Exploring the USS Midway

[@gameboy228]

I'm in my last 2 weeks of my Docents course. I love the guest interaction I get when I'm on board. The Veteran Docents are a wealth of historical information. If anyone gets the chance to visit, please take time to talk to these heroes.

[@jeffpetrimoulx6806]

No ejection on the C2/E2. I was in VF-151 fron May of 1980 till Mar of 1983. I hope to get the the Ole girl again. The F-4 on the deck withe the tail hook down , I got to work on that bird. Lost of "sea stories" bring back many fond memories.

[@unclebobshow]

I went through the Midway in June. I didn’t get to the island but went through and saw the captain and admiral rooms.

[@foxamusements5320]

Thank you for this, I have been on the Midway twice and I am planning a trip back with my father who served in the Navy. We are planning to visit the Midway and the USS Iowa BB 61 in LA since we are from Iowa. Going out to California to tour these ships with my dad is something I am looking forward to. I have visted the Midway a couple of times when I have been in California and I have been on the Iowa once while out there, going out there with my dad should be a good time. Glad you had the opportunity wih your father.

[@danielcostello4041]

Ship was my home from 1979 to 1981.

[@johngorman2916]

There was no ejection on the E-2. Hatch above each pilot. 1 hatch in back for the 3 crewmembers. CPO, USN, RET, 69-94

[@allgood6760]

Awesome 👍

[@michaelmikulski1123]

Went on the Midway a couple times. Quite the museum.

[@jessicaleonardo4599]

Wow 😮

[@luacreskid]

I was on her sister ship, F D Roosevelt (CV 42) and the spaces are similar.

[@jhbright]

Pretty sure there’s no ejecting in the e2/c2s… the only turbo-prop ejection seat I can think of is the t-6 Texan trainer.

[@annehechesliverdonation9624]

01:58 thats called a canopy dawg... and there aint no ejection seat on an E-2. Bailout parachute only option

[@natus1]

I went to this ship in my summer vacation

[@steventucker4724]

My dad served on the USS MIDWAY CVA-41 in Vietnam

[@nielsdorhout058]

The F-14 with the wrong stick in it 😂

[@clydeabellana6593]

If war broke out and needed more carrier can that ship be back into service?

[@nickrrob]

Hello! I'm not sure...people who know better than I do seem to think not (or at least that it wouldn't be possible to reactivate on a less than 5 year timeframe) : www.quora.com/If-the-USA-needed-to-could-they-make-the-museum-aircraft-carriers-USS-Midway-and-USS-Intrepid-operational-and-use-them-in-combat.

[@MHTfueler]

Nope

[@invoxicated]

No the bulkhead structure has been stressed to the max due to them converting a straight deck carrier into a somewhat of a super carrier. So much weight was added to the port side from the large angle deck its not combat reliable anymore.

[@stevencovington4715]

@@invoxicated Right... That is why it was forward deployed, to be the FIRST on the scene. Midway was more reliable than the other birdfarms around.

[@glennyork6800]

Wrong Midway was not longest serving US aircraft carrier. CVN -65 USS Enterprise served for 51 yrs, [1961- 2012] & USS Lexington CV-16 served for 48 yrs [1943 to 1991] vs Midways 46 yrs.[1945-1992]

[@AvengerII]

Glenn, service years are sometimes are semantics. Active duty/forward deployed versus training duty is another thing. The USS New Jersey (BB-62) is nearly 80 years old. She could have served upwards of 50 years service but she only served about 21 years active service between 1943 and 1991! She was in mothballs most of the time. These ships also don't spend as much time at sea as people think. A lot of times they are docked or spend years in mothballs or being repaired. Aside from docktime, the USS Enterprise (CVN-65) spent at least 10 years of its "active service" life being repaired or refit, the most publicized refit/overhaul being the 1979-1981 refit where the island was extensively altered. They ripped out the original radar arrays and the conical tower on top of the island. They installed the same basic radar systems the Nimitz-class had because the original systems did not work all that well and it was unreliable! Before its last 2 deployments, Enterprise spent 2 years in overhaul. Some of its systems were still in rough shape when it returned to Norfolk for the last time in 2012. The Lexington (CV-16) also did not spend 48 years in active duty/frontline service. She was decommissioned between 1947 and 1955; she recommissioned in 1955 with steam catapults and an angled deck after a 2-year refit. The later refits were not as extensive including the preparations to become a training ship. Lexington was NOT active duty for very long in the Cold War. After December 1962, she became the training carrier. She was delayed in that role for months beforehand (upwards of close to half a year) so that she could assist in the blockade of Cuba. When she was reclassed as a training carrier, there was very little chance she was going to be re-impressed as a frontline attack carrier! After the late 1950s, there were many plane types that were marginal or unsafe to deploy on that type of carrier including the F-4, the A-6, A-7, and E-2; they were just too heavy and their approach speeds were too high for the strength rating of the Essex-class decks. The point was moot because after the 1960s the US Navy knew it was getting out of the "WW2 carrier business" and becoming a supercarrier fleet with a goal of going all-nuke carrier ASAP. To be fair, Midway wasn't 46 straight years active service, either. Her major refits lasted a total of 6 years -- 2 in the 1950s, last 4 years of the 1960s. She otherwise served continuously as frontline carrier for her entire service life with no extended periods of mothballs until she was decommissioned for the last time in 1992.

[@TPaine1776]

He said of the 20th century.

[@johnjones5354]

The statement at 0:39 about Midway being the longest serving carrier of the 20th century is a lie. USS Midway was commissioned September 10, 1945, and decommissioned on April 11, 1992. A total time of 46 years 7 months. USS Enterprise, CVN 65 was commissioned November 25, 1961, and inactivated on December 1, 2012, after 51 years of proud service. She was decommissioned February 3, 2017. No disrespect to USS Midway or her crews, but the statement that she was the "longest serving carrier of the 20th century" is blatantly false.

[@nickrrob]

Hello and thanks for commenting. I pulled this information from the USS Midway site: www.midway.org/about-us/midway-history/. Within the bounds of the 20th century, 1900-2000, the Midway served longest. I did not mean (and they do not mean) longest-serving aircraft carrier *built* in the 20th century.

[@johnjones5354]

@@nickrrob You MUST be a heck of a barber to split hairs like that. Or you just don't want to admit that you are parroting misinformation from another website, without bothering to confirm it. And just FYI, in the statement you made, you said that "it was the. . . .". That ship is not an "it". That ship is a she. Ships, boats and aircraft are always referred to as she or her, as they share 4 characteristics with women. They are beautiful, loveable, unpredictable, and always, very very expensive.

[@khainguyen3056]

@@johnjones5354 To a non-sailor its an it.

[@cotedazure]

Official USS Midway Museum website does, in fact, say longest serving carrier "in the 20th century" so I don't see no lies here. If it said longest serving aircraft carrier "ever", then we'd have a good debate. Anyway, interesting to know the official numbers. Speaking of the Enterprise, I'm looking forward to seeing CVN-80 when she's finally commissioned. I expect she'll be active for a good 5 decades or so.

[@lewisway6811]

There is no no ejecting from the E2 or the C2's.