USS Midway - A seagoing icosikaidigon you have to land on!

Today we take a look at the worlds largest museum carrier, USS Midway, based in San Diego, visit the ship here: www.midway.org/
Naval History books, use code 'DRACH' for 25% off - www.usni.org/press/books?f%5B...
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[@Drachinifel]

Pinned post for Q&A :) NOTE: Yes, there is no intro today, some random Turkish company claims it has the copyright to a copyright-free track and refuses to release the claim, so for the moment I've had to edit out the intro. I have reached out to the hosts of the music track to see if they can resolve this, if not, then we'll have to have a competition for a new intro track.

[@roadrunner6224]

This is probably outside of your channels scope, but how did the crew towards the end of Midways service life view their accomodation, considering it was a WW2 ship in the 90s?

[@AdamMGTF]

What a joke. I sware KZbin goes out of its way to make life hard for it's channel owners!

[@stephenrickstrew7237]

Sorry for the trouble.. Perhaps some sea chanties … something about Grog …or getting paid ..?

[@davidwright7193]

Hearts of Oak? Johnny Todd? Grey Funnel line?

[@shabut]

@@roadrunner6224 Smaller crew size for one.

[@Big_E_Soul_Fragment]

Hell of a flex to the Japanese that you're commissioning a ship named after a battle you won just 3 years ago

[@chickenfishhybrid44]

Lmao! Good point

[@lancerevell5979]

Outstanding way to drive the point home. Same with the USS Coral Sea.

[@ph89787]

Do you know what's a bigger flex? Photographing it with one of the carriers that won that Battle.

[@ewok40k]

The real flex was the size of the carriers...

[@nhancao4790]

The real flex is the US was building so many Carriers that they were running out of famous battles for Carriers to be named after.

[@nofreecards7755]

Fun fact: The F/A-18 on display on the flight deck flew from Midway during the Gulf War. It was assigned to VFA-192, The World Famous Golden Dragons, and I have five combat missions in that particular aircraft. I have photos from that time I could share with you if you’re interested.

[@BleedingUranium]

Must be amazing to see something that specific preserved. :)

[@cptjeff1]

So, was that one of the good ones or one of the pile of spare parts ones? Always funny to see what gets preserved. The Smithsonian's F-14 has one of the few air to air kills for a US Tomcat, but also apparently spent a decade as a hangar queen afterwards.

[@earltaylor1893]

What a beautiful aircraft. I’m happy with my lot in life, but the one career that makes me jealous is that of a Navy F-18 pilot.

[@daesmith3274]

Wow coolest fan comment ever! You should be in an episode!

[@scottl9660]

I’ve heard of the black sheep, and the pukin dogs, the black aces, grim reapers, the checkmates, the jolly rogers, the wolf pack, black knights, gunfighters hell even the devils disciples. But world famous golden dragon….can’t say I know that one.

[@Jman7133]

I am an E-2 Hawkeye NFO and I can say this is the first time I've ever heard anyone refer to our radar as a "smartie dome" XD

[@Pitchlock8251]

I personally like to think of it as an M&M.

[@nickmariotti4241]

Drach has a great way with words...

[@BleedingUranium]

Smarties aren't a thing in the States, so that might be the disconnect here.

[@c1ph3rpunk]

It’s not a “lookie around and see-y thing”?

[@jameson1239]

@@BleedingUranium bro smarties are awesome what do you mean they don’t exist In the states?

[@bigbaddms]

The Midway is the #1 tourist attraction in San Diego and racks very high nationwide even. It is absolutely awesome. And yes of course we want to see part 2!

[@adamjaquay4279]

Visited the Midway about 10 years ago with the wifey. The size is just mind blowing even if its not a siper- carrier. To those that say a few hits will put one on the bottom just say no dude... just no( yes i know modern weapons are far more leathal) lol.

[@christopherrowe7460]

Yes, my wife has been to the MIDWAY twice while attending conventions in San Diego. And she isn't even fond of Naval things. (Life isn't fair.) But she was kind enough to send pictures.

[@bigbaddms]

@@adamjaquay4279 let’s hope we never find out!

[@BestAnswer12549]

​@@christopherrowe7460my wife gives two ships per year 😂

[@halo129830]

Visited in 2021 and 2016 it was amazing and they have added quite a bit

[@stevewaldorff4327]

28:07: A-7 Corsair! You can tell by the hard-points under the wings(in this view). F-8 Crusader is on the left side of the screen.

[@w6krg]

Yeah, A-7 on the port cat, F-8 on the starboard cat.

[@ThumperE23]

The Cessna O-1E Bird Dog is a similar model but not the one that landed on Midway. The one that landed on Midway is in Pensacola at the National Naval Aviation Museum. It is out of the way, and has no ships nearby but is worth is worth a look, as it has everything from WW1 up until present involving Naval Aviation.

[@jwenting]

That museum is definitely worth a visit, IF it's accessible to foreigners (most museums at active US bases were locked to US citizens only post 9-11, or even closed entirely except to active US service personell).

[@ThumperE23]

@@jwenting The DoD has been a bit over board, according to the website it has to be DoD cardholder, but that's not post 9-11, as I had visited it post 9-11. I believe its COVID. There has been talks of making it directly accessed from outside the base. I don't know when it changed but the DoD has been focusing more and more of the education to save funding, but I remember the Pensacola Museum being more civilian focused.

[@sirboomsalot4902]

Don’t they also have the last surviving SBD that actually attacked Japanese carriers at Midway there?

[@TheOdst219]

The base IS open to civillians atleast last time I went, granted this was during Blue Angels practice and Homecoming.

[@ThumperE23]

@@sirboomsalot4902 yes they do, that was a selling point they had some of the few US Aircraft that saw combat in WW2, as most US Combat Veteran Aircraft were left overseas.

