Changes

Following a west coast overhaul, ''Lexington'' returned to combat for the last two months of the Pacific War, hitting targets in Japan during July and August 1945. Following Japan's surrender, she remained in the western Pacific to support occupation efforts. The carrier returned to the United States in December 1945 and was decommissioned at Bremerton, Washington, in April 1947.

Following a west coast overhaul, ''Lexington'' returned to combat for the last two months of the Pacific War, hitting targets in Japan during July and August 1945. Following Japan's surrender, she remained in the western Pacific to support occupation efforts. The carrier returned to the United States in December 1945 and was decommissioned at Bremerton, Washington, in April 1947.

In "mothballs" for the next six years, ''Lexington'' began extensive modernization work that was completed in August 1955, when she recommissioned as an attack aircraft carrier (redesignated CVA-16). Now featuring an angled flight deck, steam catapults and many other improvements to accomodate high-performance aircraft, she made five deployments to the western Pacific between 1956 and 1961. In 1962, she was transferred to the Atlantic to relieve USS ''Antietam'' as the Navy's training carrier. For this purpose, she was redesignated CVS-16 in October 1962, but briefly remained in the attack carrier role for a few more months during the [[Cuban Missile Crisis]].

In "mothballs" for the next six years, ''Lexington'' began extensive modernization work that was completed in August 1955, when she recommissioned as an attack aircraft carrier (redesignated CVA-16). Now featuring an angled flight deck, steam catapults and many other improvements to accommodate high-performance aircraft, she made five deployments to the western Pacific between 1956 and 1961. In 1962, she was transferred to the Atlantic to relieve USS ''Antietam'' as the Navy's training carrier. For this purpose, she was redesignated CVS-16 in October 1962, but briefly remained in the attack carrier role for a few more months during the [[Cuban Missile Crisis]].

For nearly thirty years, ''Lexington'' operated in the Gulf of Mexico, providing a seagoing platform for training student Naval Aviators and maintaining the carrier qualifications of more experienced ones. She was redesignated CVT-16 in July 1969 and AVT-16 nine years later. Decommissioned in November 1991, USS ''Lexington'' was transferred to a private organization in 1992 and became a museum ship at Corpus Christi, Texas.

For nearly thirty years, ''Lexington'' operated in the Gulf of Mexico, providing a seagoing platform for training student Naval Aviators and maintaining the carrier qualifications of more experienced ones. She was redesignated CVT-16 in July 1969 and AVT-16 nine years later. Decommissioned in November 1991, USS ''Lexington'' was transferred to a private organization in 1992 and became a museum ship at Corpus Christi, Texas.