This page has as much information about the USS Coral Sea that I could scrape up or that is being sent to me from other shipmates. There is a bit of history, pictures, trivia, stories, and other Coral Sea odds and ends. Sit back, take your time and enjoy the USS Coral Sea as she is once again underway!

Commissioning - Photos and article from the commissioning of the USS Coral Sea CVB-43.

All Time Cruise List / Aircraft - This is a complete listing of every cruise made by the USS Coral Sea. Included is a list of every squadron and their planes that have ever deployed aboard the USS Coral Sea. AND, a picture of a plane from every squadron!

All Time List of Commanding Officers - This is a complete list of every skipper that commanded the ship.

Battle of the Coral Sea - The namesake of the USS Coral Sea. The Coral Sea is located between New Guinea and Australia. The battle which took place there between 4 and 8 May 1942 was the first engagement in Naval warfare in which warships exchanged not a shot, the action being carried on by carrier aircraft of both fleets. A decisive strategic victory for the United States, it halted further Japanese advance to the southeast, and saved Australia and New Zealand from any further threat of invasion.

Ships History - An outstanding and comprehensive article on the history of the USS Coral Sea.

Trivia - The USS Coral Sea was commissioned with the designation CVB-43. But did you know that she was originally designated CV-43. A redesignation from CV to CVB was made on June 10, 1943. CV was used to designate multi-role Fleet Carrier's. CVB was a new designation for the Midway Class carrier's which were reclassified Heavy Carrier's (B=Heavy) before they were commissoned. Here are all the official Navy designations and the dates that they took effect for hull "43":

• CV-43 - September 11, 1942
• CVB-43 - June 10, 1943
• CVA-43 - October 1, 1952
• CV-43 - June 30, 1975
• exCV-43 - April 30, 1990

Dates - Signifigant dates in the history of the USS Coral Sea.

Names - How many ships did the Navy name the "Coral Sea"? What were their final names?

Mystery of the Coral Sea: - Ok, if you skipped over the names question you'll have to take my word that CVB-42 was the Coral Sea, keel and all, up until May 8, 1945. CVB-43's keel was laid on June 14, 1943. So, what was CVB-43 called for nearly two years?

After doing some research for that time period, there doesn't appear to be any evidence to support that CV-43 was officialy assigned a name until May 8, 1945 when CV-42 was renamed FDR. The most likely name that CV-43 would have been if 42 wasn't renamed would be USS Leyte.

Trivia - The final cost to build the USS Coral Sea in 1947 was $87.6 million. She was sold in 1993 for scrapping for a total of $750,000.

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Trivia - The ship was christened by Mrs. Kinkaid, wife of Admiral Thomas C. Kinkaid. Admiral Kinkaid was one of the many hero's in the Battle of Coral Sea.

Midway Class - The Coral Sea was one of three Midway Class Large Fleet carriers built out of the six planned. Read about the Midway Class carriers.

Trivia - April 21, 1950. Piloted by Navy Lt. Cmdr. R.C. Starkey, a Lockheed P2V-3C Neptune weighing 74,668 pounds becomes the heaviest aircraft ever launched from an aircraft carrier(up to that point). The Neptune is flown off USS Coral Sea (CVB-43).

Another little known and fascinating fact about this launch is that it was the first launch of a navy plane from a carrier with an atomic bomb on board! Read an account from someone that was there.

Also on that same day; The first carrier takeoff with the AJ-l heavy attack plane was made from Coral Sea by Captain John T. Hayward, commanding VC-5.

CVB-43 Ship's Pamphlet - 1947-49. Here is a pamphlet that each Coral Sea crew member was issued when they reported aboard. It gives a good feel of what being a sailor in those days was like, very entertaining and worth reading!

Trivia - April 27, 1948 - In the first carrier launchings of planes of this size and weight, two P2V-2 Neptunes, piloted by Commander Thomas D. Davies and Lieutenant Commander John P. Wheatley, made JATO takeoffs from Coral Sea, off Norfolk, Va.

CV-43 Ship's Pamphlet - 1976. Here is a another pamphlet that each Coral Sea crew member was issued when they reported aboard.

