---

November 8, 2009
1960's - Look out Admiral.
1965 - Final Honors for Cdr. Mongilardi.
1950's - Collection of AJ Savage pictures.
1986 - VA-55 A-6's.
1956 - Christmas publications.
1948 - Pictures of the TBM Avenger.
1954 - Flight Deck scenes.
1960-61 - AD-1's of VA-152.
1962 - Color shots on the flight deck.
1966 - Spad's.
1967-68 - Spad's.
1971 - Nice ship picture.
1956 - Wrong carrier.

November 1, 2009
1955-56 - Great color photos.
1952 - April Coral Sea Breeze.
1952 - Gear collapse mishap.
1960's - A couple of memorabilia items.
1961 - Follow up to A-4 flight deck crash.
1979 - Mishap in the Focsle.
1975 - Yellow Ribbon story.
1981 - Greasy Eggs story.
1947 - Added a few good quality pics of first ever take-off/landing.

October 28, 2009
1961 - A few flight deck pictures.
1962 - Coral Sea in Hawaii.
1974 - A row of carrierers Alameda.
1971 - Bombs away over Vietnam.
1966 - E-2A Hawkeye.
1960's - Some cool patches.

October 25, 2009
1969-70 - Westpac photo collection.
1970 - One of the rudder posts.
1970 - Close call with the COD.
1990 - Decommissioning Program.

October 24, 2009
1960 - Spad over the Coral Sea.
1960's - Nice ship picture underway.
1985 - USS Coral Sea visiting Canada.
Added many memorabilia items.
1950's - Nice ship picture at the dock.
1974 - Dependents Day Cruise pamphlet.

October 16, 2009
1970 - Shellback Ceremony pictures.

October 8, 2009
New section. High Resolution picture of the week.

October 4, 2009
1987-88 - A few stories from the Doc.
1963 - A few incidents on Westpac.
1966 - Ship Of The Year magazine article.
1969-70 - Flight deck scenes.
1947 - Sketch of ship from commissioning ceremoney.
1970 - Shellback POD & Subpoena.
1970 - Shellback video.
1992 - A few pictures from Philly Naval Yard.
Added several names to the Coral Sea Wall.
1972-73 A few flight deck pics.
A few new items of memorabilia.
1960 - Nice picture of ship in Vancouver.

September 30, 2009
New video page with new video player.
New audio page with new audio player.
Added a great Coral Sea documntary video from 1977.
Added a short video on ship entering Vancouver from 1960.

September 28, 2009
2009 - Coral Sea Phantom on display.
1989 - Along side the USS Wasp.
1962-63 - News clippings from Hunters Point & Sydney.
1967 - A-4 mishap.
1980s - Coral Sea button collection.

September 23, 2009
1962 - VF-151 Demon.
1954 - Nice shots while CVA-43 underway.
1952 - 40 Years of Naval Aviation.
1983 - Jolly Roger captured.

June 27, 2009
The new site layout/conversion is complete except for a few odd pages(let me know if you run across one). Hope you all enjoy the new format and find it easier to navigate. Drop me a line if you see anything that doesn't look right or doesn't work.

I have fallen way behind on site updates. Apologies to those who have sent me material in the last few months. I will start adding new material asap.

March 8, 2009
1968 - New video clip of F-111B Trials.
1971 - Mock POD by war protesters.
About half way through the page conversions. Navigation will be inconsistent between the old and new pages.

February 26, 2009
1960 - Rare "Plank Leaser" Recommissioning certificate.
1988-89 - Three great new Coral Sea videos.
1967 - New account of Zuni Rocket Mishap.

February 22, 2009
New Coral Sea Screen Saver.

February 8, 2009
1967-70 - Great photo collection. 62 pictures added.
1970-74 - Some nice ship pictures. 4 pictures added.
1969 - Plan Of the Day
1971 - Christmas Pamphlet
1945 - CV-42 Launched as Coral Sea
1965 - A-3 Fatality
1981 - A couple of nice pictures
1987 - Crazy trap aboard Coral Sea
1987 - Nice AIMD Patch
1970's - Memorabilia

October 19, 2008
Beta-Testing a new page layout and menu system as well as a database system. The entire site will eventually be converted to this layout. Please let me know if you have any problems or any feedback. cv43@usscoralsea.net

October 5, 2008
1952 - Nice photo collection
1967 - Liberian freighter rescue pictures
1970 - Nice fantail picture in Sydney

August 31, 2008
1977 - Some new memorabilia,
1980's - Nice photo effect of USS Coral Sea.
1980's - A few pictures from the early 80's.
1969 - Beautiful picture of Coral Sea. (Makes a great desktop background!)
1955 - Great stern shot of Coral Sea.

August 18, 2008
1989 - Great US Navy photo collection of the ship 88-89
1986 - USS Coral Sea tied up at Augusta Bay
1982 - Operating in the Indian Ocean
1975 - Midway Class Magazine Article

August 3, 2008
1972 - Nice sketch of MIG engagement.
1947 - Coral Sea prior to Commissioning.
1986 - Man Overboard fight/In the drink.
1979 - Secret Enlisted Lounge.
1973 - F-4 Cat Shot Mishap.
Added Shipmate Locator resources.

July 28, 2008
1950 - Newsweek Article & Pictures.
1963 - Shellback Certificates.
1963 - Nice Ship Picture.
1963 - Pulling in to Sydney.
1963 - Funny POTD.
2008 - Nice Video Slide Show.

July 24, 2008
1977 - Updates to some 77 Westpac mishaps.
1977 - New Sea Stories.
1977 - A few pics from the 77 Westpac.
1986 - Some shots from the 86 MED Cruise.

July 21, 2008
1983 - Great Shellback Ceremony Video.
1973 - Some nice shots from an UNREP escort.

June 8, 2008
1952 - Nice photo collection from around 1952.
1989 - A couple of memorabilia items.
1989 - Some pictures from the last cruise.

May 11 , 2008
1961 - New account of A-4 crashing in to the pack..
1948 - A set of pictures from 1948 - 4 pictures added

May 4 , 2008
1985 - Great new picture of the ship after the Napo collision.
1972 - A nice collection from the 72 Westpac - 21 pictures added.

