Aircraft Carrier: USS Midway (CV-41)

The only remaining non Essex-class US Navy ship of the World War II period, the USS Midway is now decommissioned and turned into a museum, known as USS Midway Museum. The ship was the lead ship of her class, and the first to be commissioned after the end of World War II. The ship took active participation in the Vietnam War and Operation Desert Storm. She was built by the Newport News Shipbuilding Corporation, Virginia, and was commissioned on September 10, 1945. She had a revolutionary hull design which was based on the Montana class battleships. The design gave the ship better maneuverability over the former warships.

Early Deployment

In the beginning, Norfolk was the home port of USS Midway (CV-41). Soon after the ship got commissioned, her equipment and techniques were tested in the cold weather conditions of the North Atlantic in 1946. Later in 1947, her training in the Caribbean Sea was highlighted by Operation Sandy, in which she test fired a captured German V-2 rocket from her flight deck. It was the first such test from a moving platform. In October 1947, the Midway sailed to the Mediterranean Sea for her first annual deployment with the 6th Fleet. The ship underwent training during the deployment, and many alterations were made so she could accommodate heavier aircraft. There she was renamed CVA-41.

She was out commission from June 28 to September 30, 1957, as she underwent a massive modernization program, receiving a deck-edge elevator, an angled flight deck, and steam catapults. In 1958, she was home ported to Alameda, California, and was deployed with the 7th Fleet, this time in the South China Sea. In 1965, her aircraft were prepared for combat operations against military and logistic installations in Vietnam. She returned to her home port Alameda in 1966, and again underwent massive modernization, which proved to be expensive and controversial. This time her flight deck was enlarged from 2.8 to 4 acres, elevators were enlarged with double their capacity weight, a centralized air conditioning plant was put and she also received arresting gear.

Vietnam War

The USS Midway was deployed on and off for Vietnam operations. She left for Vietnam from Alameda on April 10, 1972. Her aircraft, along with ones from Coral Sea (CV-43), Kitty Hawk (CV-63) and Constellation (CV-64), laid minefields in the following significant Vietnamese ports - Thanh Hoa, Dong Hoi, Vinh, Hon Gai, Quang Khe and Cam Pha. The most challenging, yet successful, operation that was carried from Midway was the search and rescue of an aviator, who was downed by a surface-to-air missile in North Vietnam. The operation was carried out with the help of an HC-7 Det 110 helicopter which flew from the Midway. The helicopter, aided by planes from the USS Saratoga (CV-60), flew over the mountains, and despite receiving heavy gunfire, rescued the aviator. In October 1973, the ship was stationed at Yokosuka, Japan, that marked the first deployment of a complete carrier task force. The legacy was followed by Kitty Hawk, George Washington and others.

Operation Desert Storm

In August 1990, Iraq invaded the neighboring country of Kuwait. Hence, US forces moved into Saudi Arabia, as a part of Operation Imminent Thunder, an eight day combined landing exercise that saw moving in of 1000 US Marines, 16 warships, and more than 1100 aircraft. Operation Desert Storm was launched in January 1991, when Iraq did not meet the United Nations (UN) deadline to withdraw its forces from Kuwait. The operation involved 228 sorties from the Midway and Ranger from Persian Gulf. Other ships like Theodore Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy, Saratoga and America were also involved in the operation. About 100 Tomahawk missiles were fired from nine different ships from Red Sea, the Persian Gulf and the Mediterranean Sea. The operation ended on February 27, 1991.

The Midway sailed to Naval Air Station North Island, San Diego, where she was decommissioned on April 11, 1992. The then Secretary of Defense, Dick Cheney, was the main speaker at the decommissioning ceremony. The ship was opened to public on June 7, 2004, at Broadway Pier, San Diego. People came in numbers to visit the museum. Today, people are allowed to tour the ship's flight deck, bridge, hangar and mess deck, engine room and other quarters. Their interest in the ship was evident when the attendance doubled to 879,281 guests in the first year itself. For her impressive history and active role in the Vietnam War and Operation Desert Storm, the USS Midway will always be remembered.