The slow death of a fine ship: the former Coral Sea (CV-43), at right, being scrapped by Sea Witch Salvage Company at Baltimore, Maryland, in March 1994. Launched on 2 April 1946 and commissioned on 1 October 1947, the Coral Sea was too late to participate in World War II, but she served with distinction during the Cold War. Until a major reconstruction from 1957 to 1960, the ship operated in the Atlantic Fleet, making a number of cruises with the Sixth Fleet in the Mediterranean. Subsequent to her modernization with steam catapults, deck-edge elevators, and an angled flight deck of greatly increased area, the Coral Sea operated in the Pacific Fleet until she was decommisioned on 30 April 1990. In March 1993, the carrier’s hulk was sold for $748,999 for scrapping to N. R. Vessel Corporation, New York, which subcontracted the work to the Baltimore firm.
The Coral Sea’s sister ship, the Franklin D. Roosevelt was stricken as long ago as October 1972. The more extensively modified Midway (CV-41) remained in service until April 1992. The middle photo shows the Coral Sea in July 1948, with an axial flight deck and a heavy gun armament of 14 single 5-inch 54- caliber gunmounts arranged on sponsons at the hangar-deck level. Empty tubs, which in her two earlier sisters had held quadruple 40-mm antiaircraft mounts, were filled in 1949 with 18 twin 3-inch 50-caliber gunmounts. As completed, the Midway class displaced about 59,900 tons full load—a great deal more than the 45,000 tons with which they were credited in reference books of the era.
The bottom photo shows the Coral Sea in the Western Pacific in 1977, nearly in her final operational configuration, with a greatly enlarged flight deck and only vestiges of the old armament sponsons. The ship displaced some 65,400 tons full load but still could achieve 32 knots. At that point, one 5- inch gun remained on the port quarter; it was later replaced with a Mk 15 Phalanx Gatling close-in weapon system.