April 27, 2008
1970 - Article about the "Coral Sea Chock".

April 20, 2008
1969 - Nice pictures from the 1969 Westpac - 9 pictures added.
1979 - A few pictures from the 1979 Cruise - 8 pictures added.

April 3, 2008
1972 - An amazing account of a MiG engagement and kill.
1971-72 - Great photo collection - 42 pictures added.
1962 - Update to mishap on sponson.

April 1, 2008
1968-69 - Great photo collection - 30 pictures added.

March 30, 2008
1978 - F-4J mishap on the flightdeck.
1966 - Shot-up A-4 makes it back aboard.
1966-67 - Great photo collection - 37 pictures added.

March 27, 2008
1968 - Outstanding new video clip of the F-111B trials on Coral Sea. Full 20 minute DVD available throught the Ships Store.

September 30, 2007

Great Ship Pictures collection from 66-68 - 16 pictures
Flight Deck pictures from 66-88 - 11 pictures
Damaged A-4 barricade landing
Arresting wire body count
A couple of memorabilia items
Great Ship Pictures collection from 1973 - 15 pictures
Flight Deck pictures from 1973 - 15 pictures
Tied up at Ford Island
AD-4 launching 1957
King & Queen of Greece aboard 1957
Follow to Ensign O'Toole mishap
A few corrections and follow-ups to some mishaps
Two new Coral Sea Videos
Welcome Home

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July 8, 2007

Christmas Overboard 1970
Launch & Recovery 1970's - 56 new pictures
Pictures of the ship in Philly 1993 - 10 new pictures
New pictures of COD crash 1973 - 5 new pictures
COD almost goes in the water 1970 - 2 new pictures
Fantastic picture of CV-43 & BB-62
Tragic End to the 69-70 cruise - 2 new accounts
Added a few memorabilia items
A Piece of Cake - 1970
Two color pictures of the ship from 1949
Flight Ops pics from 1949 - 4 new pictures
Another Napo Collision account
New F-111B pictures
Pics from the CAT crew - 8 new pictures
A few planes from 85-86 - 3 new pictures

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August 7, 2007

Zuni Rocket Mishap Picture - 1967
F4U Corsair on its Nose - 1949
Heavily damaged A-4 makes it back - 1967
A-4 takes the Barricade - 1967 - 7 new pictures
Departing for Westpac - 1966-67 - 4 new pictures
Returning from Westpac - 1966-67 - 2 new pictures
Launch & Recovery 1960's - 60 new pictures
RA-5C Vigilanti Aboard Coral Sea
AD-4 in the water 1952
Flight Deck Scenes- 1962 - 19 new pictures
Captains Gig- 1952 - 2 new pictures
Ship Picture - 1952 - 1 new picture
Ship Picture - 1953 - 2 new pictures
Flight Deck - 1952 - 7 new pictures
Carrier Trials F7U-3 Cutlass - 1952 - 5 new pictures
Carrier Trials FJ-2 Fury - 1952 - 1 new picture
Carrier Trials A6 Skyray - 1953 - 8 new pictures
A4 Approach and Trap - 1982 - 12 new pictures
Two new videos, Libya & G1 - 1985-86

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March 1, 2007

The USS Coral Sea Wall - I'm redoing the USS Coral Sea Wall. The names will be arranged by year with summary details and other information if available. I have some names but no information or information but no names. Please take a minute and visit this section and help remember shipmates from your cruise that were lost. Take a look at your cruise books, usually in the back, and see if those names are on the wall. Drop me an email if you have any names, details or other information. This section is for anyone that was KIA, MIA, POW or died while aboard Coral Sea. Let's honor our shipmates!

March 3, 2007

New Discussion Board - Just installed a new discussion board. The old one had some security issues and lacked features. ALL the messages and logins were imported to the new board. There is also a nice little chat board built into the page. If anyone has problems or needs help drop me a line. Enjoy!

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February 12, 2007

Launch & Recovery 1960's - 5 new pictures
Launch & Recovery 1970's - 56 new pictures
Launch & Recovery 1980's - 1 new picture
Misc. articles, media, etc... - 1 new item
Memorabilia Page 8 - 8 new items
Ship Picture 1979 - 1 new picture
Ship Picture 1973 - 1 new picture
Bad Guys - 2 new pictures
Sea Stories - 2 new stories, 1 updated story
Actions - 1 updated article
Mishaps - 1 new story, 1 updated story
The USS Coral Sea Wall - Added 4 names to the wall
Videos - Added 3 new videos (more to add soon)


February 25, 2007

The USS Coral Sea Wall - 33 new names added
Ship Pictures 1954 - 3 new pictures
Ship Picture 1948 - 1 new picture
Publications 60's - Special Sea Breeze edition (Vietnam Start) and 60-61 cruise end.
Shellback - Redoing this section. Please send scans of cards, certificates and pictures of your Shellback ceremony.
Operations - 1952, Tito visits the Coral Sea.
Sea Stories - 1 new story from 1973

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September 5, 2006

Underway:

Added more names to the Coral Sea "Wall"

Mishaps:

Update to the 1961 A-4 rampstrike mishap.

September 3 , 2006

Special:

New videos added to the ships store! A great new video shot on 8mm film from USS Coral Sea's first Vietnam deployment in 1965. Lots of great flight ops footage, UNREPS, etc... Also some other great videos from our sister ships!

Ships Store

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June 25, 2006

Special:

- Just passed 200,000 visitors to the site. Thanks to everyone for your support!!
- Just hit 500 Shipmates in the Crew Roster!!

Ships Pictures:

1964 - Nice overhead shot.
1980 - UNREP.
1982 - Tall Ship alongside.
1948 - Great overhead shot.

Memorabilia:

1991 - Beautiful poster produced after her decommisioning.
1991 - Coral Sea Barbie.
1965 - Coral Sea Post Card.
1979 - Coral Sea Post Card.

Ships Publications, News Aritcles, etc...:

Many new entries, browse these pages.

