USS Kearsarge ( CV - 33 ) USS " Kearsarge " ( CV / CVA / CVS - 33 ) was one of 24 s completed during or shortly after World War II for the United States Navy . The ship was the third US Navy ship to bear the name , and was named for a Civil War - era steam sloop . " Kearsarge " was commissioned in March 1946 . Modernized in the early 1950s as an attack carrier ( CVA ) , she served in the Korean War , for which she earned two battle star s . In the late 1950s she was further modified to become an anti - submarine carrier ( CVS ) . " Kearsarge " was the recovery ship for the last two manned Project Mercury space missions in 1962 – 1963 . She completed her career serving in the Vietnam War , earning five battle stars . She was decommissioned in 1970 , and sold for scrap in 1974 . Construction and commissioning . " Kearsarge " was one of the " long - hull " ships . She was laid down on 1 March 1944 at the New York Navy Yard , and was launched on 5 May 1945 , sponsored by Mrs . Aubrey W . Fitch . " Kearsarge " commissioned on 2 March 1946 , with Captain Francis J . McKenna in command . Service history . " Kearsarge " arrived at her home port of Norfolk , Virginia on 21 April 1946 , and for the next year engaged in training operations along the East Coast and Caribbean . She cleared Norfolk on 7 June 1947 on a midshipmen training cruise to the United Kingdom . Upon her return to the United States in August , the carrier engaged in maneuvers for 10 months before departing Hampton Roads on 1 June 1948 for duty with the 6th Fleet . During her tour in the Mediterranean , units of the 6th Fleet were placed on alert to insure peace in the Middle East . " Kearsarge " returned to Quonset Point , Rhode Island on 2 October , and operated along the Atlantic Coast and the Caribbean until 27 January 1950 , when she sailed for the West Coast . The carrier arrived Puget Sound Navy Yard on 23 February , and decommissioned there on 16 June 1950 for the SCB - 27 A modernization overhaul that would enable her to handle new jet aircraft . Korean War . " Kearsarge " recommissioned on 15 February 1952 with Captain Louis B . French in command . Following shakedown , the carrier cleared San Diego on 11 August for intensive flight training in the Hawaiian Islands . Her readiness complete , she sailed for the Far East to engage in combat missions in the Korean War . Arriving Yokosuka on 8 September , " Kearsarge " joined the fast carrier Task Force 77 ( TF 77 ) off the east coast of Korea six days later . For the next five months , the carrier ' s planes flew nearly 6 , 000 sorties against Communist forces in North Korea , unleashing considerable damage on enemy positions . She completed her tour in late February 1953 , returning to her home port of San Diego on 17 March . While serving in Korea her classification was changed to CVA - 33 . After returning to San Diego , " Kearsarge " was used in the filming of the 1954 movie " The Caine Mutiny " to depict the abortive visit to Admiral William F . Halsey , Jr . aboard his unnamed flagship . Far East . " Kearsarge " sailed again for the Far East on 1 July 1953 and operated with the 7th Fleet fast carrier force during the uneasy truce in Korea . The " Mighty Kay " ( after three collisions with other ships in a short period of time , including the cruise ship , " Kearsarge " was also nicknamed by some " Rammin Rankin ' s Krashbarge " and " The Mighty Kay - RUNCH " ) also kept watch over the Formosa Straits to prevent the Communists from attacking the Chinese Nationalists on Taiwan . " Kearsarge " returned San Diego on 18 January 1954 to resume training operations off California . Clearing San Diego on 7 October , she steamed toward her third deployment to the Far East . While operating with the 7th Fleet , the carrier stood by to assist the Nationalist Chinese in the evacuation of the Tachen Islands . From 6 – 13 February 1955 , " Kearsarge " supported units of the fleet in the successful evacuation of 18 , 000 civilians and 20 , 000 military personnel from the islands . Her cruise ended at San Diego on 12 May and for the next three years operated on the annual deployment schedule to the Far East and training operations off California . In 1956 – 57 , " Kearsarge " received the SCB - 125 modernization , mainly incorporating an hurricane bow and an angled deck . During the