The USS Midway (CV-41) was the lead ship of the three-strong Midway-class of aircraft carriers designed during the Second World War but not commissioned until after war's end. (The others of this class were USS Franklin D. Roosevelt and USS Coral Sea.) USS Midway was laid down on 27 October 1943 at Newport News Shipbuilding in Newport News, Virginia, launched on 20 March 1945, and commissioned on 10 September 1945. She was the largest ship in the world until 1955 and the first US Navy aircraft carrier too big to transit through the Panama Canal.
The ship underwent a series of modifications to permit it to operate the new jet aircraft being developed in the postwar period. A major refit from 1955 to 1957 saw the ship receive an angled flight deck, enclosed hurricane bow, aft deck-edge elevator, and steam catapults. Later, between 1966 and 1970, Midway received another major refit to enlarge the aircraft elevators and flight deck (from 2.8 acres to 4 acres), replace arresting gear and catapults, and add a centralised air conditioning plant. Although budgeted at US$88 million, the cost of this refit soared to US$202 million, and it was found after recommissioning in January 1970 that the modifications had negatively affected the ship's sea-keeping and rough-weather aircraft operations capability, which required further modifications to correct.
Over an unprecedented 47-year operational life, Midway served in the Atlantic, Pacific, Mediterranean, South China Sea, Indian Ocean, and Arabian Sea. She took part in numerous actions, including air strikes against North Vietnamese targets in 1965 and 1971-1973. An aircraft from Midway made the last air-to-air kill of the Vietnam War on 12 January 1973. In late April 1975, Midway took part in Operation Frequent Wind alongside other ships, during which she embarked Americans and South Vietnamese fleeting the fall of Saigon. While cruising northeast of Japan on 20 June 1990, Midway was rocked by two internal explosions that killed two crewman, wounded nine others, and caused a raging fire that burned for ten hours. Between 1 November 1990 and 11 March 1991, Midway served as Persian Gulf flagship during Operation Desert Storm, conducting operations against Iraqi forces following Iraq's invasion of Kuwait. Midway's last deployment in June 1991 saw the carrier evacuating 20,000 US military personnel and their families from the Philippine island of Luzon following the volcanic eruption of Mount Pinatubo.
After returning from the western Pacific in August 1991, Midway decommissioned in San Diego on 11 April 1992 and was placed in storage at the Navy Inactive Ship Maintenance Facility in Bremerton, Washington. On 30 September 2003, the carrier left Bremerton and proceeded to San Diego to begin a new life as a museum ship. Docking at the Broadway Pier site in downtown San Diego on 10 January 2004, Midway opened to the public as a museum on 7 June 2004.
Photos taken on 8 January 2014
Below: The tour guide provided to visitors aboard the USS Midway.
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| The 64,000-ton USS Midway (CV-41), now permanently moored as a museum ship in San Diego Harbour. |
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| USS Midway seen from the harbourside Embarcadero in San Diego. The ship's aft deck-edge elevator can be seen, used to bring aircraft from the hangar deck to the flight deck is seen. Each of the ship's three elevators had a lifting capacity of 130,000 pounds and could bring aircraft up from the hangar in 15-20 seconds. |
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| Ticket booths in front of the USS Midway. |
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| The gangway leading on to the USS Midway. |
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Looking aft in the Hangar Deck, the starting point for the self-guided tour.
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| The cafeteria-style 'Chow Line'. |
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| One part of USS Midway's enormous galley, where 13,000 meals were prepared each day for the more than 4,000 officers and men comprising the ship's crew and air wing. As an example of the volume of food prepared here, during 1991's Operation Desert Storm, between 35,000 and 40,000 dozen eggs were en route to USS Midway at any given time. |
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| Another section of the galley. USS Midway's crew included 225 cooks who served up 10 tons of food per day, including 4,500 pounds of beef per meal (when served), 3,000 pounds of potatoes per day, 1,000 loaves of bread per day, 500 pies per day (when served), and 10,500 cups of coffee at a time. The daily cost of feeding the ship's crew in 1976 was $10,000. |
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| The Officers' Wardroom. |
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| A private dining room adjacent to the main Wardroom. |
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| The presentation silver service from the heavy cruiser USS Toledo, presented to the ship's crew by the city of Toledo, Ohio on 26 October 1946. Displayed in the ship's wardroom and used for special occasions and when entertaining dignitaries, this silver service remained aboard the Toledo until it was decommissioned in 1960. Thereafter, the service was transferred to the USS Spiegel Grove in 1961 and, in 1963, to the newly-commissioned aircraft carrier USS Kittyhawk. In 1995, a portion of the silver service was transferred to the nuclear attack submarine USS Toledo upon commissioning. With the USS Kittyhawk's decommissioning in 2009, this portion of the service was loaned by the US Navy to the USS Midway Museum for display until another vessel named for the city of Toledo is commissioned. |
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The 'Dirty Shirt Wardroom', used by officers for quick meals between duties, when there was insufficient time to dress in acceptable mess attire. Pilots from the carrier's air group often ate here, given the quick turnarounds between sorties.