[@connormulholland6893]

I think the Sea King helicopter has the the capsule stickers signifying that it was used to pick up at least five Gemini or Apollo space capsules.

[@deep_fried_hedonism5366]

There is a section down by the CIC that has all of the materials, the Midway was present for every pickup! Hopefully he touches upon it in a second vid.

[@davidhanson9708]

@@deep_fried_hedonism5366 correction: the Midway never participated in any capsule pickup missions. The Midway Museum's first exhibits manager (CAPT Chuck Smiley) personally flew some of those pickup missions (from other carriers), and his name is honored on the side of the SH-3.

[@davidhanson9708]

This SH-3 is painted to resemble the actual helo that did the pickups - the original helo no longer exists. By the way, the mission symbols are all Apollo (no Gemini).

[@kojirosasaki6200]

My father was a corpsman on the Midway when it was first stationed at Yokosuka, Japan 1973-1976. He was on board when Saigon was evacuated and when the Bird Dog Landed on the flight deck. I was lucky to be able to take a day cruise on the Midway for dependents. The Midway todays looks very much like it did in the '73 and it still has the smell.

[@ph89787]

Btw Drach. The pilot of the Cessna O-1 Bird Dog was Major Ly Buang of the Republic of Vietnam Air Force. He took (stole) the plane and flew himself, his wife and 5 children onto Midway.

[@throwback19841]

The cessna landing was a hell of a story. They wanted him to ditch in the sea next to the carrier and get recovered, then they realised his plane was packed with his wife and 5 kids (radio was out, they were literally dropping notes out of the plane iirc) so the captain ordered several million dollars worth of helicopters thrown overboard to clear the deck for landing cos women and children first. Link to the full story here: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Midway_(CV-41)#Operation_Frequent_Wind I love that the crew set up a fund to help Major Buang and his family settle in the US.

[@khaelamensha3624]

It is with this kind of decision that you get yourself punished and a medal 😂

[@RobinTheBot]

A tragedy that never should have happened... We made so many of them pin their entire future in us, and then left when we finally realized we never should have gone. Remember the thousands of civilians we left screaming at the docks. The SV dictator was not worth defending.

[@cdfe3388]

@@RobinTheBot The North Vietnamese commies weren’t any better. Operation Frequent Wind rescued thousands, but over the next few years, *millions* of Vietnamese refugees fled the communist takeover of their country in anything that might potentially float. These are now known as the “Boat People,” and they’re exactly who the commies claimed to be fighting for. I’m not saying we should’ve been there, or that the war wasn’t criminally mishandled, but context is important. Diem sucked, but Ho was worse. Within days of the fall of Saigon, people started “disappearing” into “re-education centers” (i.e. gulags) by the thousands.

[@marckyle5895]

Those were US Army helicopters, so the Navy didn't care. lolol

[@BaikalTii]

most of the helos were South Vietnamese and would have been jettisoned anyway. at least the commies didn't get them.

[@NewtypeCommander]

Once again, it was a pleasure to meet you Drach. I completely forgot about the bookstore on my last visit, so thanks for the reminder on that little hidden gem. By the way, for those that don't like driving, there is another way you can travel to the Midway: a train. Just a couple city blocks to the north and east of Midway is a railway station where you can catch a train to ride in and out of San Diego. You can actually see the station from the Midway, as the building has a big blue sign that says "Santa Fe" in white lettering.

[@colormedubious4747]

Oddly enough, that train station is Santa Fe Depot and is also a historic landmark. It's the city's main train station, served by Amtrak's intercity California trains, the Coaster regional/commuter train, the MTS San Diego Trolley, and MTS buses. There are also a couple of San Diego Trolley stops within walking distance of the Midway, and Seaport Village is reasonably close when you get a bit peckish and want to enjoy a sit-down meal.

[@TrappedinSLC]

Sounds like you know the area - would it be possible to park a class a RV (bus-style, takes up two head-to-head parking spaces exactly) in the parking lot there? Not for overnight, just while visiting the ship. We usually try to stick it on the far side of a lot so we aren't taking up two 'prime real estate' spaces (unless there are designated larger spots) but some places are still not thrilled to have anything larger than a car. We do have a car we tow also, so we can get there from a campground if needed, but check out at campgrounds is usually early enough that being able to take the RV to the activity/attraction is quite handy, saves booking an extra day just to have a good place to leave the RV. :)

[@colormedubious4747]

@@TrappedinSLC I'm not from San Diego (it's just one of my favorite cities to visit), so your best bet would be to call the museum and ask them. That being duly noted, if I were in your shoes (or your RV), I'd stay at Paradise by the Sea RV Resort in Oceanside, walk to the Coast Highway Sprinter station, take the Sprinter to Oceanside Transit Center, take the Coaster from there to Santa Fe Depot, and just walk to the museum from there. Buy MTS day passes and explore the city using the San Diego Trolley, buses, and your reliable feet.

[@NewtypeCommander]

@@TrappedinSLC Probably not. Parking in San Diego can be pretty tight, especially in the downtown area near where the Midway is.

[@ph89787]

I think you already know this one, Drach. But there's a photo of USS Midway at the New York Naval Day parade in 1945, where she's anchored behind Enterprise. Shows how much the US Navy advanced in carrier designed from a treaty-era (albeit heavily modified) unarmoured flight deck carrier. To the enormous armoured flight deck carrier.

[@MrQwint22]

My mom had a business trip to San Diego years ago. She likes to tell the story of waking up on her first night, opening the hotel blinds and being very confused by the jets parked out on the street! Turns out her room had a perfect veiw on the Midway.

[@user-bi7xd8ry5p]

I'm pretty sure that HMS Brazen was Jingles' first ship. So indeed the old gnome was "mentioned" in the status board.