Launch & Recovery:

1967-68 - Nice set of flight ops pics.
1979-6880 - Two nice B&W pics.
1947- A few more pictures of the very first takeoff & landing.

Underway:

1979-80 - Recon photos.

Mishaps:

1979-80 - Two pictures of barricade landings.

June 16, 2006

Special:

1964 - Great new video of our sister ship, USS Franklin D. Roosevelt CV-42. Original Navy film.

June 12, 2006

Special:

2006 - Great new video of our sister ship, USS Midway CV-41. Complete history, great footage.

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May 31, 2006

Ship Pictures:

1974 - Three great carriers in a row.
1979 - Nice stern shot with CVW aboard.
1986 - A few ship pictures from 85-86 cruise.
1970's - Great picture of CV-43 passing Arizona Memorial.
1974 - Bow on shot tied up at Alameda.

Memorabilia:

1974 - Cool engine room patch.

Underway:

1944 - Cool picture of boiler ID plate.
1985 - Two great videos of Libya, Coral Sea & bombs.
1974 - No. 1 Engine Room.
1972 - Mining of Haiphong Harbor.

Launch & Recovery:

1979-80 - Beautiful shot of Marine F-4 trapping.
1985-86 - Series of flight deck pictures from the cruise.
1979-80 - Flight deck scenes of the Grey Ghosts.

Sea Stories:

1983 - A few good ones from the World Cruise.
1961 - Bombed the wrong ship.
1951 - Midnight Chow.
1952 - G'TMO fun.
1960 - Canada fun.

Mishaps:

1951 - Best day- worst day.
1964 - Fate is the Hunter.
1961 - Fender Bender.

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December 30, 2005

Ship Pictures:

1985 - Great picture of plane approaching ship.
1983 - Overhead of ship pulling in to Portsmouth.
1960 - Ship visits Vancouver, Canada.
1954 - Passing by the Statue of Liberty.
1956 - Entering New York.

Memorabilia:

1948 - Post Card.
1976 - OZ Patch.
2005 - Great model of the ship.

Underway:

1967 - Updated. Amazing story of two F-4B's in a MiG fight/shootdown.
1967 - Updated. After the shootdown.
1968 - Added Marvin Joel Naschek to the USS Coral Sea Wall.
1969 - New video of the ship underway.

Launch & Recovery:

1989 - HS-17 Helicopter on the deck.
1980's - COD coming aboard.
1950's - Great photo collection.

Sea Stories:

1977 - Clowning Around.

Mishaps:

1956 - AJ Crash pictures updated. New pictures of wreckage.
Many stories with follow-on comments or corrections.

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November 24, 2005

Special:

Added a new Crew Roster Database. Ships Company and Air Wing personnel are encouraged to enter their name and information into the roster.

Click Here

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November 12, 2005

Special:

Installed new Chat Room. No registration required. Just enter a chat name and Go!     Click Here

Video:

1960's - Short PLAT video of a VFP-63 Photo Crusader losing control on launch.
1969 - Short PLAT video of a VF-151 F-4 catapult mishap.

Launch & Recovery:

1971-72 - Photo Collection.
1950 - Banshee Flyover.
1948 - Empty flight deck.

Memorabilia:

1971-72 - Great V-2 Patch.
1968-69 - MPC military money.
1968-69 - Vietnam Lighter.
1980's - Map Drawing.
1966 - Vietnam Lighter.
19?? - Aircrew .
1947 - Shipyard ashtray from commissioning.
19?? - GMT Weapons Division patch.
1989 - Post Card.
1967-68 - HATRON2 Patch.

Sea Stories:

1951-52 - The Phantom Sh****.

Underway:

1987- The Today Show visits the Coral Sea

Mishaps:

1953- Two mishap stories.
1973- F-4 + no pilot = not good.
1972 - C-2 Nose gear collapse.
1988 - Foul weather incident.
1988 - Two new accounts on the death of AN Cornell.
1988 - F/A-18A hot trap.
1969 - Phantom mishap on CAT 3.
1988 - New account of F/A-18A Mishap.

Ship Pictures:

1948 - Norfolk
1957 - Bremerton
1986 - Nice overhead of the ship in the MED.

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What's New:

October 26, 2005

Moved site to new server. Still working out a few bugs. New features coming soon.

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What's New:

July 21, 2005

Ship's Papers, Pamphlet's, etc..:

This is a brand new section specifically for printed material - old ship's newspapers, welcome aboard pamphlets, articles and all sorts of other ephemera related to the Coral Sea. I have a ton more material to go up, but there's enough there to keep you busy for now.

Look near the bottom of the slide-out menu for this new section.

Underway:

Renamed the POW/MIA/KIA page to the USS Coral Sea Wall. I want to expand this "wall" to include anyone that was killed or went missing while on board the ship. Please supply with me full name and a few sentences in the style of other bios in this section. USS Coral Sea Wall.

- KIA. Added Cdr. William "Billy" Stoddard to the Coral Sea Wall.
- Follow up explanation on the propeller configuration.

Video:

1966 - Short PLAT video of an A-3 cold cat shot.

Mishaps:

1966 - Detailed mishap story that goes with the above video of the A-3 cold cat shot.
1974 - Fires in port.
1988 - Death on #1 sponson.

Launch & Recovery:

1979 - Some nice pics of Marine F-4's of VMFA-323.

Ship Pictures:

1986 - Nice collection of B&W ship photos at anchor.

Memorabilia:

Nice model of the Coral Sea.

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What's New:

April 18, 2005

Site improvements; Menu updated. Split flight deck pictures into seperate sections by decade. Other coding changes to improve page loads, navigation, etc...

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What's New:

March 22, 2005

Ship Pictures:

1949 - At anchor in dress.
1952 - Great bow on shot in color.
1952 - Carrier suitability trials.
1954 - Flank speed.
1954 - Unusual flight deck scene with only AJ's.
1955 - Turning in to the wind.
1958 - SCB-110A Modernization at Puget Sound. Hi-Rez Photo.
1958 - SCB-110A Modernization at Puget Sound.
1959 - SCB-110A Modernization at Puget Sound.
1961 - All Attack Air-Wing.
1963 - Leaving Pearl Harbor.
1966 - Launching aircraft.
1970 - In the Tonkin Gulf.
1971 - Nice overhead shot.
1973 - Nice overhead stern shot.
1982 - High Speed in the Pacific.

