USS Lexington discovered. I hope they do a documentary on this.

[Annoyed]

I can't wait for the inevitable Discovery channel special on this:

Billionaire explorer discovers sunken US WWII aircraft carrier

Washington (CNN)Wreckage from the USS Lexington -- a US aircraft carrier sunk by the Japanese during World War II -- has been discovered 500 miles off the Australian coast by a team of explorers led by billionaire Paul Allen, the Microsoft co-founder announced on Monday.
One of the first US aircraft carriers ever built, the vessel dubbed "Lady Lex" was located at the bottom of the Coral Sea -- nearly two miles below the surface -- by the expedition crew of Research Vessel Petrel on Sunday, Allen said.
The Lexington was lost in May 1942 along with 216 of its crew and 35 aircraft during what is considered the first carrier battle in history -- the Battle of the Coral Sea.

Minor inaccuracy in that quote, though. I believe the Lexington was scuttled by her crew after a battle to prevent her from falling into the hands of the Japanese, rather than directly sunk by an attack.

[Skydiver]

Still quite the find, especially for any surviving family members that never got closure. I mean not that they’ll ever get a body but just to know where it is has to mean something.

I hope they treat it like the Titanic, a gravesite to be visited but not pillaged.

[Annoyed]

2 miles down ought to keep most of the tourists away.

[thekillman]

2 miles down ought to keep most of the tourists away.

Not necessarily the pillagers though. Several dutch warships have disappeared off the bottom of the ocean due to scavengers. Apparently some Indonesian scavengers decided they'd be worth a buck.

[Annoyed]

Not necessarily the pillagers though. Several dutch warships have disappeared off the bottom of the ocean due to scavengers. Apparently some Indonesian scavengers decided they'd be worth a buck.

What could a 90 year old aircraft carrier that has been lying at the bottom of the sea for 70-ish years have that could be worth the cost of salvage operations 2 miles down? The guys who found her weren't after a profit, they were after the fame and glory of finding her, and were backed by someone who didn't mind spending a ton of money. They might recover some of their costs via media specials and such, but the balance sheet on that has to be quite red.

[P-90_177]

What could a 90 year old aircraft carrier that has been lying at the bottom of the sea for 70-ish years have that could be worth the cost of salvage operations 2 miles down? The guys who found her weren't after a profit, they were after the fame and glory of finding her, and were backed by someone who didn't mind spending a ton of money. They might recover some of their costs via media specials and such, but the balance sheet on that has to be quite red.

Simply put they get scrapped for the metal. I actually have no idea what use scrap metal that has been exposed to the ocean for that long has to looters but it's happened a number of times over recent years. the Dutch vessels killman mentioned basically completely vanished ff the seabed with nothing left but an imprint in the silt, while something similar happened to a few British warships too. The Cruiser USS Houston which also sank in a nearby location to the Dutch vessels has also shown signs of looting.

However depth is still a key thing here. The British warships I mentioned were only 33m deep. I don't know about the Dutch vessels and the Houston but I wouldn't be surprised if they were in similarly shallows waters. since the Java sea where they sank only has an average depth of 46m. Basically the kind of depths where criminal looters can scuba dive with explosives and bring up debris piece by piece with very little effort.

[Skydiver]

TTHere would be some call for memorabilia. I remember when they found the titanic there was an international agree ment that nothing was to be brought up and sold. Things have been brought up to be used in museums and displays, but the only thing from the titanic that is authorized to be sold is little bits of coal. I have one, about the size of a dime, and it is the only relic that can be sold.

There will be WWII buffs that would pay dearly for any artifact, ships’ bell, dishes, shoes, weapons....anything they can find would hae a value on the collector market.

[iiradned]

Many sunken warships have been declared as war graves thus will vigorous opposition will meet any collectors.

[imzadi35]

Problem is, is that the Titanic, even though a grave site, is still having 'artifacts' brought back even today. They should leave well enough alone, especially with the Lexington wreck. But they won't...

[Skydiver]

BUt as I recall it was always meant to have artifacts, just not souvenier hunters. Study to go in a museum vs pillages for the highest bidder.

For better or worse, things like that are expected because its often the exhibition of such things that will reimburse the investors the cost of finding the site.

[Annoyed]

Still, the Lexington's depth will make it quite expensive to plunder her.