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.
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?
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.
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.
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.
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!
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.
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.
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.
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).
@@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 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.
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.
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.
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.
@@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.
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).
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.
43:13 If you’re lucky you can also see the Theodore Rosevelt (CV-71) which was mentioned at the ship CIC at an earlier scene 36:18 when both participated in Operation Dessert Storm 1991. Along with other carriers like Carl Vinson (CVN-70) the first Nimitz-class to joined the US Pacific fleet which recently deployed and may or may not head to the Indian Ocean, due to recent events and Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) a movie star which featured in two films 2005 Stealth and TopGun Maverick 2022!
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
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.
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. :)
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.
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.
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.
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. :)
@@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.
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.
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.
@@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.
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 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.
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!
I spent all day on Midway. Such an incredible ship and city! I absolutely loved every bit of it especially the new exhibit about fire and damage control.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
@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..............
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.
@@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....
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.
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
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: th-cam.com/video/mPAOMHq9QNw/w-d-xo.html
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.
@@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.
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
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
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.
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.
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).
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.
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
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.
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).
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Out at sea the device he talks about at 13:00 and 19:00 was used to judge the position of other ships so the carrier could call corrections for other vessels. We had a similar device for almost every ship. The Marines broke it every once in a while.
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.
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.
"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!
I used to volunteer on the midway before I left the state for college. It’s a great ship and the volunteers on board are all great people. Midway magic!
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 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. 🚽
28:00 the aircraft closest to the camera is an A-7 Corsair II and the one far left is the F-8 Crusader. Same company, but the Corsair II has stores pylons under the wings in addition to the AIM-9 rails on the fuselage and a rounded radome.
The pedestal mounted thingy at 12:56 is also useful for lookouts to be able to quickly and accurately determine the bearing to surface and air contacts while standing lookout watches.
(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 !
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.
@@cbbees1468 Also it only has one port for its cannon. The early A-7 had two cannon the later models just the one Vulcan cannon. The F-8 had four cannon two on each side.
3:30 SBD Dauntless, the Dauntless was manufactured solely by Douglas, Curtis did have a SBC however it was a biplane that was very much obsolete by the outbreak of WWII and did not see much if any frontline service. Good way to remember the Dauntless' designation is by what it's crews used to call it: _Slow But Deadly._
Please, more, more, more! Would love to see more of this incredible warship. For those of us who can’t travel, these videos let us live vicariously through your recording.
I went on the Midway 3 times as a kid when she visited Perth, Western Australia. This would have been the mid to late 70s. We were treated so well by the crew, free drinks, biscuits and tours. I’ve always felt gratitude for that. I hope to go to LA next year and with any luck make the trip to San Diego and relive my younger days
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
29:22 While touring the ship I learned that the round port holes at the leading edge of the bow just below the flight deck are for the emergency or secondary bridge and is where the XO would be stationed during general quarters in case the bridge superstructure took a hit. It includes duplicates of everything on the main bridge
@drachinifel that oddly wood-veneered box at approximately 39:56 mark is indeed mostly likely an Amana RadarRange - 1st Gen microwave. My grandmother had one in the 70’s that I recall from turkey-day gatherings. The dial timer control is very familiar. I recall being very impressed with the multiple-hundreds dollar cost even in that era.
3:32 :a "SBC Dauntless" ?? - Dauntless was a SBD. The SBC Helldiver was a biplane dive bombermade by Curtiss that was in Service during 1939-1941. It was replaced by the SBD, which later was replaced by the SB2C Helldiver
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.
Great video. I had the pleasure of visiting the Midway twice when I travelled to San Diego on business. I can't say enough about the docents - they were all over the ship each time I visited, and could talk in great detail about air ops control, landing, launching, engine rooms, anchor chains, galleys, maintenance, armaments, and on and on. The Midway is easily the best museum ship I've seen or heard of. My last visit was in 2011, and it looks like there's a lot more to see now.
These virtual tours of yours are great. I visited the USS Midway a few years ago when I lived in San Diego. I did not realize how many little details I missed .
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.
Hi Drach, been loving your content this past year. As a native Masshole seeing the Salem and Massachusetts was surreal. But there is something special about Midway, the only other carrier I had been on was the Intrepid in NYC and what a night and day difference! I got to visit during President's day weekend 2023 and the volunteers were just so amazing, had some incredible stories. I'm near certain almost all of the volunteers that weekend were Midway veterans as they had so many stories to share, and they were damn proud having just done 13,000 visitors over a long weekend. My favorite tidbit was that the Midway and the modern frames are almost all the same width and only increase in length because the Midway's creation meant we had to help Panama widen the canal or we couldn't easily shift it to Atlantic ops! I loved San Diego so much it was a great visit the Taffy 3 Memorial and the Monument to the USS San Diego were also really great and I hope you show them in the next video, truly a city that is the heart and soul of the American Pacific Fleet.
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.
As a young boy I was blessed to have a chance to spend a night aboard her, in her crew berths. We were forward of the hangar deck, close to the bow. Was an awesome experience I'll never forget!
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.
Yes, more video ! I toured her years ago with my son. We spent more than half the day and still didn't see it all. We did the audio tour, the island tour and wandered around some.