Underway:

Added page for Air-to-Air Comabt Victories.
Added several articles from magazines.
Added many aircraft photos to the deployment list.
Mishap - Corsair flips on landing.
Schematic of the USS Coral Sea.
One Last Look.

Flight Ops - Straight Deck:

1949 - HU-2 Chopper setting down on the deck.
1950 - First carrier landings of the big AJ's.
1951 - AD Skyraider on takeoff roll.
1952 - Banshee's await launch cycle.
1952 - Corsair catches the wire.
1954 - Rough seas for launch.
1955 - Marine Corps Fury's.

Flight Ops - Angled Deck:

1962 - Whale launches in port.
1965 - Phantom trapping.
1967 - Photo Gator cat shot.
1968 - A-4 trapping.
1968 - F-4 on Cat 3.
1968 - Spad taxing through the pack.
1968 - RF-8G Crusader launching off the waist cat.
1969 - A-6A trapping.
1977 - EA-6A of the Playboys trapping.
1977 - VA-22 A-7E Fighting Redcock trapping.
1977 - VA-94 A-7E Mighty Shrikes trapping.
1977 - VAW-114 E-2B recovers.
1977 - F-8 Gator launching.
1977 - SH-3G Helicopter.
1979 - VA-97 CAG launching.
1979 - Marine F-4 Phantom II launching.
1980 - Visiting TA-3B Whale in the Indian Ocean.
1980 - CAG A-6E of the Main Battery.
1980 - E-2 Hawkeye.
1980 - Cool shot of F-4's after recovery.
1980 - Gator launching.
1980 - Planguard.
1981 - A-6 Tanker catapulting.
1981 - E-2 Hawkeye coming to a stop.
1981 - S-3 Viking making a visit.
1982 - Cool shot of F-4's after recovery.
1982 - VF-21 Phantom launching.
1982 - VF-154 Phanatom launching & trapping.
1982 - VFP-63 DET 2 RF-8G launching.
1982 - HC-1 Angel hovering next to ship.
1988 - Harrier on the Coral Sea.

Memorabilia:

1983 - Shellback Card.
Collection of Coral Sea lighters.
1983 - Tape measure.

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What's New:

March 1, 2005

Underway:

1982 - New video from Fleet Week 1982.
1982 - New video clips from a motion picture.
Re-encoded all the audio files. Much easier to download.
Added a lot of milestone traps to the list.
1989 - Article of final homecoming.
1950's - Sketch of ship.
1990 - Added several pictures from the decommisioning ceremony.
Naval Aviation News - Added new page with 227 articles.

Ship Pictures:

A collection of pictures from the 82 WestPac.
New series of scrapping pictures.
1948 - Beautiful ship picture.
1947 - Two new pictures of the ship on her way to commissioning.

Flight Ops:

A collection of pictures from the 82 WestPac.
1955 - Banshee's packed on the deck.
1952 - Flight deck scenes.

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January 26, 2005

Announcemnt:

I now have a slide scanner. If you'd like to contribute your Coral Sea slides to the site, I'd be happy to scan for you. Please restrict the slides to ship and/or aircraft pictures. All slides will be returned.

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January 14, 2005

Aircraft:

1963 - VF-154 F-8 Crusader.

Ship Pictures:

1985 - Anchored in Istanbul.
1985 - Visiting Halifax.
1973 - Anchored off Hong Kong.
1953 - Cool picture taken from USS Iowa.
1957 - On the way to Puget Sound for angle deck overhaul.
1973 - CVW-15 Airwing flyover.
1963 - Pearl Harbor.
1989 - Anchored near the Virgin Islands.
1970's - Returning to San Francisco.
1954 - Ship's Company on deck.
1950's - Holiday greetings on the flight deck.
1970's - UNREP.
1960's - Drydock.
1982 - Crew on the bow.
1950's - At anchor.

Underway:

1992 - USS Coral Sea Anchor on display.
Milestone traps aboard the USS Coral Sea.
Updates to POW/MIA/KIA list.
1985 - One of our Russian friends.
1972 - First MIG Kill markings from 43 bird.
1972 - A-6 on Alpha Strike in to Nam.
1972 - Tons of audio clips recorded from 1MC announcements.
1957 - A few pictures from the only equator crossing as a straight deck carrier.

Flight Ops - Angled:

1972 - Great collection of photos from the 72 Westpac.
1985 - Great collection of photos from the 85 MED Cruise.
1960-62 - Great collection of photos from the 60-62 WestPac's.

Memorabilia:

Pictures of one of the ships clocks.
A couple of items from 1983 World Cruise.

Mishaps:

1953 - Foggy flight ops.
1985 - Three new accounts of the Napo collision.
1952 - Banshee in the drink.

Artwork:

1970's - CV-43 painting.
1989 - A-6 over the Coral Sea.

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September 20, 2004

Announcemnt: The Bulletin Board, and most recently the Guestbook, have been inundated with spam. I have made some changes to the Guestbook that hopefully will curtail the spam attacks there. The old Bulletin Board is a lost cause. Apologies to those who posted in that board, but it's too ugly to try to clean and save the legitimate posts.

The good news is, I have added a brand new Bulletin Board! This board has some very nice features and is a lot more spam proof. Take a minute to register (or you will only be able to read posts) and start your own topic or reply to others. I am open to suggestions for different discussion rooms being added.

I hope this becomes a great place to discuss all things Coral Sea.

*** NOTE: I've added a Chat Room to the new Bulletin Board.

Discussion Board

Announcemnt: Apologies to everyone who has sent me site submissions in recent months. I have been out of the country for 6-8 weeks at a stretch and have fallen way behind. I hope to have a major update on the site very soon. Lots of great material to go up! Thanks for being patient.

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June 22, 2004

Special:

1964 - Streaming video of Flight Ops and more.

Looking for more videos of the ship and flight ops. I can convert for web streaming.

