Coral Sea (CV 43) - Naval Cruise Book

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C... S.. begins a proud tradition made visual or electronic contact. As a consequence of damage inflicted by U.S. carriers Lexington and Yorktown, one Japanese carrier, Shokaku, was so badly damaged that she was out of action for two months, and a second carrier, Zuikaku, suffered aircraft losses which kept her out of action until the middle of June 1942. Had these two powerful carriers and their veteran pilots been available for the historic carrier battle at Midway Island, they could well have been the margin for a Japanese victory. The temporary disablement of these carriers by RADM Fletcher's task force proved to be an invaluable preliminary to the American victory at Midway. Prior to the battle of Coral Sea, Japanese forces had been advancing toward Australia in preparation for the invasion of that country. The Battle of Coral Sea ended this southward Japanese drive and prevented the invasion. The anniversary of the Battle of Coral Sea is still celebrated in Australia. . The present carrier is the third shipfto be named after the Battl.efof.f-theCoral Sea. p ,The first'Coralf1SQea'a was an j escort aircraft carrier, built by Kaiser Shipbuilding Company in Vancouver, Washington. Originally named Alikula Bay, her name was changed during construction in 1943. Launched May 1, 1943 she was placed in commission August 27, 1943 as CCVE-571. Her name was changed to Anzio at the end of that huge battle and the name Coral Sea assigned to a great' new carrier then under construction. The second Coral Sea was a battle carrier KCVB-421 who's name was changed to Franklin D. Roosevelt following the President's death in April 1945. Coral Sea CCV 431, the third of the Midway Class, was laid down in 1945, launched, April 2, 1946 and commissioned o October 1, 1947. Her sponsor A ' was Mrs. Thomas C. Kinkaid, wife of Rear Admiral Thomas A C. Kinkaid, who commanded fa cruiser division under VADMQ Jack Fletcher at the Battle off Coral Sea. Secretary of the J pihf- Navy, John L. Sullivan, was lrii A the principal speaker. The V L Newport News sh-ipyard f it q recorded the event this way: A Shortly after dawn, at,6:30'l a.m. on Wednesday, October -1 9 N f I A en 1947 the latestof f1 e aircraft ,ca'rr,iersg, our plant from' her A brand-new Coral Sea proudly ' mans-the- rail sailing into her first-ever ' foreign port- of-call. on her journey to become a part of the United States Navy Following Shakedown and training cruises in 1947 and early 1948, Coral Sea, the newest of the supercarriers, was ready to join the Atlantic Fleet. Europe in the post-war era was tense. As Naval historian Tom Grassey notes in his essay on the Midway class aircraft carriers, Coral Sea regularly deployed to the Mediterranean through the mid-1950's, supporting the North Atlantic Treaty Organizations, conducting readiness exercises, and hosting visits by heads of state and other dignitaries. A Coral Sea was also instrumental in the Navy's role in the nascent Nuclear Age. At the smallest atomic U.S. Arsenal was Mark VI, and only its B- airborne with the aircraft at could lift a 10,000 Off an aircraft Grassey notes, patrol based aircraft. capable of pound the April

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28, 1948 after many land-based simulated take-offs, two P2V Neptunes flew off Coral Sea's flight deck. The Navy ordered a dozen specially configured Neptunes designed for carrier use. They were designated North American Aircraft Corporation AJ -1 Savage attack aircraft. In March 1949 a ' record 74,000 pound Savage was launched. Again in 1949, Capt. John T. Hayward, a future Chief of Naval . Operations, roared off the Coral Sea flight deck in a new Neptune, carrying a 10,000 pound dummy bomb. Hayward flew cross country, dropped the bomb on the West coast, and returned to Patuxent River, MD., a 4,500 mile, 23-hour flight. Following that flight and another series of landings and -launches in August 1950 eleven gAJ-2 Savages, modified Neptunes, were received and 'began flying from the ship. On May-3, 1949, following a seven month yard and refresher training period, Coral Sea departed Norfolk on her first r deployment to the Sixth Fleet., Eleven ldays later she passed, , , the Rock of Gibraltar and ' entered the Mediterranean Sea. 'Her first embarked Air Wing was Carrier Air Group TWO flying F4U-4 and 5 Corsairs, AD-1 Skyraiders, TBM-3E and W torpedo planes, HU3S-1 helicopters and SNJ-5C scout planes. Seven more Mediterranean deployments followed. During those eight years she set records for operational and diplomatic excellence. During her third tour in the Med. ,she participated in the first major NATO exercise Beehive I with British, French and Italian naval units. During her fourth trip to the Med. she played host to Marshall Josip Tito, Prime Minister of Yugoslavia, who came aboard' V for a three-hour cruise to observe fair operations. On October 1, 1952 .she was 5 redesignated an attack aircraft .carrier CCVA-431 after winning the Battle Efficiency Award for Excellence amongst Atlantic Fleet carriers. She again - received this award during her, sixth Mediterranean cruise in 1954. During this cruise Generalissimo Franco of Spain , was hosted aboard for a one '- day visit while the ship was anchored off Valencia, Spain. On October 20, 1956 Coral Sea played host to King Paul and Queen Fredrica of Greece for a morning's demonstration of carrier task force operations. On her eighth cruise in 1957- 58 she assisted in the evacuation of ,U.S. citizens from Egypt during the Suez Crisis -and remained off the Egyptian coast until tensions eased. She departed the S-' ' O . ' s