[@marhawkman303]

What caught my attention was the Canadian ship Athabaska. :D

[@babamukuru666]

One impressive thing when I went there was being awed by the size of Midway compared to Intrepid and then going up on the deck and seeing the even larger Carl Vinson docked at the base

[@cptjeff1]

As a kid, my cousin took me on a tour of the brand new at the time Stennis. He was on the GW, but it was in drydock at the time, so didn't get to tour that one. Those Nimitzes are gigantic.

[@BleedingUranium]

They really are huge. When I was a kid (I believe I was 7) I got to go on a tour of the Abraham Lincoln, during some sort of stop in Victoria here on the west coast of Canada. She had no aircraft on board unfortunately, but it was incredibly cool regardless; even 20-odd years later I can still remember a lot of it vividly. I drew a little smiley face in the condensation on that green-windowed "bunker" thing up near the forward catapults. :)

[@Cibao228]

Drach, ABSOLUTELY love all your videos. Especially this one of my first home at sea. One minor correction, at 23:04, the chair on the starboard side of the bridge is for the "Gator", which is the nickname of the ship's Navigator. He (or she) is a Navy Officer.

[@TheCritter001]

The A-1 Skyraider is one of the unsung heroes of the Vietnam War. It's close-in-air support saved my uncle's life, and many of his fellow Marines during Tet. If you make it up to see the Iowa , don't forget to check the maritime museum, Fort MaCarthur , and BusyBee sandwichs lol

[@jacoblitman4866]

I visited Midway a few years back. I was a bit slow waking up and getting ready, but thought "She's just one ship, how long can it possibly take to tour her?" I can tell you this: it takes more than three hours to tour your typical floating city.

[@perkinscurry8665]

I spent 4 hours on one visit and still didn't see everything I wanted. You will be disappointed if you don't plan for enough time.

[@RCAvhstape]

I spent all day on the battleship North Carolina, probably about 5 hours. Almost got lost deep inside.

[@TPaine1776]

@@perkinscurry8665 I spent 3 years on it and didn't see everything.

[@jwclapp1183]

It’s very easy to get wrapped up in the aircraft and forget to take pictures. BTW, that plane the Vietnamese captain commandeered to save his family is an 0-1 Bird Dog. The story is amazing!!!

[@GearGuardianGaming]

according to wikipedia the pilot was a south vietnamese general

[@cdfe3388]

@@GearGuardianGaming The pilot was Major Buang Ly of the RVNAF. He took off with his wife and their six children in the hope of finding an American deck to land on. Midway’s deck crew had to dump two dozen Hueys into the South China Sea to give MAJ Buang room to land. It was an act of excellent airmanship, courage, and desperation.

[@mike28003]

At 34:00 time frame also know as the ouija board. The cut outs also denoted the status of each aircraft on deck by useing painted nuts and bolts, that they placed on the cut outs. They had the same thing in hanger deck control for the aircraft in the hanger bay.

[@ricardokowalski1579]

Think about it, the ship is so large that roll and pitch (usually) can't slide the pieces off the board.

[@mike28003]

@ricardokowalski1579 and just think I was on the kitty hawk when we were taking 20 degree plus rolls

[@ricardokowalski1579]

@@mike28003 when your action station has a sign that says "hang on for dear life" 😆

[@mike28003]

@ricardokowalski1579 to bad I worked flight deck we had no where to hold

[@robertdobbs2265]

I toured the middy when she was home ported in Japan back in the early 80'S. It's nice to know that more of our history in thewater.

[@anumeon]

Nice to see a Sea King that has five NASA mission recoveries on its credit.. :)

[@invader440]

Chased her around for 3 years when I was forward deployed to Japan in the early 80's. USS Lockwood FF-1064.

[@johnlane8587]

I believe that at 28:00 the aircraft is an A-7 with the aircraft in the background being the F-8 👌👍

[@MotoroidARFC]

Agreed. The A-7 had a round nose compared to the F-8's more pointed nose. The inlet lips were more blunt on the A-7 while the F-8's were sharper.

[@ramal5708]

6:12 The Bird Dog was the same type of aircraft that South Vietnamese pilot who landed during Op. Frequent Wind, the evacuation of Saigon. The guy landed without tailhook on the carrier with his family onboard.

[@shaider1982]

Yup, the captain had the men jettison the helicopters on the deck to allow the Bird Dog to land.

[@greenseaships]

Landed without a tail hook?? That's pretty balsey LOL j/k

[@greenseaships]

Because of the ship's headway, he had to go close to full throttle to catch up! :P

[@cheesenoodles8316]

She is a big ship. Spent a long day and had a great time. A treat was the veterans on duty sharing their experiences. The current airwing of chubby sparrows expected a cut of the frenchfries while lunching on the fantail. The lifts made it possible for my Mom and Dad to enjoy the Midway.

[@pologoone6639]

RE. What a helicopter looks like. I was born in Belfast in the late '70s and would see helicopters sometimes several times a day, depending on whatever situation was going on. However I was in my late 20s and living in the U.S. when I saw my first CIVILIAN helicopter. It had a strangely profound effect on me. I'd always found helicopters fascinating but somehow never really understood that any non military ones really existed. It was like seeing a unicorn. My wife, who grew up in a more stable country and was used to them thought I'd had some kind of mental episode. She still laughs about it today.

[@cdfe3388]

Come to California, where you’ll see dozens of Hueys and Blackhawks (as well as ex-Navy S-2 Trackers and P-3 Orions) any time there’s a fire!

[@jp18449]

I'm kinda th eopposite of you, I live near Aberdeen which has the world's largest heliport, the 100+ helicopters which go overhead (sometimes as low as 300m) are just something which you end up getting used to and ignoring.