SCB-110A Overhaul - The Coral Sea was decommissoned on April 24, 1957. She was sent to the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard to undergo extensive modernizations as part of rework plan SCB-110, ordered for all three Midway Class Carriers. The plan included the addition of the angle deck, new catapults, arresting gear, hurricane bow, three deck edge elevators and new electronics.
The Coral Sea was the last of the three to get the modernization and actually received a more extensive overhaul under plan SCB-110A. Her hull was widened by eight feet and her overall displacement increased to 63,600 tons. The SCB-110A upgrade took 33 months to complete and she was recommissioned on January 25, 1960.

Trivia - Feb. 24, 1955 - The CNO directed that the term "angled" be used describe the deck of aircraft carriers in which the landing runway was offset from the line of the keel. Other terms which had been used were "canted", "slanted", and "flamed". The first US aircraft carrier that was refitted with an angle deck was the USS Antietam CVA-36 in 1952.

Ship's Model - Here is a 1:48 scale model of CVB-43 showing her as configured from around 1950. This awesome model is on display at the National Museum of Naval Aviation at NAS Pensacola. Click on thumbnail image for larger picture.

Trivia - After the SCB-110A modernazition, the USS Coral Sea was the first aircraft carrier with a deck edge elevator on the port quarter.

Trivia - 1948 report on flight deck noise.

"A Noise-Level Survey of Flight Operations Aboard the USS Coral Sea (CVB-43).
Report Summary:
A survey of noise levels associated with aircraft operations and of auditory acuity of ship's personnel was carried out during a recent refresher training cruise aboard the USS CORAL SEA (CVB-43). The data obtained, while neither complete nor of high precision, definitely indicate that the exposure of flight deck crew personnel to existing noise conditions is very close to probable tolerance limits. Peak noise levels of 130 to 135 db occur regularly during operation of F4U-4, AD-4 and F2H-2 airplanes. Mild chronic deafness is not uncommon although it may exist only for the duration of the shipboard duty. These hearing defects also affect voice communication and contribute to irritation and fatigue. The impending use of jet engines equipped with afterburners is expected to raise the peak noise levels by up to 8 db with current engines. Future, more powerful engines may be even noisier. This will increase the degree and duration of the hearing losses, the annoyance and the interference with communication. Non-auditory, mechanical effects on the body may also result.

Trivia - Nicknames of the USS Coral Sea(any more???):

Combat, Missions and Operations - A section that gives accounts of actions the USS Coral Sea has been involved in during her 43 years.

Air-to-Air Victories - scored by USS Coral Sea pilots during the Vietnam War.

 POW/MIA/KIA - A section honoring all the men of the USS Coral Sea that were lost in action.

Trivia - Did you know that the USS Coral Sea was built so that she could be scuttled in less than hour? Keep in mind that the ship was designed during WW II. If the ship was abandoned the Navy didn't want it to fall into enemy hands. There were four layers of outer voids that ran the length of the ship port and starboard and top to bottom. Every outer frame had a valve to let seawater in to the voids for flooding.

Mishaps - A page that chronicles mishaps aboard the USS Coral Sea.

Trivia - Does anyone recall that when she got up to flank speed that the fantail would shake like an out of balance washing machine? I was on board in 79/80 and was told it was because of a damaged propeller shaft???