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.
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.
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?
What a joke. I sware TH-cam goes out of its way to make life hard for it's channel owners!
Sorry for the trouble.. Perhaps some sea chanties … something about Grog …or getting paid ..?
Hearts of Oak? Johnny Todd? Grey Funnel line?
@@roadrunner6224 Smaller crew size for one.
Hell of a flex to the Japanese that you're commissioning a ship named after a battle you won just 3 years ago
Lmao! Good point
Outstanding way to drive the point home. Same with the USS Coral Sea.
Do you know what's a bigger flex? Photographing it with one of the carriers that won that Battle.
The real flex was the size of the carriers...
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.
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.
Must be amazing to see something that specific preserved. :)
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.
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.
Wow coolest fan comment ever! You should be in an episode!
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.
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
I personally like to think of it as an M&M.
Drach has a great way with words...
Smarties aren't a thing in the States, so that might be the disconnect here.
It’s not a “lookie around and see-y thing”?
@@BleedingUranium bro smarties are awesome what do you mean they don’t exist In the states?
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!
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.
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.
@@adamjaquay4279 let’s hope we never find out!
@@christopherrowe7460my wife gives two ships per year 😂
Visited in 2021 and 2016 it was amazing and they have added quite a bit
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.
Yeah, A-7 on the port cat, F-8 on the starboard cat.
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.
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).
@@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.
Don’t they also have the last surviving SBD that actually attacked Japanese carriers at Midway there?
The base IS open to civillians atleast last time I went, granted this was during Blue Angels practice and Homecoming.
@@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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
@@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.
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).
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.
43:13 If you’re lucky you can also see the Theodore Rosevelt (CV-71) which was mentioned at the ship CIC at an earlier scene 36:18 when both participated in Operation Dessert Storm 1991. Along with other carriers like Carl Vinson (CVN-70) the first Nimitz-class to joined the US Pacific fleet which recently deployed and may or may not head to the Indian Ocean, due to recent events and Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) a movie star which featured in two films 2005 Stealth and TopGun Maverick 2022!
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
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.
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. :)
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.
Think about it, the ship is so large that roll and pitch (usually) can't slide the pieces off the board.
@ricardokowalski1579 and just think I was on the kitty hawk when we were taking 20 degree plus rolls
@@mike28003 when your action station has a sign that says "hang on for dear life" 😆
@ricardokowalski1579 to bad I worked flight deck we had no where to hold
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.
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.
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. :)
@@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.
@@TrappedinSLC Probably not. Parking in San Diego can be pretty tight, especially in the downtown area near where the Midway is.
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.
It is with this kind of decision that you get yourself punished and a medal 😂
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.
@@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.
Those were US Army helicopters, so the Navy didn't care. lolol
most of the helos were South Vietnamese and would have been jettisoned anyway. at least the commies didn't get them.
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
I'm pretty sure that HMS Brazen was Jingles' first ship. So indeed the old gnome was "mentioned" in the status board.
What caught my attention was the Canadian ship Athabaska. :D
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.
Yup, the captain had the men jettison the helicopters on the deck to allow the Bird Dog to land.
Landed without a tail hook?? That's pretty balsey LOL j/k
Because of the ship's headway, he had to go close to full throttle to catch up! :P
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!!!
according to wikipedia the pilot was a south vietnamese general
@@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.
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!
I spent all day on Midway. Such an incredible ship and city! I absolutely loved every bit of it especially the new exhibit about fire and damage control.
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.
I've been aboard her twice. She's a lovely experience
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.
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.
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.
I spent all day on the battleship North Carolina, probably about 5 hours. Almost got lost deep inside.
@@perkinscurry8665 I spent 3 years on it and didn't see everything.
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.
I believe that at 28:00 the aircraft is an A-7 with the aircraft in the background being the F-8 👌👍
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.
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.
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!
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
@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..............
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.
@@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....
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.
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
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:
th-cam.com/video/mPAOMHq9QNw/w-d-xo.html
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.
@@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.
I was there 3 weeks ago, what an experience. Sadly the island and the engine room were closed, but atleast they are working on those areas.
Both were open as of 8/31/24 plus the new damage control and fire exhibitit.
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
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
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.
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.
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).
Chased her around for 3 years when I was forward deployed to Japan in the early 80's. USS Lockwood FF-1064.
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.
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
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.
My father was a chief petty officer in the radio room on the Kennedy when he retired in '83
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).
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).
Yes… “attackers”…
Scenarios like that are what Marines are supposed to be there for.
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.
I believe he was only a Major.
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.
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.
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.
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.
@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.
Out at sea the device he talks about at 13:00 and 19:00 was used to judge the position of other ships so the carrier could call corrections for other vessels. We had a similar device for almost every ship. The Marines broke it every once in a while.
Well when they got bored of eating crayons they needed other entertainment.
So for 23:23, from what I remember from the tour guide, it was a refit since it used to have an open bridge.
I worked on the F14 and E2C, may father worked on the A6, and I have visited the Midaway, lots of Memories.
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.
I sailed on the midway as a member of carrier group 5 in the early 80s she was a fun ship to sail on
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.
