USS Coral Sea CVA 43

The USS Coral Sea CVA 43 was a Midway-class aircraft carrier that was launched from the Newport News Shipbuilding Company in Newport News, Virginia on April 2nd, 1946 and was sponsored by a Mrs. Thomas C. Kinkaid. The Coral Sea was officially commissioned on October 1st, 1947 under the command of Captain A. P. Storrs III. The USS Coral Sea was appointed as the flagship for Carrier Division 6 and as such, she provided an insurmountable amount of honorable service in collaboration with the Beehive I which was a North Atlantic Treaty Organization exercise.

Upon completion of this mission she was reclassified as an Attack Aircraft Carrier before being bestowed with the honor of taking The Judiciary Committee of the United States House of Representatives on a multi-day cruise. The USS Coral Sea then welcomed Deputy Secretary of Defense R.M. Kyes during NATO exercises such as Black Wave which was a mission to evacuate American citizens during the Suez Crisis conflict. The USS Coral Sea CV had finally approached her 10th birthday and she was in dire need for a complete overhaul.

The Coral Sea had the pleasure of receiving new hull blisters, steam catapults and enclosed hurricane bow and anti-aircraft guns which she needed in order to maintain the pace of ever evolving technology. During 1987, the Coral Sea struck genius and was the first ship to develop a configuration which was a procedure where two onboard attacks groups could share maintenance program simultaneously which managed their aircraft with speed and increased accurate efficiency.

Years later in 1989, she answered the S. O. S. beacon of the US Iowa where a horrific explosion involving one of their battleship's gun turrets that ultimately claimed the lives of 47 lives. The highly trained volatile substance disposal team rushed to the scene where they quickly removed dangerous powder charges from the Iowa's 16 inch guns while the rest of the crew offered medicine and an emergency surgical team. The USS Coral Sea CV was decommissioned on April 26th, 1990 and stricken from the Naval Vessel Register two days later.

The crew of the USS Coral Sea CV took immense honor in the help they could provide to their fellow soldiers during service. They transported injured casualties to safety, while also landing many more men on the beaches even under heavy artillery fire from Japanese forces. Unfortunately, the danger they faced was not limited to enemy fire. Indeed, the USS Coral Sea CV like many ships of its era was laden with toxic materials and one of them was asbestos. Many had no idea of the harmful health consequences of asbestos exposures during this time and many were endangered because of this. Asbestos was used in piping as well as in many insulation systems aboard most naval vessels of this time. If any veteran crewmembers worked around these materials, it is important to be aware of the possible respiratory dangers that asbestos exposure can cause such as the development of the deadly mesothelioma cancer, sometimes referred to as asbestos cancer.

Last modified: December 09 2009.