The aircraft flew across the continent, dropped its load on the West Coast, and returned nonstop to land at the Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland.

While on service with the Sixth Fleet, she visited Yugoslavia in September and carried Marshal Josip Broz Tito on a one-day cruise to observe carrier operations.

Coral Sea trained pilots in carrier operations off of the Virginia Capes and Naval Station Mayport, and in April 1953 the ship embarked the Judiciary Committee of the United States House of Representatives for a three-day cruise.

This cruise was highlighted by a visit to Spain, and participation in NATO Exercise Black Wave with Deputy Secretary of Defense R. M. Kyes on board as an observer.

Returning to Norfolk, Virginia, on 21 October, she carried out tests for the Bureau of Aeronautics and trained members of the Naval Reserve at Mayport, and Guantánamo Bay.

Coral Sea returned to the Mediterranean from 7 July to 20 December 1954, and during this tour was visited by Spanish Generalissimo Francisco Franco as she lay off of Valencia.

Sailing from Norfolk, Virginia 23 July 1956 for Mayport, Florida, to embark Carrier Air Group 10, Coral Sea continued on to the Mediterranean on her next tour.

She participated in NATO exercises and received King Paul of Greece, and his consort, Friederike Luise Thyra of Hanover on board as visitors in October.

She cleared that port on 26 February and visited Santos, Brazil; Valparaíso, Chile; and Balboa, Canal Zone, before arriving at Bremerton, Washington, on 15 April.

Coral Sea was decommissioned at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard on 24 May 1957 to receive a major conversion (SCB 110A), which included a longer angled deck canted 3 degrees more than the previous overhauls of her sister ships.

Other improvements included new steam catapults, an enclosed hurricane bow, hull blisters, and removal of the armor belt and several anti-aircraft guns.

On 7 February 1965, her aircraft, along with those from Ranger and Hancock, conducted Operation Flaming Dart against the military barracks and staging areas near Đồng Hới in the southern sector of North Vietnam.

On 26 March, the Seventh Fleet units began their participation in Operation Rolling Thunder, a systematic bombing of military targets throughout North Vietnam.

[8] On 25 October 1967, while Coral Sea was stationed in the Gulf of Tonkin, a Zuni rocket ignited during a routine test in the forward assembly area.

The rocket motor caused damage when it tore into a bulkhead approximately 20 feet from the testing area; however, the flames were quickly extinguished by the crew, and the injured men were transported to the sick bay for emergency care.

[8] After refitting, from 1970 through to 1971, and during refresher training (REFTRA) down to San Diego, Coral Sea on her return trip to Alameda caught fire in the communications department.

L/Cpl Thomas P Howard Jr. of ships Mar/Det received a "Meritorious Mast" from Captain Harris as a result of his location and rescue of shipmates overcome by toxic smoke in security weapon space.

All mines were set with 72-hour arming delays, thus permitting merchant ships time for departure or a change in destination consistent with the President's public warning.

It is considered to have played a significant role in bringing about an eventual peace arrangement, particularly since it so hampered the enemy's ability to continue receiving war supplies.

Sabotage on Ranger and Forrestal prevented their scheduled port departures while aviators became increasingly concerned about their role in the bombing campaign and questioned the war openly.

Later, along with Nimitz and other ships in company, Coral Sea participated in Operation Evening Light, the unsuccessful and aborted rescue attempt of 24 April 1980.

By the time the ship pulled into Subic Bay, the Philippines for a port call on 9 May 1980 the crew had spent 102 consecutive days at sea – mostly off the coast of Iran.

After a port call at Singapore, Coral Sea headed to the Indian Ocean where she relieved America at Gonzo Station and operated with Royal Navy units in GonzoEx 2-81 (17–23 November).

On 11 April 1985, while on refresher training with her air wing in the Guantánamo Bay area, Coral Sea collided with the Ecuadorian tanker ship Napo and subsequently underwent two months of repairs at Norfolk Naval Shipyard in Portsmouth, Virginia.

On 5 April 1986, in response to the US show of force, the La Belle Discothèque in West Berlin, the Federal Republic of Germany was bombed, resulting in the death of one U.S. serviceman and many injured.

On 15 April 1986, aircraft from Coral Sea and America, as well as USAF F-111Fs from RAF Lakenheath in the UK, struck targets in Libya as part of "Operation El Dorado Canyon".

On 19 April 1989, while conducting training in the Caribbean, the ship responded to a call for assistance from the battleship Iowa, due to an explosion in her number two gun turret in which 47 crew members were killed.

The explosive ordnance disposal team from Coral Sea removed volatile powder charges from the ship's 16 inch (406 mm) guns.

On 7 May 1993, she was sold for scrap, minus her electronics, weapons, and other usable equipment, by the Defense Reutilization and Marketing Service (DRMS) to Seawitch Salvage of Baltimore.

A series of articles by the Baltimore Sun about the problems involved with the scrapping of the Coral Sea and other navy vessels earned it the 1998 Pulitzer Prize in Investigative Reporting.