Flight Deck:

1954 - Various pictures of planes.
1968-69 - Photo Collection of flight ops.
1965 - Pre-launch activity, Whale launch, F-8 trap.
1960-61 - Photo Collection of flight ops.
1977 - Photo Collection of flight ops.
1967 - Skyhawk launching.
1957 - S2F Tracker takeoff.

Mishaps:

June 17, 1953 - Added obituary of Pilot from 1953 Banshee crash.
January, 1960 - Skyhawk lost over bow.
1963 - Sailor lost during UNREP.
1973 - Two WESTPAC mishaps.
1985 - Napo Collision story.
1987 - Follow up to the curse of Triple Sticks.
1960 - F-3 Deamon launch and trap ordeal.
1967 - Two additional witness accounts of the Zuni rocket mishap.

Around the Ship:

1976 - Boilers being lit after overhaul.
1977 - Nice photo collection from 1977.

Memorabilia:

2004 - CV-43 Flight Sim pictures and download for Comabt Flight Sim 2.
1969 - Beer "chit" for Grande Island.
1983 - Two unique items from the World Cruise.
1960 - Photo Lab patch.
1970's - Sationary.
1970's - Patch collection.

Aircraft:

1965 - Great picture of the RF-8A Photo Crusader.

Sea Stories:

1960 - Minor collision & loading ordinance.
1969 - Three stories from that cruise.
1964 - Walking on water.

Underway:

Added many new slang terms.
New cruise book covers from 1960 shakedown and 1963.
Golden Anchor news clipping.
1964-1972 - Many updates to POW/MIA/KIA section.
CV-43 Welcome Aboard pamphlet.
1958 - CVA-43 Illustration of island.
1968 - CVA-43 Follow-up story on F-111 trials.
1977 - Great picture of Russian Bear intercept.

Ship Pictures:

1956 - Picture taken from liberty launch.
1968 - Great shot starboard side.
1988 - Nice picture of Plane Guard with ship in background.
1965 - Three from the longest carrier cruise ever.
1960 - Two pictures spelling out CANADA.
1960 - Three beautiful pictures of the ship during Sea Trials.
1960 - Great bow-on picture entering SF.
1960 - Starboard view underway.
1999 - A few more scrapping pictures.
1952 - Another UNREP shot.
1958 - Major conversion underway at Puget Sound.
1977 - Sequence of pictures pulling into Pearl Harbor.
1977 - Two shots of the island.

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February 20, 2004

Special:

See our sister ship, the USS Midway CV-41, live at her pier in San Diego, CA.

Mishaps:

Oct 25 1967 - Zuni Rocket Mishap. Three new witness accounts.
Apr 11 1985 - Two GREAT pictures of the Napo collision aftermath.
1965 - Four mishaps from the 65 WestPac.
1982 - Hero.
1967 - Collision with the USS Mount Katmai.
1982 - Another account of the tragic death of Chief Chivaria.
1982 - Hosed.
1956 - Update on 1956 AJ crash.

Aircraft:

1953 - F2H-3 of the VC-4 Night Cappers.
1953 - HUP-1 of the HU-2 Fleet Angels.
1962 - F3H-2 Demon of the VF-151 Vigilanties.
1962 - HUP-3 of the HU-1 Fleet Angels.

Memorabilia:

1979 - Brig Plaque.
1965 - Solemns Warning.
1998 - Unusual Pin.
1989 - Last MEDCruise bumper sticker.
1989 - Port-O-Call Books.

Ship Pictures:

1953 - Three pictures of the ship as seen from the USS Harold J. Ellison DD-864.
1962 - Ship at anchor in Hong Kong.
1960-63 - UFO's Identified.

Sea Stories:

1991 - Mistaken Identity.
1969 - Friendly Fire.
1969 - This thing has reverse.
1954 - High Diving.

Flight Deck:

1962 - A-4's spotted forward.
1962 - HUP-3 SAR helicopter on the deck.

Underway:

Added new section for MARDET.
Group of MARDET pictures.
Awesome picture of the three Midway Class carriers.
Added new section for ships awards - need a lot of help completeing this.

Artwork:

1996 - Sketch of CV-43.

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December 16, 2003

100,000th "Touch & Go"!!! - I never imagined that many visitors ever! It is a reflection as to just how great a ship the USS Coral Sea was, as well as a testament to how proud the crewmen and supporters of the ship are! Many thanks to everyone who has helped this site grow. Your contributions, encouragement and support are truly appreciated. I'm looking forward to the next 100,000 visitors and a lot more material to go up on the site.

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November 3, 2003

Special:

2003 - See our sister ship, the USS Midway CV-41, live at the pier in Oakland, CA. as she undergoes painting before moving to San Diego.

Aircraft:

1968-69 - A-6A of the VA-52 Knightriders.
1968-69 - F-4B of the VF-151 Vigilantes.
1969-70 - UH-2C of the HC-1 DET 9 Pacific Fleet Angels
1981-82 - F-4N of the VF-154 Black Knights
1983- F-4N of the VF-21 Freelancers
1985-86 - F/A-18A of the VMFA-314 Black Knights
1952- F4U-4 of the VF-43 Challengers
1953 - F9F-5 of the VF-83 Rampagers

Artwork:

1971-72 - Nice painting of RF-8G on final to the ship.

Underway:

Added new cruise book covers to mosaic - 1952, 1955, 1961-62.
1968 - Added a picture of the F-111 sitting on the flight deck.
1989 - Added a color picture of the Phalanx mount on the island.
1992- Added two new Line drawings of the ship in her final configuration.

