| No carrier has the history or the
crew to match the Midway. A 47-year odyssey that spanned the end of
WWII and Desert Storm, an odyssey in which more than 225,000 Americans
took part.
Features:
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Audio tour with every
admission |
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Virtual reality flight
simulations |
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Midway features more
than 35 exhibits that bring the magic of naval aviation to life.
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Located downtown in San Diego at Navy Pier, Midway provides a dynamic
and enriching experience "from boiler to bridge". A visit to Midway
instills a greater appreciation for courage, freedom, and service to
country.
Every museum admission includes an entertaining, self-guided audio
tour as visitors navigate their way around the ship to more than 35
exhibits and nearly 2 dozen restored aircraft
| A sample of
Midway's current exhibits: |
Berthing Spaces - Where privacy is a distant memory!
Aircraft Engines - Power above the clouds
SINS (Ships Inertial Navigation System) - Pilots navigate the seas
Liquid Oxygen Plant - Where a disastrous collision occurred
Aviation Weapons Movement - Tracking tons of ordnance
Flight Deck Transition - Heading for the roof
Flight Deck Spectacle - 4 acres of chaotic ballet
Galley - 13,000 meals a day
Crew's mess - Bombs & burgers
Post Office - The only tie home
Machine and Metal Shops - Craftsmanship at sea
Captain's Bridge and At-Sea-Cabin - 24-hour-a-day duty
Primary Flight Control (PriFly) - Perhaps Midway's toughest duty
Fresnel Lens - Call the ball!
LSO Platform - Inches away from disaster
Engineering - Raw, pulsing power
Forecastle Deck (Foc's'le) - power and ceremony
Junior Officers' Quarters - The "Swamp"
Navy Shower - Where water is precious
Sick Bay - Hospital at sea |
The San Diego Aircraft Carrier Museum
aboard the USS Midway has become a crown jewel of downtown San Diego's
revitalized waterfront and appeals to a wide audience. It is also a
popular venue for special events, in the heart of San Diego Bay.
Midway's air wing is constantly expanding. Every few months,
meticulously restored planes are brought aboard and added to the
self-guided audio tour. The museum's current inventory includes nearly
two dozen aircraft with more on the way.
The naval aviation museum showcases the unique history of the Midway,
an aircraft carrier that routinely set new standards of naval
aviation.
Answering the Call for 47 Years
"Midway Magic" is a historical fact. It was a term known
throughout the Navy as the USS Midway steamed through a 47-year career
of service to country. Imagine a carrier that was commissioned in 1945
and served as a flagship in Desert Storm in 1991. No other carrier
served as long as the USS Midway.
Time and again Midway remained on station when other carriers broke
down and headed for port. It was almost magical how the crew and
carrier responded to every call - both military and humanitarian.
The USS Midway set new standards of naval aviation in the latter half
of the 20th century. A captured German V-2 rocket was launched off the
USS Midway in 1946 - the dawn of naval missile warfare. The USS Midway
blazed new trails of sub-Arctic air operations off the coast of
Greenland. It was the first carrier homeported in a foreign country,
calling Yokosuka, Japan home for 18 years. When others came home, the
USS Midway remained at the "tip of the sword" on an odyssey shared by
225,000 Americans that spanned the surrender of Japan in WWII, the
Cold War, Vietnam, the era of détente and Desert Storm.
No other carrier carries such a proud (many say "magical") tradition
of diligence, vigilance and mission completion. Midway Magic
was real. And it continues today on her final mission as an
interactive museum, tribute and education center. |