the ship's maximum speed. ★★	November Foxtrot -5% reload time on all consumables.	India Delta +20% to the amount of HP recovered when Repair Party  is used. ★★
X-Ray Papa Unaone +10% action time of a Smoke Generator .	Sierra Bravo +10% action time of Hydroacoustic Search  -10% reload time of Defensive AA Fire .

Gallery

• 
  Lexington with Type 1 camouflage.
• 
  Lexington with Type 2 camouflage.
• 
  Lexington with Type 5 camouflage.
• 
  Lexington with Type 6 camouflage.
• 
  Lexington with Type 18 permanent camouflage.
• 
• 
• 
• 
  Model of Lexington as originally built. This hull module was omitted in favor of the 1942 configuration, which replaced the 203 mm gun turrets with 127 mm dual-purpose gun turrets.
• 
• 
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  Fire and Ice camo for Lexington from the Alexander Ovechkin collaboration in 2018
• 
  USS Lexington in the Nobilium camouflage as appeared in the 2018 Halloween scenario "Sunray in the Darkness".

Historical Info

The Lexington-class aircraft carriers were a pair of aircraft carriers built for the United States Navy (USN) during the 1920s. The ships were built on hulls originally laid down as battlecruisers after World War I, but under the Washington Naval Treaty of 1922, all U.S. battleship and battlecruiser construction was cancelled. The Treaty, however, allowed two of the unfinished ships to be converted to carriers. They were the first operational aircraft carriers in the USN and were used to develop carrier aviation tactics and procedures before World War II in a series of annual exercises.

They proved extremely successful as carriers and experience with the Lexington class convinced the Navy of the value of large carriers. They were the largest aircraft carriers in the USN until the Midway-class aircraft carriers were completed beginning in 1945. The ships served in World War II, seeing action in many battles. Although Lexington was sunk in the first carrier battle in history (the Battle of the Coral Sea) in 1942, Saratoga served throughout the war — despite being torpedoed twice — notably participating in the Battle of the Eastern Solomons in mid-1942 where her aircraft sank the Japanese light carrier Ryujo. She supported Allied operations in the Indian Ocean and South West Pacific Areas until she became a training ship at the end of 1943. Saratoga returned to combat to protect American forces during the Battle of Iwo Jima in early 1945, but was badly damaged by kamikazes. The continued growth in the size and weight of carrier aircraft made her obsolete by the end of the war. In mid-1946, the ship was sunk during nuclear weapon tests in Operation Crossroads.

Historical Inaccuracies

• The Lexington depicted in the game is actually Saratoga (CV-3). USS Lexington (CV-2) was sunk in May 1942 and never carried any of the aircraft or upgraded armaments depicted in-game.
• Several of the Lexington’s historical aircraft — including but not limited to the Grumman F4F "Wildcat" and Vought SB2U "Vindicator" — are missing. Saratoga carried 11 F4F-3 "Wildcats", 43 Douglas SBD "Dauntlesses" and 11 Douglas TBD-1 "Devastators" on 7 December 1941. In the failed attempt to relieve Wake Island, Saratoga embarked 14 Brewster F2A-3 "Buffalo" fighters which were delievered to Midway on 25 December.
• Although the SB2C Helldiver could also perform like a torpedo bomber, it never served in combat in its alternative role and was only used as a dive bomber because the TBF Avengers(stock torpedo bombers) already had that role.
• Numerous secondary armament configurations are also missing. USS Lexington (CV-2), in particular, had twelve (12) five-inch guns, twelve (12) quadruple 1.1-inch AA guns, twenty-two (22) Oerlikons and at least two dozen (12) .50-caliber machine guns in May 1942, during the Battle of the Coral Sea. Hull (A) appears to represent an early war refit of Saratoga after which the 1.1-inch and .50 caliber guns were replaced due to their ineffectiveness.

Historical Gallery

• 
  Rear Admiral David W. Taylor (left), Chief of the Bureau of Construction and Repair, and Rear Admiral John K. Robison (right), Chief of the Bureau of Engineering, hold a model of the battlecruiser above a model of the proposed conversion to an aircraft carrier at the Navy Department on 8 March 1922.
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  Lexington firing her 8-inch guns, 1928.
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  Lexington and Saratoga alongside the smaller Langley at Puget Sound Navy Yard in 1929.
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  Side by side comparisons: two fleet carriers from the outbreak of the war, USS Saratoga and USS Enterprise, moored near the Essex class USS Hornet. Beyond Hornet is moored USS San Jacinto.
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  Lexington (top) compared with other aircraft carriers constructed during the same time period.