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| The Midway's Hotel Services office, responsible for arranging and caring for any guests or dignitaries aboard. |
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| The industrial clothes presses in Midway's laundry facility. Midway's laundry washed up to 4,752 pounds of clothing every 12 hours, amounting to 43,000 pounds of laundry every week. |
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| The tailor's shop in Midway's laundry facility. |
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| The Chief Petty Officers' Mess. |
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| A mess deck for sailors. |
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| The surgical suite in USS Midway's Sick Bay. |
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| Midway's Sick Bay includes a full range of medical and dental facilities, including facilities for taking x-rays. |
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| The ship's dental surgery office. |
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| A Vought F4U Corsair carrier fighter plane on display in the Midway's Hangar Deck. This type saw service in the Second World War and during the Korean War. |
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| A Douglas EKA-3 Skywarrior, a derivative of the A-3 Skywarrior. Designed as a strategic bomber, the Skywarrior filled a number of roles for the US Navy between 1956 and retirement in 1991. The EKA-3 variant served in an Electronic countermeasures (ECM)/tanker role. As the largest aircraft to operate from carriers, the Skywarrior was nicknamed 'The Whale' by pilots. |
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| A Douglas A-4 Skyhawk light fighter. Nearly 3,000 Skyhawks were built between 1954 and 1979, and the aircraft saw service with a number of foreign militaries, as well as with the US Navy and US Marine Corps. The Marine Corps retired its Skyhawks in 1998, with the US Navy following in 2003. |
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| A Grumman F-14 Tomcat fighter. Entering US Navy service in September 1974, the Tomcat served in the maritime air superiority, fleet defense interception, and tactical reconnaissance roles. Later, in the 1990s, Low Altitude Navigation and Targeting Infrared for Night systems were installed and the Tomcat began conducting precision ground-attack missions. The US Navy retired the Tomcat in 2006, though the Iranian Air Force continues to operate a fleet of Tomcats purchased from the US in 1976, before the Islamic Revolution that severed diplomatic relations between the two countries. |
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| Looking forward, up Midway's flight deck. During flying operations, 250 personnel would be on the flight deck managing the complex schedule of take-offs and landings. During the day, aircraft could be landing every 45 seconds, while at night the rate was every 60 seconds. The ship had a 95% success rate for day landings and an 88% success rate for night landings. |
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| A McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II all-weather fighter, one of 5,195 built between 1958 and 1979. Entering US Navy service in 1960, the Phantom was also acquired by the US Marine Corps and the US Air Force. The F-4 served in the air forces of many foreign countries as well, including those of Australia, Egypt, Germany, the United Kingdom, Greece, Iran, Israel, Japan, Spain, South Korea and Turkey. The United States retired the Phantom from service in 1996. |
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| A Douglas A-1 Skyraider, introduced into United States service in 1946. Almost 3,200 Skyraiders were built between 1945 and 1957. Despite entering service after the advent of the jet age, the propeller-driven Skyraider distinguished itself as a highly-capable low-level attack aircraft in the Korean and Vietnam wars. |
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| Another F-4 Phantom II is used to demonstrate to visitors how aircraft land aboard aircraft carriers. |
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| A view of USS Midway's island superstructure, with a Grumman A-6 Intruder parked on the flight deck in the foreground. The top of the mast towers 67.05 metres (220 feet) over the flight deck. The flight deck covers 4.02 acres. |