• James Corder was aboard in 1965 and writes: "I was in #3 engine room main control.I was a MM2 top watch and I darn sure remember the deck plates shaking when we took her up to top speed."
• Randy Kelso was aboard in 64/65 and writes: "I was especially astounded to read that the bent shaft/vibrating stern problem was still around as late as the eighties. I was aboard during 1964-65 and it was a problem at that time. We did a speed run once while I was aft on the O3, trying to write a letter home. The pen and paper shook off the table onto the deck!"
• Ervin Beekman was aboard in 1989 and writes: "I too remember well the constant vibration in the rear of the ship as I was assigned as the shops Laundry Petty Officer."
• Don Hulick, 77 WestPac, writes: "VAW114 Avionics shop was port side aft just off the hanger bay, fwd of the jet shop. During high speed runs, you COULD NOT set a coffee cup on the workbench."
• Gary Wiley, 76/77, writes: "As far as the fantail rumble goes I can attest to that! In 76 we did an OPPE (Operational Power Plant Evaluation) off the coast of Oregon and Northern California. I went to the fantail to dump garbage during a run-up. I bounced around like one of those football players on the old vibrating football field games. What really amazed me was the height of the rooster-tail behind the ship. I don't know the elevation of the fantail, but I remember the rooster-tail being over my head. Quite a site."
• Jon C Allen writes: "In 1989, we finally got all the boilers on-line. The decommissioning axe was swingin in fierce fashion, so we were doing everything we could to prove Coral Sea could still do the job. I vividly recollect (possibly the last) high-speed run because my watch station was in aftersteering. Hell, just doing 20 knots made you think that were rivets were gonna pop down there. Aftersteering was just plain ol' scary. Those rudder posts would bounce up and down and do all kinds of goofy stuff. But when we went full throttle...you thought the Engine Rooms or the Flight Deck was loud? At least the Engine Rooms roar was kind of reassuring. In aftersteering, with the pedal to the metal....you had to seriously wonder if it was gonna bust at the seams."

Realm of the Golden Dragon - USS Coral Sea CV-43 and her crew were awarded The Realm of the Golden Dragon for crossing the International Date Line - 180th Meridian - on 28 December, 1961.

Trivia - This may be related to the vibrating fantail noted above.

Count the number of blades on each propeller. Observe that the outer screws have four blades and the inner screws have five blades. Ok, so why this congfiguration of propellers?

Steve Turner, former Chief Engineer of the USS Midway and one of the most knowledgable men on the Midway Class carriers wrote the following:

• "(Midway had the same arrangement.) Each shaft delivered the same thrust and the same power for any ordered speed. But with the inboard shafts having 25% more blades, five instead of four, to deliver the same power, they would turn at a slower rpm. Therefore the blades moved at a reduced linear speed through the water. Thus, cavitation would be reduced on the propeller blades of the inboard shafts. This was the idea, to reduce cavitation. Why on the inboard shafts and not on the outboard? The inboard shafts operated in more turbulent water than the outboad, hence cavitation would occur earlier for any given speed on these shafts. Why was the water more turbulent here? Because the center of the hull of the ship had moved through the water ahead of the inboard props, while the waters were "quieter"--away from the center of this turbulence-where the outboard props operated, off to the sides.
  Thus, I think that is the reason--to reduce cavitation on these props where it was more likely to occur. Not only would this be quieter, thinking of submarines, it would also be more efficient thinking of energy use."

John Holcomb writes:

• The 2 inboard screws were considered speed screws #2 & #3 Engine Groups.
  The 2 outboard screws were the power screws, #1 & #4 Engine Groups.

Follow-up from LCDR E.L. Stone, USN (Ret):

• "I was the MPA in CORAL SEA from 1983 to 1986. I saw Steve Turner's explanation of why CORAL SEA 's outboard propellers were 4 bladed and the inboard propellers were 5 bladed. He is correct that the reason is to reduce cavitation this is accomplished by the naval architect by reducing the ratio of the shaft thrust to the projected blade area (the more blades the more area). All the shafts turn at the same RPM and deliver the same thrust so the only way known to naval architects at the time CORAL SEA was built to solve the cavitation problem was to reduce the thrust to projected blade area. Therefore with the inboard props being in an area of high turbulence (as Steve points out) they would be subject to the onset of cavitation before the outboard props. While this is not a complete solution to the problem it was the only answer available at the time. The vibration and noise problems experienced at high speed can be directly contributed to the cavitation problem. It has only been recently that these problems have been investigated by ship designers. At the time CORAL SEA was built these issues were known but not fully understood nor were solutions available. It took the advent of computers, sophisticated water tunnel testing and model testing to allow naval architects and engineers to be able to analyze and develop solutions to these problems."

Trivia - Dec. 14, 1961 - Installation of Pilot Landing Aid Television system (PLAT) on USS Coral Sea (CVA 43), the first carrier to have it installed for operational use. The system was designed to provide a videotape of every takeoff and landing and was useful for instruction as well as being a very valuable tool in the analysis of takeoff and landing accidents. By early 1963, all attack carriers were so equipped.

