The USS Midway Museum ship

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The Midway was an aircraft carrier of the United States Navy, named after the Battle of Midway, which was probably the turning point for American naval supremacy during World War II. Launched in 1945, this 45,000 ton carrier was the world’s largest at the time, and it served in the Vietnam War, Operation Desert Storm, the Mediterranean, humanitarian missions, and many areas around the world.

It was modernized and enlarged twice, adding a steel angled deck, mirror landing system, steam catapults, and other improvements, so that at decommissioning in 1992 it displaced 54,000 tons. Over 1000 feet (320+m) in length, it was a real “floating city”, with more than 2,000 compartments, a total fuel capacity of 3½ million gallons, a crew of 4,600, and galleys that served some 13,000 meals daily. Its catapults could launch a plane every 40 seconds, going from 0-100 (160 km/h) or more in only half the length of the flight deck.

In 2004 “Midway” was opened to the public as a museum in San Diego, and received almost 880,000 visitors that year. Altogether to date, several million have visited it. As a Navy veteran myself, I thoroughly enjoyed the visit. My blog gives a brief glimpse of what is there for the visitor to enjoy … for more details see http://www.Midway.org/ or ‘Google’ the Wikipedia article.

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