Hancock was decommissioned on 30 January 1976. She was stricken from the Navy list the following day,But the Naval Vessel Register says a month earlier; and sold for scrap by the Defense Reutilization and Marketing Service (DRMS) on 1 September 1976. By January 1977, ex-Hancock was being scrapped in Los Angeles harbor and artifacts were being sold to former crew members and the general public, including items ranging from portholes to the anchor chain. The Associated Press noted that some of the scrap metal from the World War II-serving aircraft carrier would ironically be sold to Japan to manufacture automobiles.
