Best Carriers in the world.

I may have the Buffalo date wrong though.

Upon further research it seems that Lexington's air group still had Buffalos in December 1941 but that the Enterprise, a Yorktown class, was using Wildcats.

BLUEJACKET.COM

United States Navy
Aircraft Carriers
December 07, 1941

by Jack McKillop

On 7 December 1941, the U.S. Navy had seven aircraft carriers (CVs) and one aircraft escort vessel (AVG) in commission. The CVs were considered warships and the AVG was considered an auxiliary vessel. In addition to these eight ships, the keels of five other CVs had been laid. The names, history, status and aviation units of each of these ships is described below.

USS LEXINGTON (CV-2)

The keel of this ship was laid down at the Fore River Shipbuilding Co., Quincy, Massachusetts on 8 Jan 21 as Constitution, Battle Cruiser, First Line Number 1 (CC-1). Because of the limitations defined in the Washington Naval Treaty signed in 1922, she was authorized to be completed as an aircraft carrier on 1 Jul 22 and was renamed Lexington. The Lexington was launched on 3 Oct 25 and commissioned 14 Dec 27.

On 7 Dec 41, the Lexington Air Group was composed of:

Bombing Squadron Two (VB-2) with 15 Douglas SBD-2 Dauntless
Fighting Squadron Two (VF-2) with 16 Brewster F2A-3 Buffalos
Scouting Squadron Two (VS-2) with 1 Douglas SBD-2 and 14 SBD-3 Dauntless
Torpedo Squadron Two (VT-2) with 12 Douglas TBD-1 Devastators

In order to augment the air defenses for Midway Island, USS Lexington departed Pearl Harbor on 5 Dec with 18 Vought SB2U-3 Vindicators of Marine Scouting Bombing Squadron Two Thirty One (VMSB-231) aboard. Along with the heavy cruisers USS Chicago (CA-29), USS Portland (CA-33) and USS Astoria (CA-34) and five destroyers, the Lexington formed Task Force 12.

The plan was to approach within 400 miles (640 km) of Midway and fly the Marine squadron off to land on the island; Lexington would then be free to continue training/scouting. This position would have been reached by mid-morning of 7 Dec. Upon learning of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the Lexington launched search planes to hunt for the Japanese fleet, and at midmorning headed south to rendezvous with USS Indianapolis (CA-35) and USS Enterprise (CV-6) task forces to conduct a search SOUTHWEST of Oahu until returning to Pearl Harbor on 13 December.

USS Lexington was sunk by aerial bombs and torpedoes during the Battle of the Coral Sea, 8 May 42. Her name was struck from the Naval Register on 24 June 42.


USS SARATOGA (CV-3)

The Saratoga was a sister ship of the Lexington and her keel was originally laid down as a Battle Cruiser, First Line Number 3 (CC-3) on 25 Sep 20 at the New York Shipbuilding Corp., Camden, New Jersey. She was ordered converted to an aircraft carrier and reclassified CV-3 on 1 Jul 22. Saratoga was launched on 7 Apr 25 and commissioned on 16 Nov 27.

On 7 Dec 41, USS Saratoga was just entering San Diego after an interim dry docking at Bremerton, Washington. The Saratoga Air Group consisted of:

Bombing Squadron Three (VB-3) with 21 Douglas SBD-3 Dauntless
Fighting Squadron Three (VF-3) with 7 Grumman F4F-3 and 2 F4F-3A Wildcats
Scouting Squadron Three (VS-3) with 22 Douglas SBD-3 Dauntless
Torpedo Squadron Three (VT-3) with 12 Douglas TBD-1 Devastators

USS Saratoga survived World War II and was used as a test ship at the Bikini A-bomb tests in Jul 46. She sank in Bikini Atoll on 25 Jul 46 and her name was struck from the Naval Register on 15 Aug 46.

Your quite right; different theaters different needs; Air groups being equal whats the better Carrier or Design
    Besides the Swordfish did pretty good against the Bismarck and at Taranto Italy; it would never stand up to Pacific needs, but it served the UK well enough

This is all true; but if some one ask whats the best carrier, does that mean Hypothetically if St LO has an F16 on it, its a better carrier than Yorktown?

the quality of the pilots is also extremely important. The pilots on Akagi and Kaga had been fighting for years in China and were very experienced--much more so than their foreign counterparts, including the USN. As the US military is keenly aware, there is no substitute for real combat experience.