[@dvdraymond]

When I was in Iraq where I stayed on base was near a Marine medevac landing pad, and the Sea Knights would always come in escorted by a Cobra that would circle around a couple times before landing. When I got back home I was working near the main area hospital, and when a medevac helicopter came in there was something in the back of mind mind going "something's wrong... where's the escort gunship?" Took my brain a little while to get used to it.

[@hektor6766]

When I was young the Bell "plexiglass bubble and girder monstrosities" were what one thought of for a helicopter. Still miss that chopping sound their single blade made.

[@thefriese8805]

In the topic of SEA Kings, one evening Back when i was in still in school a German navy Mk.41 was flying about 20-30 Meters above the rooftops of my neiborhood

[@jimwolaver9375]

If I may contribute to your excellent presentation: I offer the memories of a US Navy Sailor who retired 13 years ago. When fixing the ship's position in inshore waters, the plotter will be at the chart table and have charge of all efforts involving the chart (or map) (which becomes a permanent legal record). The plotter will call out "Mark around!" The observers at each of the bearing circles (there's a more technical name I don't remember) will take turns in a previously practiced order calling back bearings to fixed landmarks in rapid succession; for instance, "Lighthouse X bearing two-four-zero degrees," then the next will call out "Point Y bearing three-two-two degrees." Usually a third bearing is taken for certainty, "Mount Z bearing zero-four-two degrees." Now the plotter can say with a great deal of certainty that the ship is at a specific location and will quickly calculate a course and speed made good since the last observation. Hope this helps! About that battle bridge inside the bridge: remember when Midway was constructed - Battle damage onboard the carrier was still remembered as a common event. You are correct in your observation that the bulkheads around this inner bridge are not what you would call armor, but being inside the main bridge and being so high above the deck where attacking munitions are going to explode was considered likely to offer enough protection to suffice for a battle bridge. Again, I hope this helps! Somewhere around 39:40 you show an officer's galley, too many dishes for just the Captain. This likely served the CO, battle group admiral, and their staffs. There would have been a separate wardroom (officer's mess) for the pilots and other flight officer's. Yes, the CO and Admiral still each had private messing where they could dine privately or host say half a dozen guests. My wife was an Ombudsman for USS Enterprise 2000 through 2002 and dined with the Captain on numerous occasions when the ship was in home port. Moving on, back in the day, American microwaves were commonly finished in a wood-grain adhesive skin. And yes, that's a dish washer - saved carting dishes down to the scullery (main dish washing facility - associated with the enlisted mess). Remember the staff of the officer's galley was limited and labor saving devices like dish-washers were not that big an expense when compared to the cost of an aircraft carrier and they took up MUCH less space than a scullery. As before, I hope this helps!

[@paulgracey4697]

My time in the U.S. Navy was in the early 1960s, and those PPI consoles you showed in CIC are a more modern version of the prototypes that were on the U.S.S. Mahan aboard which I served. One of the first three ships to be equipped with the Naval Tactical Data System . (NTDS). While the Midway's NTDS computers are much more compact, Midway does still have a version of the large wardrobe cabinet sized processors our destroyer class ship had. On Midway that computer was converted to serve for doing inertial navigation. That was an interim form of complex ship's guidance between classic celestial and the advent of GPS that could function quite accurately in conditions requiring EMCON operations. That is, with radar and radio emissions shut down to prevent an enemy from homing in on those signals. One thing our ship did with that then brand new NTDS was bluff the Soviets during a crossing from San Diego to WESTPAC far East operations. Together with our sister ship the U.S.S King in a 100 mile sided triangular formation with the Oriskany, the third NTDS equipped ship operating in EMCON, we spoofed her radar signals and TACAN causing the Soviet Tu-95 Bear reconnaissance flights to overfly the King while being escorted by fighter jets from the Oriskany whose flight control personnel were aboard our two escort vessels directing them. At those distances the tu-95s could not find the Oriskany that they meant to overfly as they had our carriers stationed in the Mediterranean, but we could still share data between all three ships, in an era before satellite links were possible.

[@bforce3824]

Great tour video - thank you! I served on Midway from Oct 89 up until decom. I was an aircraft handler in the hangar bay, and then later worked in primary flight control. I like to point out to people who have toured her that they have seen more of the ship than I have after living onboard for 2 years. It's just so big - and our work days at sea weren't conducive to tourism 😄. One of these days I'll take my kids to visit her - I'm thankful for her preservation.

[@robertadamcik9179]

Love your explanation of the use of a telescopic alidade and visual piloting!!!!! Also, the starboard side bridge chair is for the Navigator (hence the "Gator" on the chair), not for a Marine officer. I sat in the Navigator's chair on JOHN F. KENNEDY during my last underway before leaving that ship in '06.

[@slateslavens]

My father was a chief petty officer in the radio room on the Kennedy when he retired in '83

[@raysprinkle7914]

Was privileged to be a member of the recommissioning crew in January, 1970 and, therefore, a "Plank Owner". She was my first ship after completing air traffic control schools and I remained a crew member until December, 1971 which included a Vietnam cruise. Just a wonderful experience.

[@phillip0537]

Quick correction on the optical landing system: the horizontal line of blue lights is not for lineup, it serves as a reference to tell the pilot where the center of the glideslope is (so you can tell if the ball is high or low). Lineup is done almost exclusively by looking at the centerline. The red lights are flashed by the landing signal officer (LSO) if the pilot needs to wave-off because the approach is too far out of tolerances.

