USS Coral Sea (CV-43)
History of the USS Coral Sea Aircraft Carrier
The USS Coral Sea (CV-43), nicknamed “Ageless Warrior,” was ordered for the U.S. Navy on June 14, 1943. Her keel was laid down at Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company in Virginia on July 10, 1944. She was launched April 2, 1946 and commissioned Oct. 1, 1947 under the command of Capt. A.P. Storrs III.
USS Coral Sea took part in training exercises and overhaul until May 1949, when she spent her first and second deployments with the 6th Fleet in the Mediterranean Sea. Her second deployment was from Sept. 9, 1950 to Feb. 1, 1951.
The USS Coral Sea became the flagship for the Commander of Carrier Division 6 on March 20, 1951, and she took part in the NATO Exercise Beehive I. She sailed again with the 6th Fleet in April 1952. She was reclassified at sea as CVA-43 on October 1, 1952 before returning to Norfolk, Va., for overhaul on Oct. 12.
Throughout the 1950s, USS Coral Sea continued to participate in training exercises and cruise to the Mediterranean. She carried out tests and received foreign dignitaries. The carrier helped evacuate American citizens from Egypt during the Suez Crisis of 1956. She was decommissioned on May 24, 1957 as she underwent a major conversion at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in Washington. She was fitted with an angled deck and other upgrades to be reclassified as SCB-110A. She was recommissioned on Jan. 25, 1960.
USS Coral Sea helped evaluate the Pilot Landing Aid Television system, which was helpful for safety and instructional purposes. After the Gulf of Tonkin Incident in August 1964, the carrier sailed for duty with the 7th Fleet in December. Her aircraft launched strikes against Dong Hoi on Feb. 7, 1965. On March 26, she joined in Operation Rolling Thunder, bombing military targets throughout Northern Vietnam. She sailed home on Nov. 1, 1965.
The USS Coral Sea completed a number of deployments to Vietnam until 1975, conducting numerous air strikes against North Vietnamese targets. She was involved in Operation Freedom Porch, Operation Pocket Money and Operation Frequent Wind, the last of which helped evacuate U.S. personnel and Vietnamese after the fall of Saigon.
From there, the USS Coral Sea sailed to help recover the U.S. merchant ship SS Mayaguez after it had been illegally seized by the Khmer Rouge in international waters on May 1975. Her aircraft flew protective air strikes to cover the landing teams that rescued the crew and secured the merchant ship. American military forces lost 18 men in the action. The USS Coral Sea received a Meritorious Unit Commendation for her participation.
USS Coral Sea was reclassified as a multi-purpose aircraft carrier, CV-43, on June 30, 1975. In 1980, she headed to the Arabian Sea to support operations following the Iran hostage crisis. She later participated in exercises with the British Royal Navy.
In March 1983, USS Coral Sea changed her homeport from Alameda, Calif., to Norfolk, Va. On April 11, 1985, she collided with Ecuadorian tanker Napo during training, requiring two months of repair work. Later that year, she sailed to the Mediterranean with the 6th Fleet.
Aircraft from the USS Coral Sea flew combat air patrols when Libyan armed forces fires on U.S. naval forces in the international waters of the Gulf of Sidra on March 24, 1986. She struck targets in Libya the following month in support of Operation El Dorado Canyon. The carrier continued to be deployed to the Mediterranean Sea and Indian Ocean for the remainder of the decade. While in the Caribbean, she provided assistance to the battleship USS Iowa when an explosion onboard killed 47 members of their crew.
The USS Coral Sea was decommissioned on April 26, 1990 and struck from the Naval Vessel Register on April 28. She was sold for scrap on May 7, 1993. At nearly 70,000 tons, she was the largest vessel ever scrapped at that time, possibly the largest U.S. aircraft carrier to ever be scrapped.
The use of asbestos was common in shipbuilding components for much of the 20th Century because of its resistance to heat, fire, water and corrosion. Because of their asbestos exposure onboard ship and in the shipyards, seaman, shipyard workers and longshoreman are at risk for developing asbestos-related diseases like mesothelioma .
Sources include:
John Hedley-Whyte and Debra R Milamed, “Asbestos and Ship-Building: Fatal Consequences,” Ulster Med. J. 77(3):191-200 (Sep 2008)
U.S. Navy, A Brief History of Aircraft Carriers – USS Coral Sea