Trivia - WESTPAC 1979/80 - USS Coral Sea, For the first and only time in Naval Aviation history, a Navy air wing deployed with all Marine Corps fighter assets. VMFA-323 and -531 F-4Ns covered CVW-14 during a period of hectic West Coast fighter transition.

Trivia - July 23, 1968 - F-111B Aardvark on the Coral Maru!! Interesting and little known bit of the ships history. Pictures and accounts of these operations.

Plane Captain Booklet - 1963. Here is a pamphlet that Plane Captains would have been issued when reporting aboard in 1963. Take a look.

The "Bad Guys" - A collection of photos involving the USS Coral Sea and a variety of bad guys we kept in line over the years.

MK 16 - Phalanx Weapon - The first deployed Phalanx Close-In Weapons System (CIWS) in the Navy was in 1980 aboard the USS Coral Sea CV-43. Phalanx provides ships of the U.S. Navy with a "last-chance" defense against anti-ship missiles and littoral warfare threats that have penetrated other fleet defenses. Phalanx is the only deployed close-in weapon system capable of autonomously performing its own search, detect, evaluation, track, engage and kill assessment functions.

Trivia - After the Vietnam War, the Coral Sea was considered for decommissioning almost on a yearly basis. When I was aboard in 79/80 it was an on going joke that we were on the 5th annual decommisioning cruise. There actually was a Navy plan to have the Coral Sea replace the Lexington as a training carrier as soon as the USS Carl Vinson commisioned in 1982.

Media Room - Here is a page that is a collection of articles, ships newspapers and other publications pertaining to the USS Coral Sea.

Cruise Books - Here is a mosaic of every USS Coral Sea cruise book cover.

The Lighthouse Joke - Here is a joke that has been going around for years. It usually involves the USS Coral Sea as the US ship. The Navy absolutely denies it ever happened :)

Naval Aviation News - Excerpts of Coral Sea happenings from Naval Aviation News.

MARDET - Marine Detachments aboard the USS Coral Sea.

Trivia - The first F-4 Phantom II to operate off a carrier in the pacific was accomplished in September, 1961 by LCDR Working of VF-121 as he touched down on the deck of the Coral Sea flying an F4H-1.

Line Drawings - Here is the line drawing for the USS Coral Sea when it was a straight deck carrier.


Here are three line drawings of the USS Coral Sea, post 1960.

These are the most accurate top and side views ever published (to the best of my knowledge) of Coral Sea's final service configuration. They were published in 1992 and 1994 by Game Designers' Workshop for the Harpoon naval miniatures wargame. I was Chief of Design at GDW and line manager for the Harpoon line, and supervised the creation of both illustrations. The side view is a modification which corrected persistent errors in the Weyer's drawing (we had a license from them to use their drawing for our Harpoon products), while the top view is new artwork made specifically for the Harpoon supplement Troubled Waters in 1992 showing her final flight deck configuration, down to the number of liferaft cannisters on the catwalks. The letter callouts are for her weapons and aircraft handling facilities, for use in the game. - Dave Nilsen, Creator. Lamont Fullerton, Artist.

Schematic - Here is a schematic of the USS Coral Sea from the early 1960's. Submitted by Troy Prince from MidwaySailor.com.

Trivia - The USS Coral Sea had more arrested landings than any other line carrier at the time of her retirement.

Trivia - The USS Coral Sea was adopted as "San Francisco's Own" by resolution and proclomation on July 24, 1967. By the end of 1982 the Navy had made plans to bring the Coral Sea to Norfolk for a retrofit and possibly have it replace the Lexington as the training carrier in Pensacola, Florida. The City of San Francisco tried in vein to keep the Coral Sea there but to no avail. She departed San Francisco for the last time on her one and only World Cruise on March 21, 1983.

Artwork - Paintings of, or that include the USS Coral Sea.

Trivia - 29 September, 1987 - Coral Sea departed for a Mediterranean cruise operating under a new concept called the “Coral Sea configuration.” To help streamline aircraft maintenance, the two attack squadrons on board used a shared maintenance concept.

Equator Crossing - Shellbacks, come right in and welcome. Pollywogs, it is with great displeasure that King Neptune will allow you to view this sacred ceremony!