[@paulwoodman5131]

As a side note, this system was developed by the British. Very effective and still in use. It has been augmented by a system called magic carpet, which works with the f-18 planes to reduce pilot workload during recovery

[@christopherrowe7460]

Good point about it being a British invention. The angled flight deck and steam catapults were also British developments postwar. Here's a link to a talk on the centennial of U.S. Naval and aviation where the speaker asserts that the British "saved" carrier aviation in the early 1950's while the US Navy was obsessed with getting nuclear bombers aboard supercarriers: kzbin.info/www/bejne/o4GkgIB-pp6EhNk

[@tedferkin]

Also to add to this, as aircraft comes in to land, the pilot would power up. Depending on the responsiveness of the engines, this could be from the first touch or slightly before. If you overshot and missed the trap, then you would have full power to climb away rather than ditch. If you ever watch the carrier landings you well see this powering up, then powering down, once the pilot was sure s/he was stopping. The engineers in control of the tensions on the wires need to know which aircraft are coming in, so they can set the right levels of resistance. Too high and your likely to damage the aircraft, too low and the thing tips off the end of the angled flight deck.

[@seanmalloy7249]

@@tedferkin Setting the resistance too high or too low can also result either in the arresting cable snapping, or in an extreme case, running out the purchase cables to their limit and _then_ snapping the cable, potentially flinging high-speed cable ends across the flight deck. I know of at least one incident where a flight crew received the Air Medal for saving their plane after the arrestor cable snapped on landing; there's a video of their plane disappearing over the end of the cantilever and then slowly clawing its way back into the air.

[@scottroche9996]

I sailed on the midway as a member of carrier group 5 in the early 80s she was a fun ship to sail on

[@dollings4205]

My grandfather God rest his soul served on the USS Shangri La as a “radar man” (that’s what he called it). When Midway was made a museum, it was amazing to see him explain an aircraft carrier from his experience. Favorite memory was him pointing out the “hand crank” phones that are all around during emergencies. Miss you Ron, so does Midway

[@ThePrader]

I turn 70 soon ,and I was a LT. (black shoe) aboard the USS Independence, CV-62. As I watched this video I realized my hairs on the back of my neck were on end. Erie how the memories of air-ops , at night, came back. Especially when I saw an A-4 Skyhawk go over the bow one night and we lost the pilot during night carrier-quals. More like this one please. It brought back an exciting period of my life.

[@an0gr0br]

One cool thing about Midway is that you are directly across the harbor from North Island and can usually see very good views of active US Navy ships as well, if that’s your kind of thing. When I was there in March, both the Carl Vinson and the Lincoln were in port, and I also saw three or four different Arleigh Burkes transiting in and out over the two days I was in town

[@deep_fried_hedonism5366]

I was there at the same time it was great! I didn't know at the time but kept seeing subs driving into port too, they were prepping a bunch of subs for the AUKUS announcement too. Was a great time to be there! Funny enough the Carl and Lincoln are the same width as the Midway, the new carriers just have increased length instead because otherwise we break the Panama and Suez :D

[@karlbrundage7472]

@29:40- Those extensions off the flight deck are Catapult Stirrup Catchers. Any aircraft launch that required a stirrup (F-4, A-1, etc) used these to catch the stirrup for further use. Otherwise, the stirrup would just be flung into the sea ahead of the ship. Edit: the reason you don't see this feature on US Carriers today is because no aircraft in the Airwing require a stirrup..............

[@davidhanson9708]

The extensions are actually called "Bridle Arrest Sponsons", meant to catch the "bridle cables" (not stirrups) as they came off the launching aircraft. Or at least that's what the U.S. Navy called them, other countries may have different terminology.

[@karlbrundage7472]

@@davidhanson9708 I'm a Sub guy, so the subject is obviously out of my wheelhouse. I just recall terminology from a tour we got of the Midway at Yokosuka back in '86. Thanks for the clarification. Edit: I knew it had something to do with a horse....

[@paulwoodman5131]

At 34:09 . In Flight deck Control is what is known as the Ouija board, all the aircraft on the flight deck are shown in their position. You may notice on top of each marker is various pieces that denote that aircraft's condition of readiness. The bolt ,nut or some little other marker will show if the aircraft needs fuel or maintenance. You will find a similar board down in hanger deck control but it will be a lot more crowded probably.

[@MartinCHorowitz]

I worked on the F14 and E2C, may father worked on the A6, and I have visited the Midaway, lots of Memories.

[@elliottjames8020]

I had limited time in San Diego and chose to do the Maritime Museum rather than Midway, so this was useful. That said I had great fun at the Maritime Museum and took their schooner down the bay under sail.

[@redtailpunk]

"among other things" is more than right as far as the ceremonies go haha. Back in 2008/09 the trophy ceremony for a youth hockey tournament was done on the flight deck. what a memory!

[@mike28003]

The horns sticking off the bow are from when they used the bridle catapult system we called the cable slappers.

[@davepratt9909]

Hard to believe I was a 3/C Midshipman on what is now a museum ship. The video brought back some good memories. I was standing helmsman watch under the watchful eye of the quartermaster when I hear, "God d**m it, Do we have a midshipman at the helm again?" The Navigator (who at the time had ownership of the 2nd chair) had come on deck and noticed the ship wasn't going very straight. We also had to stand watch down in CIC, writing backwards on the glass boards with a grease pencil to track the status of the contacts. You were behind the board so the view wasn't blocked. Every so often, you would hear "Backwards!" You then had to find which letter/number you wrote backwards and fix it. I lasted for less than 5 minutes when the Ops Officer shouted, "NEXT!" and I was unceremoniously relieved of duty.

[@sewing1243]

An RA-5C squadron never deployed on a Midway Class Carrier, but squadrons did trap and launch off of the Midways (Midway, Coral Sea, and FDR).

[@davidhanson9708]

Correct - Vigilantes never operated from the Midway. Other types never operationally deployed on Midway include the Skyray, Tiger, and Tomcat.

[@sewing1243]

Let me try this way. Picture of RVAH-3 Vigilantes on the Coral Sea: usscoralsea.net/images/cva4319740722RA5CVigilanteUSN.jpg

[@timsimms65707]

In the late 80's I was lucky enough to tour the USS Coral Sea when she visited Halifax N.S., I remember being in awe of her size and staggered by the fact they had much larger carriers than her. She remains the largest ship I have ever set foot on.

