Big warships have big guns. The battleships had the largest artillery (see Guns Over Mobile) but even an older aircraft carrier, with all it’s airplanes, still had a few access up its sleeve. On the outside chance that another enemy vessel had to be fired upon, the USS Lexington was equipped with 4, twin 5 inch (127 mm) 38 caliber guns on turrets. Most of these types of weapons are out-dated with the use of guided missles, but they sure do look great sitting idle, as if waiting for its next victim. In the top right, you see the Lexington’s bridge

Some interesting background from wikipedia.comThe ship’s World War II-era gun battery is also being partially restored using guns salvaged from scrapped ships. Most notable among these are 5″/38 DP gun turrets saved from the scrapping of the heavy cruiser Des Moines. They have been mounted in the approximate locations where similar mounts once existed as part of the ship’s original World War II-era fit.

On the outside chance that another enemy vessel had to be fired upon, the USS Lexington was equipped with 4, twin 5 inch (127 mm) 38 caliber guns on turrets. Photo by Tim Stanley Photography.

 

While this shot isn’t breathtaking, it is still a great example for using HDR to balance the dark shadows of the foreground against the bright sky and water. Tip: The use of a foreground object gives more depth an the image.