USS Oriskany (CV-34) also known as the Mighty O and occasionally referred to as the O-boat – was one of the few Essex-class aircraft carriers completed only after World War II for the United States Navy. The ship was named for the Revolutionary War Battle of Oriskany.
She operated primarily in the Pacific into the 1970s, earning two battle stars for service in the Korean War and five for service in the Vietnam War.
In 1966 one of the worst shipboard fires since World War II broke out on Oriskany when a magnesium flare was accidentally ignited; forty-four men died in the fire.
In 2004 it was decided to sink her as an artificial reef off the coast of Florida in the Gulf of Mexico. After much environmental review and remediation to remove toxic substances, she was carefully sunk in May 2006. As of 2008, Oriskany is “the largest vessel ever sunk to make a reef”.
Source: Wikipedia
