Coral Sea (CV 43) - Naval Cruise Book

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f' . -. a. X f-.- i 1 . What more appropriate place is there to celebrate this occasion than at sea - on our way to do a job in the Mediterranean? Captain Bruce B. Bremner 6 l l CORAL SEA began her Naval service departing Norfolk for a l six-month deployment to the Med. I , u , f f W l f f M ffjglgff ,N i

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, . During a 50,000-mile, six- month World Cruise in 1983, CORAL SEA passed through 28 bodies of water, crossed the Equator, transited the Suez Canal and visited six foreign countries before celebrating her return to the East coast after a 26-year hiatus. In October 1984, CORAL SEA began a six-month complex overhaul that would prepare her for a new role in the Atlantic fleet. She was outfitted with new radar, a reworked propulsion plant, blast-plate hardware on the flight deck and a new air wing. Four squadrons of the Navy's newest strikeffighter, the FfA-18 Hornet, joined an A-6E Intruder attack bomber squadron, one E-2C Airborne Early Warning squadron, and a squadron of SH-3H Sea King helicopters. The Ageless Warrior was ready to project power with a modern fleet. Bristling with determination to demonstrate their power, CORAL SEA and her air wing departed Norfolk on October 2, 1985. While CORAL SEA was anchored in Naples, Italy on December 27, bombings at Rome and Vienna airports killed American citizens. The U.S. pointed the finger of blame at Libyan leader Moamar Ghadafi. Aircraft carriers USS SARATOGA CCV 655, USS AMERICA QCV 665 and CORAL SEA conducted Freedom of D Navigation exercises in the Gulf of Sidra off the Libyan coast. Libyan gunboats challenged the American fleet. A-6E Intruders from CORAL SEA and SARATOGA attacked and sunk four Libyan gunboats and struck A Banshee, one of the first jets launched from CORAL SEA, is catapulated during the Korean War. Below, A pilot of the early '50's wears flight gear of the early days. surface-to-air missile sites on the Libyan coast. Suffering no casualities, the carriers dispersed and CORAL SEA went to Malaga, Spain, for liberty. The next day a bomb ripped through a local night club in Germany. The U.S. claimed to have intercepted a telex from Libya congratulating terrorists who carried out the attack. Two days later, CORAL SEA steamed toward the central Med. In the early morning hours of April 15, 1986, fully armed Intruders and Hornets roared off CORAL SEA and joined aircraft from USS AMERICA and the U.S. Air Force for a strike on Libyan key military targets. As the warplanes dropped their explosive payloads, President Ronald Reagan told the American people of irrefutable evidence linking Libya to the terrorist attacks. Seven and one-half months later, CORAL SEA returned to a hero's welcome in Norfolk. The carrier entered Norfolk Naval Shipyard where she was prepared for short training cruises that made her READY for the ,87-'88 Mediterranean Cruise.

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