The number on the funnel, "143", makes the aircraft carrier on the 5 r, stamp of Fujeira the U.S.S. Coral Sea, built at Newport News and completed in 1947, one of the "Midway" class, of 51,000 tons, with an overall length of 968 ft., beam of 136 ft., and 32'/2 ft. draft, Guns carried are 14 5-inch, and 40 3-inch. Aircraft carried number 137. Complement in peacetime is 2,510, and in war, 3,300. Since built, the Midway class have been reconstructed to handle larger and more modem aircraft and fitted with the British angled deck and steam catapult, with consequent changes in the carriers' dimensions to a full load displacement of 62,674 tons, length of 974 ft„ and width 209 ft. Speed is 33 knots.
Sea Breezes 9/68