USS Midway offers floating museum of naval history and operations

A friend of mine recently mentioned wanting to go to San Diego for vacation.

I suggested that if he did go, one touristy thing to do was to visit the USS Midway Museum. The former aircraft carrier was turned into a floating museum after it was decommissioned in 1992.

The aircraft carrier, once the largest ship in the world, was commissioned shortly after the end of World War II in 1945. It served the Navy for 47 years.

While it served during the Korean Conflict, Vietnam War and Operation Desert Storm, perhaps one of its major assignments was helping with the evacuation of South Vietnam after the country was overrun in April 1975 by North Vietnamese forces.

The Midway was opened to the public as a floating museum in June 2004. They expected 500,000 visitors a year when the museum opened. They average more than 1 million annually.

The Midway is docked in the San Diego harbor, along the Harbor Walk. It is perhaps the best attraction in that area.
That says a lot because other ships – including the famous windjammer The Star of India – and submarines are located along the Harbor Walk.

The museum’s tour is self-guided. Visitors are given headsets. As you approach one of the 60 exhibits, a recording starts giving visitors information about it.

It was really cool getting to go below deck, checking out the living quarters and work areas.

The Captain’s quarters were an interesting area. You would think the top officer on the ship would have the best area, but it was not much better than the other officers’ area.

The major advantage of the Captain’s quarters was that he didn’t have to share it with anyone else.

The senior and junior officers had their own quarters, as well. Not quite as nice as the Captain’s quarters, they were still decent.

The enlisted quarters were a major step down. The junior enlisted seamen shared sleeping quarters. Small bunk beds lined interior rooms. There appeared to be no privacy for the enlisted in the living area.

The senior enlisted members had perhaps the best set-up. It rivaled that of the senior officers. At times, we were told, senior officers would come down and request to dine with the Chief Petty Officer, because the mess hall would have better food than the officers’ mess.

One room is set aside in the CPO’s mess to honor the men and women missing from war.

Moving along the tour, we visited areas such as the Operations, Communications and Engineering sections. All were interesting to see.

One area that I found a little humorous (just to me, I imagine) was the Brig. The ship actually had a cell to keep troublemakers in. I can think of a couple of Navy veterans I know who likely stayed a night or two in the brig. LOL.

We moved atop the ship.

The Captain’s bridge highlighted where the ship was piloted. The ship’s Captain had his own small bedroom near the bridge, so he could get some rest during the mission.

The deck of the Midway is home to 29 aircraft on display.

One plane of particular interest was a jet from the USS Oriskany. My father-in-law served aboard it for a short time before moving to submarine duty.

The rest of the aircraft consisted of jets, planes, and helicopters. They range in age as old as World War II.

Some of the planes on display are:

SBD Dauntless dive bomber (WWII)

TBM Avenger (WWII)

F9F-8P Cougar (Korean conflict)

F-4 Phantom (Vietnam through the Cold War)

EKA-3 Skywarrior

H-34 Seabat helicopter

Aircraft on the flight deck:

For a list of all aircraft, please see http://www.midway.org/Aircraft-Museum

The USS Midway is open daily (except for Thanksgiving and Christmas Day).
Admission is $19 for adults (though you can always find internet coupons for a couple bucks off). Children 6-12 cost $10 to get in. Admission for kids 13-17 is $15 (or if they have a college ID). Seniors 62 and older can get in for $16. Retired military can get in for $10.

For more information on the museum, please see its website at http://www.midway.org/