[topsail]

I was an EM1 aboard the USS Coral Sea (CVA-43), just beginning my 2nd enlistment. We were North of Hawaii, in heavy swells, enroute from Sasebo to our home port, Alameda.

Due to the heavy swells, we lost an F3H “screaming demon”and tow tractor off the hangar deck, through the #3 elevator door. The hangar bay deck was wet due to spray coming in through the open doors and the ship was rolling heavily because of the large swells. The plane capt and tractor driver were able to bail out just before the plane went out the door.

[Bender2]

Re: I was an EM1 aboard the USS Coral Sea (CVA-43), just beginning my 2nd enlistment. We were North of Hawaii, in heavy swells, enroute from Sasebo to our home port, Alameda. Due to the heavy swells, we lost an F3H “screaming demon”and tow tractor off the hangar deck, through the #3 elevator door.

Above photo shows F3H “screaming demon”and tow tractor on Coral Sea: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cd/XF3H_Demon_on_USS_Coral_Sea_%28CVA-43%29_in_1953.jpg,P> From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McDonnell_F3H_Demon

"The McDonnell F3H Demon was a subsonic swept-wing United States Navy carrier-based jet fighter aircraft. After severe problems with the Westinghouse J40 engine that was ultimately abandoned, the successor to the McDonnell F2H Banshee served starting in 1956 redesigned with the J71 engine.[1] Though it lacked sufficient power for supersonic performance, it complemented daylight dogfighters such as the Vought F8U Crusader and Grumman F11F Tiger as an all-weather, missile-armed interceptor[2] until 1964. It was withdrawn before it could serve in Vietnam when it, and ultimately also the Crusader, was replaced by the extremely successful McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II. McDonnell's Phantom, which was equally capable against ground, fighter and bomber targets, bears a strong family resemblance, as it was conceived as an advanced development of the Demon. The supersonic United States Air Force McDonnell F-101 Voodoo was similar in layout, but was derived from the earlier XF-88 Voodoo, which also influenced the Demon's layout."

And old Navy pard of mine said he was so very glad to see the “screaming demon” retired as it was... in fact a real dog suffering from frequent flame outs, compressor stalls and the ejection seats were unreliable, a death sentence if you had to punch out.

[21twelve]

“I was an EM1 aboard the USS Coral Sea (CVA-43), just beginning my 2nd enlistment.”

After his death, were you put on any type of higher alert? Just curious. I imagine you would have been in during the Cuban Missile Crisis? An old friend of mine said that was a REAL scary time.