Memorabilia:

1970's - CVA-43 Charm.
1967 - CVA-43 20th Anniversary postcard.
1972 - CVA-43 25th Anniversary postcard.
1990 - CV-43 Decommissioning Cover.
1945 - Cover celebrating launch of Coral Sea in Brooklyn, NY.
1990 - CV-43 Key ring.
1975 - Mayaguez Zippo lighters.
1960's - CVA-43 Matchbook.
1950's - CVB-43 Matchbook.
1960's - CVA-43 Matchbooks.
1960's - Task Force 77 patch.
1965 - Far East Cruise patch.
1980 - CV-43 "Gonzo" Station patch.
1969-70 - CVA-43 "Home Brew" patch.
1979-80 - CV-43 "Stroker" patch.
1985-86 - CV-43 Lybian Campaign patch.
1980's - CV-43 MAA patch.
1970's - CVA-43 Centurion patch.
1960's - CVA-43 CVA-43 Coral Sea shoulder tab patch.
1988-89 - VAW-127 SeaBats patch.
1990 - 1947 to 1990 Pin.
1950's - Old pin/charm.
1960's - CVA-43 "Atta Boy" plaques.
1982 - CV-43 Belt Buckle.
1982 - CV-43 Bumper sticker.
1982 - CV-43 "San Francisco's Own" pin.
1983 - CV-43 World Cruise pin.
1983 - CV-43 NEY 83 pin.
1983 - CV-43 Copper plaque.
1983 - CV-43 CPO Mess T-Shirt.
1983 - CV-43 Indian Ocean T-Shirt.
1983 - CV-43 Letter opener.
1980 - Odd lighter found in the bilge around 1980.
1983 - CV-43 Master-At-Arms Badge.
1983 - CV-43 Two coffee cups from the era.
1983 - CV-43 Paperweight.
1983 - CV-43 PHALANX dummy and spent shells.
1983 - CV-43 Plaque from ward room.
1972 - CVA-43 Brass Plaque.
1973 - CVA-43 Cruise Jacket.
1983 - CV-43 "We did the ditch" patch.
1983 - CV-43 "World Cruise" patches. Is it a fake?
1983 - CV-43 Several examples of the "Strokers" patch from 1979-80 cruise.

Ship Pictures:

1982 - Ship underway near Subic Bay, Phillipines.
1989 - Good picture ot the Battle Group led by the USS Iowa.
1956 - Anchored off Greece.
1971-72 - Large Black & White of ship underway.
1960's - Great UNREP picture.
1990's - Some more scrapping pictures; #12a, #12b, #12c, #15a, #15b.
1986 - Great overhead picture.
1953 - Port quarter view.
1952 - Tied up in Taranto, Italy.
1952 - UNREP.
1948 - Two nice pictures of the ship being resupplied by a barge.

Actions:

1972/2002 - Famous F-4 involved in MIG fight. Added cool graphic of the F-4.
1986 - Two F/A-18's ready on the cats to strike Libya.

Sea Stories:

1989 - Fallen shipmate / camaraderie.
1956 - Marine in the Captain's Gig.
1973 - Whoops, wrong bird farm!.
1966 - Topless Welcome.
1966 - Feet Up.
1985 - Oldsmobile...Departing.

Flight Ops - Straight Deck:

1952 - Two Banshee's ready for launch.
1952 - F4 Corsair waveoff.
1952 - Launch cycle. Note center line elevator in use.
1953 - Panther trapping.
1953 - Panther launching.
1953 - Launch Ops.
1953 - F9 taxiing to catapult.
1954 - LSO guiding a plane in.
1954 - Banshee's waiting to launch.

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October 27, 2003

Actions:

1965 - Added story - start of Vietnam.
1965 - Navy Unit Commendation letter.

Media:

1952 - Article from Fortune Magazine.

Underway:

Another Coral Sea First - A-J1 Heavy launched.
New page dedicated to the commissioning of the Coral Sea.
Awesome article on the history of the ship!

Memorabilia:

1960's - Cool Zippo lighter.
1960's - CVW-15 patch.
1964-65 - VAW-11 patch.
1965 - Cruise patch.
1964-65 - CVW-15 & CVA-43 Patch.
1964-65 - Another VAW-11 patch.

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October 13, 2003 - Added two new sections, Memorabilia 6 & Flight Deck 2. I have a lot more to go up, so if you don't see your submission this week, I will get to it in the coming weeks.

Underway:

First Atomic Bomb launched from a carrier.

Sea Stories:

1963 - Mystery Cruise?

Ship Pictures:

1970 - Awesome shot pulling in to Sydney.
1973 - "43".
1973 - High altitude over the ship.
1975 - San Franciscos Own.
1992 - Sitting in Philly.

Memorabilia:

2002 - Awesome model of the ship built by hand.
1947 - Nice example of the original Plank Owner certificate.

Squadron Aircraft:

1973 - VF-51 F-4
1948 - VF-5B F6F-5P

Launch & Recovery:

1973 - F-4B Trapping.
1948 - F6F-5P Hellcat on takeoff roll.

Actions:

1972/2002 - Famous F-4 involved in MIG fight, dedicated.
1965 - A-6 Rescue.

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July 28, 2003

Note:

Enough guys have asked about when will I do the next site update. I have a ton of material to go up on the site. I appreciate all the material that has been sent in thus far. It will get it all on the site. Can't say when. Please be patient for a while longer.

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March 16, 2003

Upkeep:

New menu. You can get to any page from any other page in one click. Added detailed links to Underway section. Other coding fixes and improvements.

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March 8, 2003

New Site Feature:

Added a discussion board for the site. Click here.

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February 23, 2003

New Site Features:

Added a simple search engine for the site. Click here.

Added a chat room for the site. Click here.

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February 1, 2003

Special:

Former USS Coral Sea Pilot, Cdr. William C. McCool lost in Shuttle tragedy.

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September 29, 2002

Ship's Company:

1965 - VFP-63.
1950s - Miscellaneous pictures.
1969 - VF-151 pictures from 1969.

Media:

1965 - Articles of ship returning from first Vietnam cruise.
1990 - AP story of ship being retired.
1983 - Ship leaving San Francisco for good.

Artwork:

1965 - Sketch of ship.
1964 - Notecard painting.
1980s - Laser Plaque.

Mishaps:

1985 - Two more photo's of tanker collision.
1973 - Various incidents.

Sea Stories:

1955 - First day on the Coral Sea.
1955 - Orders are orders.
1955 - The Indian Chief.
1963 - Recollections from the Admiral.
1976 - The big wave.
1978 - Snowball fight.