[@matthewrobinson4323]

San Diego...my adopted home town!!! I first was stationed there in December 1964, and when I realized it was December and I wasn't freezing to death, I fell in love with the place. I hope you enjoyed your time in San Diego, and stuffed yourself sick at the various Mexican fast food places with names ending in "berto's", as well as Jack In The Box.

[@--Dani]

Elevators in the US...😂. Great content as always. Pretty sure we call the first floor the second for you guys too. Have loved the museum ships, wish you could do a Warspite one, along with the Big E what a tragic mistake scrapping them. 👍

[@origamiscienceguy6658]

I'm pretty sure it is required by the "Americans with disabilities Act" law.

[@GearGuardianGaming]

i read up on that plane you mentioned at 6:19 and it was flown by a South Vietnamese general with his 5 passengers being his wife and 4 kids. thats a 2-seater plane. he dropped a note on the deck on a low pass saying who he was, who he had aboard, and that he had about an hour of fuel left. amazing story considering he had no knowledge a carrier was in that direction.

[@TPaine1776]

I believe he was only a Major.

[@ramal5708]

Midway was one of the operational carriers in 1960s that still has 5" gun mounts onboard not until her refit or modernization in 1970 which is the final form we see today. I think the Forrestals still have 5" gun mounts on her in 1960s as well.

[@steveschulte8696]

The USS Ranger Had her gun mounts replaced in the mid-1970's, I believe. They were replaced by two Sea-Sparrow systems.

[@rogerbogh3884]

She is a great museum ship. Being in a wheelchair, I have to say it is well configured. I was able to visit both the hanger deck and the flight deck. For some reason, the thing I really liked was the cutout from the hanger deck, through all the intermediate decks, and all the way to the engine room spaces. That gave me a true feeling of the size of this ship.

[@Wolfeson28]

22:57 The term "Gator" in the Navy is an abbreviation of "Navigator," so that's who the second bridge chair is for. 😁 I can certainly testify to your comment at the end about the weather that day (which I *thoroughly* misread despite living in SD for over a decade). It was only when I got home afterward that I realized I might have unintentionally been the inspiration for your parting comment about how thankful you were that the Columbian part of your heritage makes you largely immune to sunburn. I definitely have no such advantage. 🤣🥵 It was great to meet you and listen to you in person, though. I've always loved how unique USS Midway is among museum ships, in that it can trace a virtually unbroken legacy of active service from essentially WWII all the way into the modern-ish era of Desert Storm. And as you showed, the ship and its docents embrace all of that legacy, from the battle that gave it its name to its final major deployment.

[@leftyo9589]

gator also refers to the amphib part of the navy. the gator navy!

[@Wolfeson28]

@@leftyo9589 True, but I think it's safe to say that the Navy isn't going to put cushy seats on the bridges of their carriers for the use of Marines. 😁 The only seats the Navy specifically provides for Marines are the ones with the big hole cut out of the middle. 🚽

[@Lightman0359]

I've been in production for 20 years, and that shot at ~7:30 is the first time I have seen LEKOs [those kinda spotlights in the ceiling] in Military Grey. They are usually Satin Black or Gloss White. One is highlighting the kiosk, another is highlighting the propeller, and another is projecting "...ater" onto the back wall. They are well camouflaged! Fun Fact: a lighting fixture that might be present on the flight deck is used in Rock 'n' Roll: the ACL or Aircraft Landing Light. It is 4x 250w lamps wired in series [like Christmas lights] and mounted to a 4" bar. The individual beams would be aimed to show the pilots important things like the width of the runway, the location of arrester cables, the Island and other important things during night or low-visibility operations. If you've ever seen a 70s or 80s rock band [like Kiss or Queen] you have seen the ACL in action as the 4 fingers of light. Us lampies stole the ACL, its only fitting the navy... requisitioned some lekos.

[@tspencer227]

@22:03: "Gator" is for the Navigator- that's his chair. But also a senior officer, usually O-5 or O-6 as well, and usually also an aviator.

[@williamlowers1964]

I sailed on Midway in 1972, and visit about every other year. Thanks for the good tour. My berthing area was just below the port side blast deflector. Loved the sound of the F-8 afterburner. It came on full on with a "POW", not staged like on a Phantom. We were flying RF-8C as photo recon, BDA aircraft.

[@michaeljacob4287]

It took me a bit to watch this video. I also have a great affection for the RA5C. My father worked at NAA Columbus on this aircraft. I was present at the initial flight of the A3J prototype in August 1958.

[@scullystie4389]

I love the Midway, she's a great museum. My first Chief when I served in a line shack with a Hornet squadron served on Midway during Desert Storm and spoke fondly of his tour.

[@unraisinable]

Don't know if anyone mentioned this, but those little ramps out front are bridle catchers, meant to recover the really old school cables (for re-use) that connected the catapult to the aircraft, in use before strengthened nose gear and tie-bar system was developed. Love the channel. Drove from Canada to San Diego last summer with my 2 daughters to visit the ship (my second trip, first was in 2006, it was interesting to see the changes after 16 years).

[@davidhanson9708]

Thanks for mentioning the museum library's bookstore - it's definitely worth visiting if you like military books. But yes, I agree with everyone - you could and should do a long video on the second and third decks and the engine room.

[@keithplymale2374]

For me growing up Midway was always the only CV home ported outside the US, being based in Japan.

[@ericbruun9020]

I compared the main machinery and engine rooms of the Midway to the later supercarriers when I collected machinery condition data back in the early 80s. One can see that survive-ability came ahead of livability. Very compartmentalized and quite a bit more exercise to move around the Midway.