summer of 1958 , " Kearsarge " was fitted out as an antisubmarine warfare support carrier and reclassified CVS - 33 . Following intensive training in her new role , the carrier sailed on 5 September 1959 for 7th Fleet operations in the Far East . Early in her tour , Japan was hit with a violent typhoon , and " Kearsarge " played an important role in providing relief to the victims . Her planes landed parties of medical and supply units , while her crew and air group donated clothing and money to the distressed people . After participating in SEATO exercises and 7th Fleet operations , she cleared Yokosuka on 3 March 1960 for her homeward voyage . Three days later in stormy waters 1 , 200 mi ( 1 , 930 km ) off Wake Island , four Russians were rescued after drifting 49 days in disabled landing craft . They were flown back to their country after " Kearsarge " arrived in Alameda , California on 15 March ; and the carrier received thanks from the Soviet Union for this gesture . A year of training operations preceded her next deployment from San Diego which began on 3 March 1961 . The antisubmarine carrier steamed to Southeast Asian waters as the Communists intensified their effort to overthrow the government in Laos . The demonstrations of the 7th Fleet were observed by the enemy and the crisis abated . After six months in the Far East , " Kearsarge " arrived Puget Sound on 1 November for the second phase of her modernizations . Project Mercury . Upon completion of repairs and training , " Kearsarge " departed Long Beach , California on 1 August 1962 to station herself in the Western Range as a recovery ship in the Project Mercury orbital space flight of astronaut Walter Schirra after splashdown . On 3 October , after a flawless flight , the carrier played her role in the Space Age by retrieving Schirra and his space capsule , " Sigma 7 " , and returning him to Honolulu for flight back to the mainland . " Kearsarge " resumed training exercises , continuing these for six months before arriving Pearl Harbor on 29 April 1963 to once again take part in the space program . The carrier repeated her earlier splashdown recovery by plucking astronaut Gordon Cooper on 16 May 1963 after he orbited the Earth 22 times in his capsule " Faith 7 " . Vietnam . She returned the space hero to Pearl Harbor , then departed on 4 June on her eighth cruise to the Far East . Operations with the 7th Fleet included keeping watch on the unsettled problems in Southeast Asia . " Kearsarge " returned to Long Beach on 3 December for training exercises off California . On 19 June 1964 , the antisubmarine carrier was deployed on her ninth Far Eastern cruise . Arriving Yokosuka on 30 July , " Kearsarge " was dispatched to the South China Sea , following the North Vietnam ese patrol boat attack on U . S . destroyer s in the Gulf of Tonkin . While U . S . Navy planes destroyed North Vietnam oil and supply depots , " Kearsarge " provided antisubmarine protection for the 7th Fleet . The decisiveness of American action persuaded the Communists to delay their objectives for the time being , and " Kearsarge " returned to Long Beach on 16 December . After overhaul during the first half of 1965 , " Kearsarge " operated off the West Coast and appeared in a 1965 episode of " Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre " entitled " The Admiral , " with a number Douglas A - 1 Skyraider s painted in Korean War - period colors on her deck for the production . She departed for the Far East on 9 June 1966 . Steaming via Hawaii and Japan , she reached " Yankee Station " on 8 August and operated off Vietnam through 24 October . The next day she headed for the Kuala Lumpur area and anchored in the Strait of Malacca on the 30th . She returned via Subic Bay to " Yankee Station " on 5 November and operated there through the 23rd . The next day , the carrier started home via Hong Kong and Japan , arriving in San Diego on 20 December . She operated on the West Coast until departing San Diego on 18 August and reached Pearl Harbor 10 days later to prepare for future action . Made redundant by the general fleet drawdown of the late 1960s and early 1970s , " Kearsarge " was decommissioned on 13 February 1970 . Following three years in the Reserve Fleet , she was stricken from the Naval Vessel Register in May 1973 and sold for scrap in February 1974 .