Coral Sea (CV 43) - Naval Cruise Book

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HISTORY USS CORAL SEA QCV-435, began her commissioned service on October 1, 1947. She was named in commemora- tion' of the Battle of the Coral Sea which was the first battle fought by planes from ships which were neither within visual nor radar range of the enemy. The battle saved Australia from japanese invasion during the early part of World War II. The ship made seven deployments with the U.S. Sixth Fleet in European waters before being decommissioned in 1957 to undergo extensive modification at Bremerton, Washington, which included the installation of steam-driven catapults, the installation of an angle flight deck and relocation of aircraft elevators. Upon recommissioning in 1960, she made a short trip to Vancouver, B.C., then deployed to the U.S. Seventh Fleet to participate in the 21st annual celebration of the Battle of Coral Sea at Sydney, Australia. CORAL SEA's first combat action came in 1965, when she took part in the initial air strikes against North Vietnam. She made four more deployments to the Western Pacific during the next five years, giving support to ground troops in South Vietnam, until the bombing halt in 1968. During her deployment in 1973, CORAL SEA was the first carrier to deploy from the Continental United States after the negotiations of the Vietnam cease fire agreement of January 1973. For CORAL SEA it marked the first peacetime cruise following nearly ten years of participation in the Vietnam conflict. . H During CORAL SEA's 1975 deployment, she furnished logistic support for the evacuation of South Vietnam. In May 1975, CORAL SEA was once again called upon for support when the U.S. merchant ship SS MAYAGUEZ, illegally siezed by Cambodia, was rescued by Seventh Fleet ships. CORAL SEA displayed her battle readiness by providing air support and cover for U.S. Marines on the island of Koh Tang, off the Cambodian coast, and Air Force helicopters during the evacuation of those troops. For CORAL SEA's action in the evacuation of South Vietnam, the ship was awarded the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal and, for the support of the MAYAGUEZ rescue, the Meritorious Unit Commendation. ' The CORAL SEA and Air Wing Fifteen team returned to San Francisco on july 2, 1975 and received a warm welcome from the city, which had adopted her as San Francisco's Own in july 1967. The CORAL SEA had completed more than 259,000 aircraft landings, a record for aircraft carriers. After an overhaul period in Long Beach, California during 1975 and early 1976, CORAL SEA returned to San Francisco to participate in the Nation's Bicentennial celebration. On july 3, 4, and 5, CORAL SEA was host to more than 275,000 visitors at an open house at the Embarcadero in downtown San Francisco. In 1977 USS CORAL SEA made her twelfth Western Pacific deployment and returned to Alamedaito prepare for an eleven month complex overhaul at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard. In February 1979 she departed Bremerton and returned to San Francisco to begin a vigorous schedule of at sea training periods to prepare her crew and embarked Air Wing pilots and aircrewmen for her current deployment. CORAL SEA's Awards include four Navy Unit Commendations, the Meritorious Unit Commendation, National Defense Service Medal, Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, Republic of Vietnam Armed Forces Meritorious Unit Citation CGallantry Crossjg Humanitarian Service Medal, four Admiral Flatley Awards for Aviation Safety, four Golden Anchor Awards for personnel retention and the Thomas jefferson Award for professional excellence in the field of communications support.

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