They were doing experiments, methinks.
Exactly correct. The America has had constant problems with the plates it's made of, high levels of corrosion or something like that. Take heart though, the data gathered will be used to develop the next generation carrier class, which will be better protected as a result. Gone maybe, but she served the cause to end.
Like the Philadelphia Experiment ???
From the article:
Before it sank, it also served as a target for a series of explosions over 25 days designed to help in the making of the of the Navy's next generation carrier, the CVN-21, now being designed at the Northrop Grumman Newport News shipyard.
To prove that a ship with holes in its hull will sink? ;-)