| Original caption: “Chart room on board USS Lexington as the ship maneuvers into enemy waters during a strike in the Gilbert and Marshall Islands.” On December 4, 1943, USS Essex (CV-9) and USS Lexington (CV-16) struck Roi-Namur, while USS Enterprise (CV-6) and USS Yorktown (CV-10) struck Kwajalein. Lexington launched 26 Grumman F6F Hellcat fighters, 18 Grumman TBF Avenger level bombers, and 28 Douglas SBD Dauntless dive bombers in 30 minutes. Lack of effective radio communication hampered efforts to destroy Japanese aircraft on the ground. Meanwhile, Carrier Air Group 16 (CAG-16)’s bombers struck shipping in Roi Lagoon. Lexington’s pilots claimed they shot down 27 Japanese aircraft. 1 F6F and 1 SBD were lost. At 1157 Hours, Lexington’s radar detected an unidentified target at 19 miles (30 kilometers). A 2nd plane was visually spotted and identified as Imperial Japanese Navy Nakajima B5N “Kates” at 1158 Hours. The Kates dropped to 50 feet (15 meters) and burst into flame when hit by Lexington and her escorts’ anti-aircraft artillery. A 3rd Kate attacked and closed to 1,600 yards (1,450 meters) before she dropped her torpedo. The Kate then also burst into flame and crashed. Her torpedo missed. At 1245 Hours, a flight of 4 Kates attacked USS Yorktown and was destroyed. An F6F was shot down, following too closely behind the Kates, by Lexington and her escorts’ anti-aircraft artillery. Lexington was under air attack from 1955 to 0125 Hours. At 2322 Hours, a torpedo hit the aft starboard side. Steering was out, and the rudder locked at 20 degrees port. It took 20 minutes to restore emergency power to the rudder steering via a hand-operated hydraulic device just installed at Pearl Harbor before sailing. Lexington settled at the stern by 5 1/2 feet (1.6 meters). 7 were killed in action, 2 were missing, and 35 were injured. 2 F6Fs were destroyed, stripped for parts, and disposed of overboard. Spare wings were knocked from the hangar overhead. Smoke screen tanks ruptured, spilling acid on deck. Some of the gun tubs sagged due to failed welds. 4 men in the steering engine room reported a gas leak and said they might have to abandon their posts. But instead they stayed, and righted the rudder. They were pulled out at 0400 Hours, suffering from loss of oxygen, and taken to sick bay. Some United States Navy officers were highly critical of how fast carriers were employed during Operation Galvanic, the invasion of the Gilberts. United States Navy Captain Felix B. Stump (December 15, 1894 – June 13, 1972), Commanding Officer of USS Lexington (CV-16), made his feelings clear in her after-action report: “I believe that the employment of those large aircraft carriers as a tactical air force at Galvanic was a mistake, and that the fact that we did not lose any of them through submarine action was pure luck, which we can’t always depend upon. The defense of our Galvanic operation could have been more effectively carried out by the strategic employment of large aircraft carriers to strike Japanese bases from Nauru to the Marshalls, destroying their aircraft and rendering their airfields temporarily inoperative. In any future operations, we should precede them by the destruction of enemy aircraft and air facilities, after which we could do as we pleased regarding the destruction of other objectives.” Originally called Radar Plot, the Combat Information Center (CIC) directed fighters and anti-aircraft artillery against targets approaching USS Lexington. Usually kept in semi-darkness to facilitate radar screen readings, the CIC connected Lexington with spotters on deck, her escorts, the Carrier Air Patrol, and the different kinds of radar – SP (Summary Plotter) and SK (Shipborne Air Search Radar) radar consoles, and the SG (Surface Search Radar) consoles. The invasion of the Gilberts — where task group and task force fighter control was born — was the stage where fighter direction with CIC expanded and proved itself, reaching a high point in the 1st battle of the Philippine Sea and the famed “Marianas Turkey Shoot.” As the war progressed, CICs on United States Navy ships grew in complexity and size, culminating in the Midway (CVB) class carriers, which featured the new SX (Search and Altitude-Determining Radar with Constant Sweep). United States Navy Lieutenant Commander Edward Steichen (March 27, 1879 – March 25, 1973) was due to be removed from proximity to active combat duty due to his age – he was in his mid-sixties. He successfully appealed that decision and instead boarded the USS Lexington (CV-16) with Lieutenant Victor Jorgensen (July 8, 1913 – June 14, 1994) to journey from Hawaii to the Gilbert Islands for Operation Galvanic – the invasion of the Gilbert Islands and air operations to support the Battle of Tarawa. This assignment would lead to some of Steichen’s most memorable images of World War II. After the war, he compiled his photographs and written reflections from this period into “The Blue Ghost,” a photographic log documenting his tour of duty on the Lexington. Steichen was appointed director of the newly established Naval Photographic Institute 6 months before the end of the war. He oversaw approximately 4,000 combat crew photographers, in addition to his original unit. Following the declaration of Allied victory, the unit was swiftly demobilized, and Steichen concluded his active service on October 22, 1945. He was awarded the Navy’s Distinguished Service Medal. His work with the Navy formally ended the following year with the release of United States Navy War Photographs, a collection of a 100 images from his Naval Aviation Unit. | |
| Image Filename | wwii2263.jpg |
| Image Size | 998.28 KB |
| Image Dimensions | 2927 x 2443 |
| Photographer | Edward Steichen |
| Photographer Title | United States Navy |
| Caption Author | Written or Adapted by Jason McDonald |
| Date Photographed | December 4, 1943 |
| Location | |
| City | |
| State or Province | Kwajalein |
| Country | Marshalls |
| Archive | National Archives and Records Administration |
| Record Number | NWDNS-80-G-431073 |
| Status | Caption ©2026 MFA Productions LLC Please Do Not Duplicate or Distribute Without Permission; Image in the Public Domain |
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