Launch & Recovery:

1969 - VF-161 F-4 Launching.
1986 - VMFA-314 F-18's manning planes.
1969 - VF-151 F-4 trapping.
1965 - Getting CAT ready for F-8 launch.

Memorabilia:

1950s - Celluloid mirror.
1970 - Shellback Card.
1983 - VA-196 Patch.

Actions:

1956 - MARDET account of Suez Crisis.

Underway:

Two more pictures of the ribbons from the ship. Please help identify these awards.
New high quality stereo recording of the 60-61 WestPac "Now Hear This".
Decommisioning ceremoney and memorabilia.

Ship Pictures:

1988 - Anchored off Benidorm, Spain.
1989 - Final sunset.
1989 - Task force off Lebanon.
1970s - Approaching Oakland Bay Bridge.
1969 - Shot of ship blowing stack gas.
1969 - Docked at Subic Bay.
1969 - Flowers dropped on ship as it passes under GG Bridge.

Squadron Aircraft:

1981 - F-4 VF-21.
1977 - F-4 VF-191.
1977 - F-4 VF-194.
1971 - F-4 VF-51.

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August 10, 2002

Ship's Company:

1983 - Fam Fire.
1983 - MARDET Pictures.

Misc:

1981 - Subpoena.

Mishaps:

1979 - RF-8 lost.

Underway:

1968 - F-111B Carrier Trials.
New Section. The "Bad Guys"
New pictures of Phalanx mounts.

Actions:

1980 - Iran Hostage Rescue Attempt.

Ship Pictures:

1967 - Departing San Francisco.
1979 - Sequence of photos of the ship approaching the Golden Gate Bridge.

Squadron Aircraft:

1955 - HUP-2 HU-2.

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May 25, 2002

Corrections:

Many guys have sent me corrections for dates, captions, places, etc. Too many to put links to each one of them here. But I have put all of them in throughout the site. Thank you for the help, I really appreciate it!

Mishaps:

1969 - Follow up to F-4 mishap.
1982 - Two memories of the tragic death of Chief Chivaria.
1979 - A-7 Crash landing.
1949 - A detailed account of a plane captain death.
1956-57 - Several mishap stories.

Underway:

1965 - Finally, a picture of the actual ship seal/plaque.

Actions:

1986 - Additional accounts from the strikes against Libya.

Ship Pictures:

1965 - Task Force 77 show of force.

Sea Stories:

1961 - Stray Sidewinder.
1949 - The Admiral is all wet.
1968 - F-111 fighters .
1952 - Lost on day one.
1980 - Red Dog, Shellbacks and Russians.
1977 - Bad Chinese Food.
1972 - Going home the hard way.
1977 - Riot in Japan.
1949 - Welcome aboard.

Memorabilia:

1960's - CAG 15 Patch
1971 - Protestant Men of Coral Sea patch
1980's - San Francisco's Own Banner
1965 - VFP-63 patch
1947 - First day postal service postcard
1947 - Another, First day postal service postcard
1990 - Last day postal service postcard
1980's - Centurion patches.
1980's - CV-43 Plaque
1950's - Recruiting Placard

Launch & Recovery:

1983 - Snowing on the flight deck.
1965 - F-4 trapping.
1965 - A-4 scooter getting hooked up and launching.
1965 - Two different types of F-8's launching.
1965 - Manning planes.
1965 - A-1 launching for a strike over Vietnam.
1950 - Marine F4U-5 launching.
1988 - F/A-18A Hornet rolling up to the cat.
1988 - F/A-18A launching.
1981 - A-7E trapping.
1989 - E-2C launching.

Squadron Aircraft:

1965 - F-4 VF-151.
1965 - A-4 VA-153.
1965 - F-8 VFP-63 DET Delta.
1950 - F4 VF-174.
1989 - E-2C VAW-127.
1965 - UH-2A HU-1 DET Delta.

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May 19, 2002

Ship Pictures:

1948-49 - Anchored in Gittmo?
1965 - WestPac, Not sure where?
1965 - Operating off the coast of Vietnam
1965 - Nice bow on shot in very calm water.
1954 - Loaded with a full airwing.
1981 - CV-43 & CV-41 operating in the Pacific.
1987 - CV-43 & CV-60 operating in the MED.
1987 - CV-43 operating in the MED.
1989 - CV-43 UNREP in the Carribean Sea.
1963 - CVA-43 Launching F3 Demon's.
1963 - CVA-43 UNREP with AO-51 Ashtabula.
1963 - Another CVA-43 UNREP.
1963 - Arriving in Sydney Australia.
1963 - Two F3 Demons over the ship.
1962 - Nice overhead shot of an UNREP.
1989 - CV-43 making 30+ Knots.
1989 - CV-43 Beautiful sunset picture!
1963 - CVA-43 departing Hawaii.
1948 - CVB-43 Color picture from shakedown cruise.
1987 - CV-43 Cruising with battle group.
1980s - CV-43 docked with USS Iowa BB-61.
1965 - CVA-43 as seen from the USS Ranger CVA-61.

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March 5, 2002

Almost two years to the day since this site began, it has been visited 43000 times. Many thanks to everyone for all your contributions, help and good wishes!

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February 10, 2002

All Time List of Commanding Officers
1975 - Operation Eagle Pull
1951 - MARDET pictures
1960 - First trap on the Coral Maru after her angle deck conversion.

Sea Stories:

Sea Stories from the 1977 WestPac
Bob Hope 1967 USO Show

Mishaps:

1966 - Phantom in the catwalk - update.
1985 - Tanker Collision - more pictures.
1977 - Man Overboard. Crash landings.

Ship Pictures:

1951 - Port of Call, Istanbul, Turkey.
1981 - Headed for Pearl Harbor.
1947 - Colorized port side shot.

Memorabilia:

1986 - Line of Death Patch.
1986 - Cruise Jacket.
1951 - MARDET Banquet card.
1951 - Original Ships Logo.
1945 - Post Card USS Coral Sea CV-42.
1948 - Post Card USS Coral Sea CVB-43.
1970's - Charm.
1940's - Tie Clasp.
1972 - Cruise Patch.
1967 - Ashtray.
1960's - Rare Tabletop Zippo lighter.

