USS Lexington found: Expedition led by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen locates lost WWII carrier

Bangkok: A piece of prized World War II US naval history, the wreckage of the aircraft carrier USS Lexington, which was sunk by the Japanese in a crucial sea battle, has been discovered by an expedition funded by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen.

The expedition team announced that the wreckage of the Lexington, crippled by the enemy and then scuttled on May 8, 1942, in the Battle of the Coral Sea, was found Sunday on the seabed in waters 3,000 meters deep, more than 800 kilometres (500 miles) off Australia’s east coast.

In addition to helping stop Japan’s maritime advance, the sea battle is famous for being the first in which the opposing ships did not come in sight of each other, carrying out their attacks with carrier-launched aircraft.