References

1. USS Lexington (CV-2) - Wikipedia
2. Lexington-class aircraft carrier - Wikipedia

Ship Change Log

• Added to the game in Update 0.2.1 (Alpha).
• Update 0.3.0:
  • The model of the researchable Hull (B) was updated.
• Update 0.3.1:
  • The configuration of the initial air group was changed.
• Update 0.3.1.4:
  • Stock torpedo damage was increased from 8,500 to 9,867.
  • Stock bomb damage was increased from 5,400 to 7,500.
• Update 0.5.2:
  • Credit earnings decreased by 10%.
• Update 0.5.3:
  • The Type 18 permanent camouflage was added.
  • Bomber damage was increased by 30%.
  • One squadron of Fighters was removed from the default setup.
  • Bombers were changed:
    • Vought SB2U changed to Douglas SBD5.
    • Douglas SBD2 changed to Curtiss SB2C.
  • Fighters were changed:
    • Grumman F4F changed to Grumman F6F.
    • Vought F4U changed to Vought F4U-1A.
  • Torpedo bombers were changed:
    • Consolidated TBY 1 changed to Grumman TBF.
    • Grumman TBF changed to Grumman TBM3.
• Update 0.5.4.1:
  • Chance to cause a fire was decreased by 10% for the stock Bombers, and 18% for the researchable Bombers.
• Update 0.5.5:
  • The Defensive AA Fire consumable was added.
• Update 0.5.11:
  • The hull's armored model was improved.
  • Fighter ammunition was increased by 33%.
• Update 0.6.6:
  • The hit points of the rudder on the stock Hull (A) were increased to be made in line with the rest of the hull.
  • The appearance of the ship was improved using a special technology for improved rendering of thin elements.
• Update 0.6.8:
  • The plating of the ship's extremities were decreased from 21 to 19 mm.
• Update 0.6.13:
  • Minor corrections to the geometry and textures of the ship.
  • The survivability of the 40 mm anti-aircraft guns was increased.
• Update 0.6.14:
  • The action time of the Damage Control Party consumable was increased from 5 to 30 seconds, while fire resistance coefficient was changed to 0.8.
  • The Flight Control modules Mk8 mod. 2 and Mk8 mod. 3 were removed. The module Mk8 mod. 1, comprising one squadron of fighters, one squadron of torpedo bombers, and two squadrons of dive bombers, was mounted automatically.
  • The option to research and mount the Curtiss SB2C Dive Bombers with armor-piercing bombs was added.
• Update 0.8.0:
  • The Fighter squadron was changed to an Attack squadron:
    • Attack Aircraft per squadron: 8; Attack Aircraft per attack group: 2; Amount of rockets per aircraft: 8 (HVAR), 2 (Tiny Tim).
  • The Dive Bombers were changed:
    • Dive Bomber aircraft per squadron: 9; Dive Bomber aircraft per attack group: 3; Amount of bombs per aircraft: 2.
  • The Torpedo Bombers were changed:
    • Torpedo Bomber aircraft per squadron: 9; Torpedo Bomber aircraft per attack group: 3; Amount of torpedoes per aircraft: 1.
  • For replacement and compensation due to the carrier rework, refer to this page.
  • For consumables mounted by squadrons, refer to this page.
  • For consumables mounted by Lexington, refer to this page.
• Update 0.8.0.1:
  • The Attack Aircraft were modified:
    • The number of aircraft in a squadron was changed to 9.
    • The number of aircraft in an attacking flight was changed to 3.
• Update 0.8.1.1:
  • The hitpoints of all stock aircraft were increased to be within 5% of the hitpoints of the researchable aircraft.
• Update 0.8.4:
  • The height from which bombs are dropped was increased.
  • The aiming reticle for the bombs was changed to be narrower.
  • Bomb dispersion was changed. Now, fewer bombs fall near the center and more towards the outer edges of the reticle.
• Update 0.8.10:
  • Experience earnings when suffering a defeat were reduced by 10%.
• Update 0.9.2:
  • The Dive Bombers were changed:
    • The minimum time between attacks for bomber squadrons was increased from 5 s to 8.5 s.
• Update 0.9.6:
  • The Attack Aircraft modules were made sequentially researchable, with HVARs first and Tiny Tims following.
• Update 0.9.7:
  • Tiny Tim aiming reticle was rotated 90 degrees to appear horizontally.
  • Research cost was increased from 158,000 to 161,000 experience.
• Update 0.10.0:
  • The speed of patrol fighters was increased to 235 knots.
• Update 0.10.5:
  • The F4U-1D Corsair Attack Aircraft with Tiny Tims now gain altitude at the start of an attack run.
• Update 0.11.2:
  • Minor fixes to geometry and textures of the ship.
• Update 12.5:
• Update 12.5:
  • The old World of Warships logo was removed from the Ice and Flame permanent camouflage.
• Update 12.9:
  • Fixed textures and models for the ship.

Ships of U.S.A.

Aircraft Carriers