[@nmccw3245]

Yes, that’s definitely a Cessna. The O-1E is a predecessor to the 152 that learned to fly in. 😁👍🏻

[@stephenmichalski2643]

Back in the 70's I was driving thru San Francisco making a delivery and saw a helicopter carrier on the piers.....drove over to see if I could get on her....and guard said no but Enterprise is now docking across the bay at Alameda Naval Air Station.....there was no way I was going to miss seeing her.....I will make up some story to tell boss why I'm so late returning 😮😮🤣🤣.....I went....got to the gate....they thought I was making a delivery and let me thru 😮😮🤣🤣.....I lucked up and got close just when many of the crew were getting off.....one guy offered to take me on a tour for $5.00 😮😮!!!!....he took me all over....when we got up to the bridge they were blasting Led Zeppelin 😮😮🤣🤣....unfortunately the air wing had left.....but when we got on the flight deck I looked from one end to the other and it seemed very small to me initially....later I realized quite differently.....with the deck clear my perception was skewered.....these ladies are immense!!!! 😮😮 truly floating marvels..... I was hours late returning of course.....boss didn't say a thing 😮😮👍👍

[@khaelamensha3624]

You do own your boss a beer 😂

[@gerardmdelaney]

Any mention of CVN-65 demands the question, "Where are the nuclear wessels? "😃

[@stephenmichalski2643]

@@gerardmdelaney 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@Kw1161]

Thanks for the trip down memory lane, I served with a shipmate who came off the Midway in 1983 when it still stationed in Japan. I toured thru the USS Yorktown in Charleston SC when we were in the shipyards there in 1980, so I see not much has changed. Have a nice day.

[@andrewhalo100]

I think whats fun about her is that they use her for events so often that they regularly shuffle the planes around so you can get many arrangements if you go more than once

[@Fred_Lougee]

Just after the Gulf War Midway was in Seattle as a part of the city's annual SeaFair celebration. It's SOP for a couple of ships to be open for tours, I went with a friend, fellow air wing veteran. I served aboard Ranger, he was on one of the carriers in the Med fleet, but the important thing is that both were true supercarriers. We walked up the gangway, across the quarterdeck, into the hangar, my first comment was "Man, what a dinky carrier." He agreed, and I am sure we got some odd looks from people going aboard any carrier for the first time ever. As I am sure you will know, Drach, the carriers beginning with the Forrestal Class are significantly larger than the Midways, and the first place this becomes apparent is on the hangar deck. The overhead is at least half again as high, three decks as opposed to two. Midway is not only the largest carrier preserved as a museum, it is also likely to be the largest to ever be so preserved. All attempts to preserve one of the oil burning supercarriers failed and preserving a nuclear-powered ship is not really an option due to the reactors.

[@chemech]

At least one of the volunteer docents is a lady who got out of Saigon as a young girl on the Midway. One or more others are also similarly refugees of that ime and age, but I do not remember from the Midway's KZbin videos if they also were evacuated on her specifically. The VNAF pilot who got his family out using the L-19 iirc was unofficially carrier qualified by Midway's crew.

[@sewing1243]

Re: Whistle with life raft. The theory of a whistle is that if you are still breathing you can blow a whistle, where as your voice will eventually fail if you yell for help long enough.

[@QEin1786]

The door discussed at 25:11 - these are used on modern ships for areas needing quick access or needing to be able to close quickly, but the individual clip doors were still in use in RN ships up to the early 00s (no experience of later than that, I am afraid). This is for resistance in defence against hostile boarding, playing a game called 'clip chase' with the attackers (until the bring out an explosive charge).

[@samuelchurchill6458]

Yes… “attackers”…

[@RCAvhstape]

Scenarios like that are what Marines are supposed to be there for.

[@hamamizu46]

When I toured Midway a few years back it was explained that the 'forward' bridge was added after WWII. The original bridge (the one behind the addition) was armored to withstand kamikaze attacks.

[@Sundancer268]

About time 19:00, the Navy doesn't use MAPS for navigation, we used CHARTS. Other wise shooting bearings is quite correct.

[@TimperialBroadcastingAgency]

USS Midway was absolutely my favorite part of San Diego when I lived down there. I still take friends and family there and explain the features on the aircraft from an aeronautical engineering perspective.

[@vincejackson730]

Love your wry humor when describing a particularly frustrating point. My grandfather served with VF-1B on her first Med cruise. You were referring to the collision alarm. Unfortunately, it was used once when a Panamanian freighter collided with her in 1980. The oxygen generator took the brunt of the collision. You can see the room on the port side of the hangar deck. There is an interpretive panel inside the door.

[@Skyne_E_Vader]

The Skidway! Was part of her battle group in the 1980s. She rolled a lot.

[@kurtelder4189]

We called her USS Never dock, we were always underway

[@Skyne_E_Vader]

I was on the USS Neverseeport

[@georgeburns7251]

So true

[@holgernetterby4863]

Great video as always. 😊 Just one thing - it is a A-7 along the catapult as it have a round nose and ter-racks with bombs on.

[@FS2K4Pilot]

The aircraft on the port side bow catapult is an A-7, and the F-8 is on the starboard side, and the bow extensions in front of the catapults were for catching the launching bridles (essentially cables) that were hooked from the catapult shuttle to early carrier aircraft like the F-4 and F-8.

[@davesmith5092]

I volunteered on the Midway museum right after she first opened. Very cool experience.

[@XH1927]

If you're ever passing through central North Carolina and have penchant for WWII fighters, the Asheboro Airport has a neat little museum. It's not large and doesn't house a massive collection, but it is notable for all the planes on display being maintained in flying condition. It's really cool to see all the planes on display with drip pans underneath them to catch the leaks from their fully maintained, ready to be fueled and fired engines! If you're coming to see USS NC in Wilmington, it might be worth the detour, he said in a weak attempt to associate this plug with naval history...

