Pilots of Fighting Squadron 20 wait in their ready room before a strike in the China Sea. Ahead of them lie long hours of difficult navigation installations, dog fights, bad weather, and at the end a carrier landing. They are the most highly trained flier in the world.

The nose is adjusted on a rocket before the first Tokyo strike. These high-speed projectiles did damage out of all proportion to their size.

Lunch for the flight deck crew is brought up on the bomb elevator. The ship remained at "G.Q." all day during strike days, and the crew was served hot food at special topside feeding stations.

An F6F is "respotted" after the first strike on Tokyo. His wing is partly folded.

Feb. 21, 1945, a Hellcat came aboard with a belly tank half-full. When he "caught a wire" and jerked to a stop, the tank broke loose from its fastenings and burst open under the still-whirling prop. His propellor strikes a spart on the tank...

He makes a rough landing...

He is ablaze!...

The pilot wrestles with his safety straps...

He vaults from his "hot seat"...

And runs along the wing of his plane to safety...

Firefighters get the blaze under control...They smother the last flame...

And the charred wreckage is towed up the flight deck. "Land planes!"

Lt.(jg) A.C. Pasterick, of Fighting 94, is congratulated by his squadron skipper on making the 20,000 landing aboard the Lexington, June 16, 1945

A cruiser lies camouflaged at Kure, July, 1945. The rugged terrain gives an idea of the difficulties facing attackers.

The Battleship Ise is blown to glory. This picture was taken by the USS Hancock.

Two Japanese carriers lie shattered at their moorings in Kure after the July 28th strike, smokes; the other is a dead hulk.

Waving prisoners crowd their courtyard as Lexington planes revisit a grateful camp, late in August 1945

Tokyo lies quiet, Sept. 5, 1945, as the Lexington enters Tokyo Bay, while her planes fly over the city.

Fujiyama, as seen from Buoy 15, Yokosuka Naval Base. The fire-scarred Nagato lies at anchor in the foreground. Fuji-san was not visible on Sept. 5, but Lexington crew members had plenty of chances to study its beauty in the months in which they lay moored off Yokosuka after the surrender, supporting the occupation of Japan.

From Sept. 18, 1943, to Dec. 17, 1943; from March 3, 1944 to March 17, 1945; and from June 13, 1945 to Dec. 3, 1945, the Lexington operated in the forward areas of the Pacific west of Pearl Harbor. Each air group 16, 19, 20, 9 and 94 record is recorded, a flag represents a plane in the air, the "sitting duck" so many planes on the ground; the warship and cargo ship sinkings are obvious, as are the hangar and factory. Below is the list of actions and the grand total.