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January 6, 2002

1969 Oil Painting
1966 - Update to damaged screws story.
1965 - Another account of the start of the Vietnam war.
1989 - USS Coral Sea aids stricken USS Iowa - A personal account.
Added 81-82 Cruise Book Cover.
Added 1983 Cruise Book Cover.
1963 - USS Coral Sea arriving in Sydney, Australia.
1956 VFP-62 F2H Banshee

Sea Stories:

1949 Storm.
1960-61 Japanese planner of Pearl Harbor raid visits the USS Coral Sea.
1989 - Missile on the deck.
1950 - Bullets across the deck.

Mishaps:

1973 - Death in a 5" Gun Turret.
1969-70 - Russians steal Phantom. Air Force "trap".
1956 - Stories and photo's of the crash of an AJ on the deck.

Ship's Company:

1949 - Print Shop.
1955 - S-1A Division.
1956 - Marines firing RPG.
1956 - Marines firing BAR's.

Memorabilia:

1983 - World Cruise Ashtray.
1960 - Ashtray from PSNS.
1947 - Ashtray from Newport News Shipbuilding.

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November 14, 2001

Small announcement. I know some of you are wondering when the next site update is going to happen. Due to some unforseen circumstances I haven't been able to keep up with adding new material. I hope to be back at it again in the coming weeks. I have a ton of new material to go up. To anybody that has sent me material, I still have it and it will get on the site. Thanks for your patience and the kind words about the site.

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September 4, 2001

Very rare re-commissioning program from 1960 - Click here.

Updated designation dates for "43" - Click here.

Picture of Coral Sea Life Saver - Click here.

Sea Stories:

Divisional Doors.
Female Distraction.

Mishaps:

1956-57 - Update to AD Crash.
1967 - UNREP Collision.
1963 - Blue Shirt Fatality.
1963 - F-8 Crash deck log.
1956 - F2 Banshee crash.

New planes in aircraft section:

VMF-122 FJ-2 1955
VF-5B F4-U4 1948
VA-65 A-6E 1989
VFA-132 F/A-18A 1989

New Launch & Recovery pictures:

1955 - FJ-2H Fury.
1989 - Hornet over the ramp.
1989 - VFA-132 Hornet at full power on the CAT.
1989 - VMFA-451 Hornet moving on to CAT.
1956 - An F9F-8B Cougar launching.
1975 - VF-51 F-4B Launch.
1948 - F4U-4 Corsair on takeoff roll.
1985 - Cockpit view from F/A-18.
1986 - F/A-18 trapping.
1986 - F/A-18 evening trap.

New ship pictures:

1950 - Drydock in Norfolk.
1956 - Pilot's eye view of approach for landing.
1966 - Drydock in Yokuska, Japan.
1981 - ORE off California.
1981 - ORE off California.
1981 - CVW-14 deployed for work-ups.
1982 - San Francisco's Own returning from WestPac.
1986 - Manning the rail after returning from MED Cruise.
1989 - The Ageless Warrior steaming in the MED.
1989 - Last port of call.
1989 - Fly Over.
1990 - Decommisioning ceremoney.

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August 5, 2001

Added a new page that is collection of articles, ships papers, etc...

- Golden Gate-Nixon Resigns, Newspaper article on world famous "Big Mothers" - Click here.

- Funny Christmas Poem from Coral Sea Breeze in 1955. - Click here.

Updated story of USS Coral Sea operation against Libya in 1986. - Click here.

Added several mishap stories:

- 1960-61 cruise. A-4 crashes on deck. - Click here.

- 1954 cruise. AJ crashes on launch. - Click here.

- 1963 cruise. F-8 crashes on launch. - Click here.

- 1984 workups. Collision with tanker. - Click here.

New ship picture. Hong Kong 1966. - Click here.

Two more cruise book cover pictures, 71-72 and 1953.
Please take a look and fill in a picture if you can, thanks! - Click here.

Several planes added to aircraft section from 1974-75. - Click here.

Sea story: The Captain and his teddy bear. - Click here.

New memorabilia items:

MAA Badge.
1948 Cover.
1956-57 Patch.
1979-80 Patch.
1967-68 Patch.

Ship's store. New link to USS Coral Sea merchandise. Don't forget to download a copy of the FREE screen saver! - Click here.

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June 12, 2001

Added several ship pictures from 1960-61 WestPac - Click here.

Added more Cruise Book Cover pictures to mosaic, still need several more. PLEASE take a digital picture of your cruise book cover and send it along, thanks! - Click here.

Added more pictures to Actions section from 1975 Saigon evacuation - Click here.

Added all 1960-61 aircraft pictures - Click here.

New Launch & Recovery pictures:

1961 - A-4 approaching ship.
1961 - Crowded deck.
1961 - Launch operations.
1961 - A-3 Launching.
1961 - F-8 Launching.

Added some ship's company pictures - Click here.

Picture of VF-154 patch - Click here.

New page under development. Ship's store. Links to USS Coral Sea merchandise, memorabillia, books. Make sure to download a copy of the FREE screen saver! - Click here.

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May 21, 2001

Added Cruise Book Cover picture to mosaic, still need several more. PLEASE take a digital picture of your cruise book cover and send it along, thanks! - Click here.

Added picture to Actions section from 1975 Saigon evacuation - Click here.

Memorabillia - 1949 Navy Day cover - Click here.

New batch of scrapping photos - Click here.

First pictures added to Ship's Company page - Click here.

New planes in aircraft section:

HC-1 SH-3G 1972
VA-94 A-7 1977

New Launch & Recovery pictures:

1971 - Vertrep.
1972 - Rigging Barricade.
1972 - F4 Launch.
1972 - F4 Launch.
1971 - Firefighting training.
1967 - Launch operations.
1968 - Spad trapping.

New ship pictures:

1957 - Drydock in Bremerton.
1971 - Drydock picture.
1971/72 - Bow on shot.
1971/72 - Fly Over.
1971/72 - Port view underway.
1971/72 - Stern shot.
1971/72 - Entering Pearl Harbor.
1971/72 - Pretty shot underway.
1971/72 - UNREP.