[@seannordeen5019]

I always thought those so called prongs on the deck edges in front of the catapults were for assisting in capturing / recovering the bridles that older aircraft used to attach to the catapult shuttles. Which is why you don't see them on later aircraft carriers that only operated aircraft that had the attachment point as part of the front landing gear. I believe some carriers, like the Kitty Hawk, had theirs removed during a refit for converting to the F-14, thouggh others like the Saratoga kept hers.

[@rileyk99]

That's what they are, bridle catchers.

[@TheJd195555]

Excellent video. I served from 1983 to 1985. She was a great ship with a great crew. I worked up in the island on the admirals bridge (flag bridge).

[@magnificus8581]

Thank you for your generous time on the deck with us. Absolutely loved hearing about your grandfather. It was a terrific time!

[@danielbeck9191]

THANK YOU for this excellent tour!

[@bookerdewhaat1385]

In Boy Scouts, I was able to sleep over on the Midway and sleep in the crew bunks. Practically gave us free rein of the ship after hours

[@vanvan-oc4nj]

Cool Drach !! Wouldn't mind to see more footage of the Midway....

[@angelr8892]

Last time we got off the Midway at Pusan after Team Spirit 83 I said "last time I get on that barge". I've since PAID to get on it twice! Never say never... On the parking: in the summer, that one next to the Midway gets packed early, then closed off and you have to go to nearby parking and ride around looking for an open spot. Either arrive early or plan on an off season visit. There is a bay tour right next to the Midway that's fun to do, and you can see the bow of the ship. Also get to see a bunch of other ships, especially at National City.

[@robertmartin995]

EOT engine order telegraph. Worked on those before. That was that brass faced thing you saw whose name escaped you.

[@johnestauffer69]

I uused to live in SD and also served in the USN. The Midway is probably on the best organized museum ships. A couple of comments: You mention the enclosed bridge vs the pilothouse. The Midway originally had an open bridge with the enclosed pilot house functioning as the bridge. In later modernizations (similar to what was done to the FRAM DD's) she had an enclosed bridge added to contain the addition equipment in an enclosed environment. The flag plot area was configured to reflect the role of Midway as flag for the CV's in the Gulf War. The engineering spaces were fascinating. I had known the boilers were in compartment outboard of the machinery spaces. I liked the players that were keyed to each of exhibits - press the exhibit number and hear a description.

[@williestyle35]

(15:05 ) good choice of a favorite Naval aircraft, Drachinifel ! The R/A 5 A "Vigilante" is a gorgeous plane, with a somewhat limited role, overall. Lots of modern aerospace and aircraft systems, got tried and built into the "Vigilante". I got to see a lovely example of a restored (engineless) of the R/A 5 at the local airport I worked at (when it was first installed), the WWII - Cold War naval airstation Sanford (Florida - now Orlando - Sanford International Airport : SFB ). Thank you for a great tour of USS Midway !

[@boydgrandy5769]

In the summer of 1972, the USS Ranger CVA-61 was in drydock at Hunters Point Naval Shipyard in San Francisco. I was there stationed on the USS Buchanan DDG-14, also in drydock undergoing overhaul. At the time I was a brand new IC3, waiting orders to the Naval Nuclear Power School in Mare Island just up the bay. One of the guys I hung out with was stationed on the Ranger, and I got the opportunity to take a walking tour of his part of the ship. Freaking huge. He knew where he worked, where he ate and where he slept; more than that he had little or no experience because the size of the ship and crew made it almost impossible for a single, junior sailor to get to know the entire vessel. The Ranger was in dock getting her hull painted while her main engine reduction gear were being repaired after an idiot dropped a paint scraper into an open access panel and the engines were then engaged without removing the scraper. The offending sailor was charged with sabotage, but a general courts martial acquitted him when it determined that he was merely very stupid and not a criminal.

[@jimprice1959]

I used to work at the San Francisco Naval Shipyard back in the early 1960s. I believe the yard added the "surround" bridge area while they did the conversion to add the angle deck back in the late 1950s.

[@gryphon9507]

Been to this ship three times and now have to go back again. They have added a great deal since my last visit.

[@AlbertusMagnus_44]

Yes on subsequent videos covering additional parts of the Midway. I would love to see the Engine Room and learn the engine specifications.

[@andrewchanis8082]

As I recall from my tour of the Midway, the bridge was expanded in a refit, but they left the original bulkhead in there (it is probably structural).

[@jensfredriksvensson]

I showed up on the ship in a t-shirt from USS IOWA museum and the personal treated me like a king.....never experienced anything like it and i was almost embarrassed about it. Completely magical visit and if you are really into details, one day is probably not enough.

[@theonlyegg]

The first time I visited was a dream come true. I touched the fuselage of the Tomcat and it gave me chills that I can still summon when I remember it.

[@w6krg]

Regarding the cats. The water brakes that that spike ran into to stop the shuttle was NOT in those protruding bits off the flight deck. I forget what they were called, but they were designed to catch the launching bridle used to launch aircraft prior to the adoption of the "Nose Tow" system. The bridles are no longer used and that's why you won't see the protrusions on present-day carriers. Older aircraft had hooks o the fuselage that the launching bridle would attach to. (F-4, F-8, RA-5C, A-3D) The E-2, A-6, A-7, C-2, F-14, and F-18 all use the newer nose tow. Great videos!

[@yehoodi1478]

37:09, I didn't expect to hear about Jingles today, it's been a long time! His airsoft arsenal vacation story is one of my favorites.

[@frankbodenschatz173]

Great job again Drach! Imagine the Iowa as a carrier! So glad they at least saved her!

[@thcdreams654]

Nice video. Thanks for the great content.