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| A Grumman C-1 Trader carrier onboard delivery aircraft, a variant of the Grumman S-2 Tracker anti-submarine patrol aircraft. Entering service in 1952, the C-1 Trader could carry nine passengers or 3,500 lbs of cargo (i.e. mail, supplies) to carriers at sea. Only 83 C-1 Traders were built, with the US Navy retiring its last C-1 in 1988. Interestingly, with the shift to an all jet carrier aircraft complement, only jet fuel was available aboard the US Navy's carriers. As such, the propeller-driven C-1 Trader had to ensure it carried sufficient fuel to fly out to the carrier and return, as it could not top up its tanks on board. |
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| A Grumman A-6 Intruder all-weather medium attack aircraft, designed to replace the A-1 Skyraider. Introduced into US service in 1963, the Intruder was retired by the US Navy in 1997. |
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| The USS Midway's island, housing the ship's command and control functions, including air operations. The mast supports a variety of radar dishes and sensor arrays, as well as the signaling flags, seen fluttering in the gentle breeze from San Diego Bay. |
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| A Kamen SH-2 Seasprite helicopter, in service with the US Navy from 1962 until retirement in 2001. |
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| A Sikorsky SH-3 Sea King helicopter, which served in the anti-submarine warfare role in the US Navy from 1961 to 2006. The Sea King was replaced by the SH-60 Seahawk beginning in the 1990s. |
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| An A-7 Corsair II, built by Ling-Temco-Vought and based on the airframe of the supersonic Vought F-8 Crusader. Designed as a subsonic light attack aircraft to replace the A-4 Skyhawk, the A-7 entered service in 1967 and was also exported to Greece, Portugal, and Thailand. The US Air Force and US Navy ceased flying the A-7 in 1991. |
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| Looking aft, down the flight deck of USS Midway, along one of the catapult tracks. The flight deck was clad in 8.89 centimeters (3.5 inches) of steel armour and measures 305.10 metres (1,001 feet), more than the length of three football fields. Each catapult was approximately 80 metres (265 feet) in length and could propel an aircraft from 0 to 150 knots (170 mph) in three seconds or less, with a take-off possible every 90 seconds. |
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| The war room managed by the Admiral's chief of staff. |
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| The Combat Information Centre (CIC), the tactical heart of the ship, from where operations were directed. |
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| The galley servicing the ship's Captain and the Admiral commanding the Carrier Task Force. |
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| Staff in the communications section prepared and transmitted the task force commander's messages and orders to the other ships in the carrier group. |
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| The Radio Room. |
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| The wheelhouse. |
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| USS Midway's bridge. |
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| The Commanding Officer's chair on Midway's bridge. |
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| The Captain's sea cabin, located in the island superstructure so as to permit the Captain to get to the bridge quickly should the need arise. The Captain also had a more spacious shore cabin located deeper in the ship for use in port or for entertaining. |
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| Midway's wheel, used to conn the ship. |
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| One of Midway's 12 boilers, used to generate high-pressure steam for the ship's four high-pressure/low-pressure tubines that generated 212,000 horsepower and propelled the carrier at 33 knots (60 km/h). |
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| The engine room control board. USS Midway's engines consumed 260 gallons of fuel per mile at 15 knots (27.78 km/h), or the equivalent of one gallon every 20 feet. At 30 knots (55.56 km/h), the ship's engines consumed 900 gallons per mile. Midway's engineering department employed about 650 men. |
USS Midway - Specifications
Displacement: 64,000
Length: 305 metres (1,001 feet)
Beam: 37 metres (121 feet); 73 metres (238 feet) at flight deck after modernisation
Draught: 10.5 metres (34.5 feet)
Propulsion: 12 boilers, 4 x Westinghouse geared turbines
Speed: 33 knots (61 km/h)
Complement: 4,200-4,300 officers and men, plus 200-300 aviators
Armament: 18 x 5"/54 calibre Mark 16 guns, 84 x Bofors 40mm guns, and 68 x Oerlikon 20mm guns; 2 8-cell Sea Sparrow launchers and 2 x Phalanx close-in weapon systems (at decommissioning)
Aircraft carried: 100 (to Korean War); 65 (Vietnam War to retirement)