The Order of Magellan - USS Coral Sea CV-43 and her crew were awarded The Order of Magellan for circumnavigating the world during the 1983 cruise. Coral Sea departed San Francisco, CA on March 21, 1983 and arrived Norfolk, VA on September 12, 1983 having gone around the globe via the Suez Canal on June 14, 1983.

Trivia - USS Coral Sea in the Movies and TV.

Trivia - The F/A-18A Hornet went to battle for the first time in 1986 from the deck of the USS Coral Sea with VFA-132, VFA-131, VMFA-314 & VMFA-323. The Hornet was battle tested and proved itself to be exactly what its designers intended: a highly reliable and versatile strike fighter. The F/A-18 played an important role in the 1986 strikes against Libya. Flying from the USS Coral Sea, the F/A-18s launched high-speed anti-radiation missiles (HARMs) against Libyan air defense radars and missile sites, effectively silencing them during the attacks on Benghazi facilities.

Famous People - A list of , dignitaries and otherwise famous people that have been aboard the USS Coral Sea. Help!!!

• General Omar Bradely - 1947
• Yugoslavia President Marshall Josip Tito - 1952
• Actress Liz Taylor - 1952
• Gemini and Apollo Astronaut Richard F. Gordon Jr. - 1954
• President of Spain General Francisco Franco - 1954
• Charles Schultz Peanut's Cartoonist - 1955
• Charlie Spivak's Orchestra with Shirley Jones - 1955
• King Paul and Queen Frederica of Greece - 1956
• Astronaut John Young - 1957
• Minoru Genda, tactical planner of the Pearl Harbor raid - 1961
• Gayle Storm of TV's "My Little Margie" - 1962
• R. Lee Ermey, from the TV show "Mail Call" and the movie "Full Metal Jacket". The former Gunny was a member of the MarDet on Coral Sea! - 1963
• Walter Cronkite - 1965
• Pittsburgh Pirates - 1966
• Supremes - 1966
• Actress Jennifer Jones - 1966
• Actress Raquel Welch - 1967
• Actress Barbara McNair - 1967
• Actress Elaine Dunn - 1967
• Gary Crosby(Bing's Son) - 1967
• Bob Hope - 1967
• Entertainer Martha Raye - 1969
• Maureen Reagan (As an entertainer with the USO) - 1969
• Billy Graham - 1969
• Astronaut Robert 'Hoot' Gibson - 1972-73
• Forrest Tucker along with Carol Voda - 1974
• Jack Ford(President's Son) - 1977
• Senator Bob Dole - 1979
• Senator/Vice President Joe Biden - 1979
• Coach Bill Walsh - 1982
• Mayor(Senator) Diane Fienstein - 1982
• Space Shuttle Astronaut LCdr Stephen Oswald - 1983
• Ruth Buzzi - 1985
• Catherine Bach - 1985
• American singer, entertainer and 1984 Miss America Suzette Charles - 1985
• Greg Brady (Barry Williams) - 1985
• Today Show: Jane Pauley, Bryant Gumbel & Willard Scott - 1987
• Wayne Newton - 1987
• Space Shuttle Astronaut Willie McCool - 1987-89
• Charleton Heston - 1989
• Harlem Globetrotters - 1989
• Barbara Mandrell - 1989

Today Show aboard USS Coral Sea November 23, 1987.

Trivia - At the time of her scrapping, USS Coral Sea was the largest war ship ever scrapped.

Sea Stories - Send me your best sea stories from the Coral Sea. Absolute truth is not a requirement :-)
It will also include pranks that were pulled on just about every new guy that set foot on the Coral Sea. Need help writing these.
Ideas: Mail bouy, Sea Bats, elevator pass, bowling alley, etc...

Final Deck Log entry for the USS Coral Sea

Decommissioning - Several photos and memorabilia from the ceremony.

Anchor - The only large piece of the ship that remains is one of her anchors. In 1992 the Navy donated one of the Coral Sea's anchors to Australia in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the Battle of the Coral Sea. The anchor is on permanent display in Port of Townsville, Queensland, Australia.
(The second anchor was eventually sold in 2000 to a dredging company in Texas.)

Farewell - Requiem for the Coral Sea.