Warbird Information Exchange

Back in the early 90's my family took a trip to Baltimore. We took a boat ride past an old aircraft carrier. Would anyone here know what carrier this would have been?

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The Forrestal?

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Ain't no sunshine when she's gone!

The Forrestal is in R.I.

I believe that is the Former CV-43 USS Coral Sea

Shay
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Semper Fortis

Yep it's the Coral Sea. A fine ship too bad she wasn't preserved or sunk. Almost anything is preferrable to the indignity of a Warship being cut up for scrap.

http://www.usscoralsea.net/




Shay
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Semper Fortis

I agree about the Coral Sea; sad to see one cut up. Her sister Midway has been preserved in San Diego and is open to the public.

Found a couple of pics of the Coral Sea being scrapped in Baltimore on Bob Henneman's site:

http://www.bobhenneman.info/Breakers7.htm

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"So there I was, knee deep in a river I couldn't pronounce..."

I am almost sad to have read your post. Too bad she wasen't saved. How long does it take to scrap a Carrier?

The Coral Sea was a Midway class carrier?

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It took 7 years to scrap the Coral Sea.

Look here: http://www.usscoralsea.net/pages/picsexcv43.html

Shay
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Semper Fortis

The list of ships I would have loved to see escape the scrapper is long; three of them are:

USS Enterprise CV-6 (Arguably the most decorated ship in US Navy History)
HMS Warspite (What engagement was it NOT in? )
USS Cabot (A WWII combat veteran carrier that should have been saved)

Yes, the Coral Sea was the third ship of the Midway class of carriers. The Midway class was an expanded version of the Essex class and immediately preceded the Forrestals.

As far as how long it takes to scrap a carrier, I would imagine a couple of months normally. The Coral Sea was mired in several financial, legal and environmental issues that dragged the scrapping out to 7 years (1993 - 2000).

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"So there I was, knee deep in a river I couldn't pronounce..."

I guess since I am an ex-Air Force guy, maybe I don't understand why we would want to save a ship of that size?

The metal would be used to melt down and use on other ships and the scrapping I am sure generates a lot of recycled products and countless jobs.

Other than the historical value, I just cannot put in my head, why we would waste such a valuable resource of materials by cutting her up and recycling it.

As a current AF guy (and the nephew of a WWII Navy Vet) I can certainly understand the sentiment behind wanting to save an historic ship from the scrappers even though it might not be practical...

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"Everyone wants to live here (New Jersey), evidenced by the fact that it has the highest population per capita in the U.S..."

Actually, I believe that it was partly because of the cock-ups caused by the contractor who was commissioned to scrap the Coral Sea that the US Navy now seems to be sinking, rather than scrapping, her large carriers.

Richard

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Richard Mallory Allnutt - Photography - http://www.rmallnutt.com

I agree, the historical value, but the practicality of it, just boggles me. I am part of a 5th generation military family as well, so I can understand that.

Great-Grandfather - WWI ( Navy )
Grandfather - WWII ( Navy )
Uncles (Two) - Vietnam ( Army Special Forces and Helo Pilot army)
Myself - Panama/Desert Storm/Bosnia ( Special Operations )
Cousin Joe - Iraq ( Army Infantry )

Spoken like a true "Zoomie" (don't worry, beside being Navy I'm former USAF aswell. )


Granted it is not practical to save everyship although I'm sure every sailor would like to see them save and displayed.

Why? Because a ship is more than a tin can surrounded by water. It's a combat platform, it's place where you perform your duties and it's your home. Everyone aboard is part of coheasive team and is dependent on the next guy to do his job otherwise the machine can breakdown(doesn't normally get to that point. Usually the loose "Cog" gets straighten out by the other "Cogs" if you get my meaning) Besides knowing your job you have to be familiar with the jobs of others. If the ship catches on fire, you don't wait for the fire dept. to show up and put it out. You are the fire teams. The ship above all is your home and you take care of it. And like anything you take care of, you develope a sentimental attachment. That is why most times squids will refer to them as "her" and so on. Especially when you lose shipmates. It's not like it happened while deployed at a FBO, it happens all the time right where you work and live. One day they are there laughing and doing their job, and the next your cleaning out their bunk and locker. There is a bonding that occurs on ships. (some don't bond and they normally get weeded out. We call them "Dirt Bags" and "Skaters")

Yes a ship is potenially a valueable resource of materials. But from my understanding it's not likely that you'll see Capital ships scrapped anymore. The costs to scrapping companies are prohibitive. And they will not be sold to firms outside the US. For me, I would much rather see them slip beneathe the waves and slowly return to the Earth that birthed their raw material. There is something poetic about about a Warship that protected the oceans and seas being laid to rest in them.


Shay
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Semper Fortis

That would be a great site to see, just like the Mighty O! I prefer "WingNut" LOL!!!