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.
Thank you for your generous time on the deck with us. Absolutely loved hearing about your grandfather. It was a terrific time!
"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!
Nice to see a Sea King that has five NASA mission recoveries on its credit.. :)
The horns sticking off the bow are from when they used the bridle catapult system we called the cable slappers.
I used to volunteer on the midway before I left the state for college. It’s a great ship and the volunteers on board are all great people. Midway magic!
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.
gator also refers to the amphib part of the navy. the gator navy!
@@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. 🚽
28:00 the aircraft closest to the camera is an A-7 Corsair II and the one far left is the F-8 Crusader.
Same company, but the Corsair II has stores pylons under the wings in addition to the AIM-9 rails on the fuselage and a rounded radome.
The pedestal mounted thingy at 12:56 is also useful for lookouts to be able to quickly and accurately determine the bearing to surface and air contacts while standing lookout watches.
37:05 the list of ships would be from Operation Damask in Jan / Feb 1991 I believe.
(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 !
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.
From Corsairs to Hornets, the Midway's longevity is something to marvel at for a non-nuclear carrier.
28:07 Pretty sure that's an A-7 not an F-8
I think so, too. A-7.
@@USS-SNAKE-ISLAND Definitely concur, the intake on an F-8 Crusader is way more streamlined than an A-7 Corsair II.
@@cbbees1468 And the nose it way more pointed. Also when an F-8 is parked they usually show the wing angled up.
@@cbbees1468 Also it only has one port for its cannon. The early A-7 had two cannon the later models just the one Vulcan cannon. The F-8 had four cannon two on each side.
The F-8 is in the photo too, at left.
3:30 SBD Dauntless, the Dauntless was manufactured solely by Douglas, Curtis did have a SBC however it was a biplane that was very much obsolete by the outbreak of WWII and did not see much if any frontline service. Good way to remember the Dauntless' designation is by what it's crews used to call it: _Slow But Deadly._
Please, more, more, more!
Would love to see more of this incredible warship. For those of us who can’t travel, these videos let us live vicariously through your recording.
36:50 i believe you are correct. The Mighty Jingles AKA then-Radio Operator 2nd Class Paul Charlton was aboard HMS Brazen during this deployment.
I went on the Midway 3 times as a kid when she visited Perth, Western Australia. This would have been the mid to late 70s. We were treated so well by the crew, free drinks, biscuits and tours. I’ve always felt gratitude for that. I hope to go to LA next year and with any luck make the trip to San Diego and relive my younger days
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
29:22 While touring the ship I learned that the round port holes at the leading edge of the bow just below the flight deck are for the emergency or secondary bridge and is where the XO would be stationed during general quarters in case the bridge superstructure took a hit. It includes duplicates of everything on the main bridge
I volunteered on the Midway museum right after she first opened. Very cool experience.
EOT engine order telegraph. Worked on those before. That was that brass faced thing you saw whose name escaped you.
@drachinifel that oddly wood-veneered box at approximately 39:56 mark is indeed mostly likely an Amana RadarRange - 1st Gen microwave. My grandmother had one in the 70’s that I recall from turkey-day gatherings. The dial timer control is very familiar. I recall being very impressed with the multiple-hundreds dollar cost even in that era.
3:32 :a "SBC Dauntless" ?? - Dauntless was a SBD. The SBC Helldiver was a biplane dive bombermade by Curtiss that was in Service during 1939-1941. It was replaced by the SBD, which later was replaced by the SB2C Helldiver
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.
The USS Ranger Had her gun mounts replaced in the mid-1970's, I believe. They were replaced by two Sea-Sparrow systems.
Great video. I had the pleasure of visiting the Midway twice when I travelled to San Diego on business. I can't say enough about the docents - they were all over the ship each time I visited, and could talk in great detail about air ops control, landing, launching, engine rooms, anchor chains, galleys, maintenance, armaments, and on and on. The Midway is easily the best museum ship I've seen or heard of. My last visit was in 2011, and it looks like there's a lot more to see now.
These virtual tours of yours are great. I visited the USS Midway a few years ago when I lived in San Diego. I did not realize how many little details I missed .
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.
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.
About time 19:00, the Navy doesn't use MAPS for navigation, we used CHARTS. Other wise shooting bearings is quite correct.
THANK YOU for this excellent tour!
Hi Drach, been loving your content this past year. As a native Masshole seeing the Salem and Massachusetts was surreal. But there is something special about Midway, the only other carrier I had been on was the Intrepid in NYC and what a night and day difference! I got to visit during President's day weekend 2023 and the volunteers were just so amazing, had some incredible stories. I'm near certain almost all of the volunteers that weekend were Midway veterans as they had so many stories to share, and they were damn proud having just done 13,000 visitors over a long weekend.
My favorite tidbit was that the Midway and the modern frames are almost all the same width and only increase in length because the Midway's creation meant we had to help Panama widen the canal or we couldn't easily shift it to Atlantic ops! I loved San Diego so much it was a great visit the Taffy 3 Memorial and the Monument to the USS San Diego were also really great and I hope you show them in the next video, truly a city that is the heart and soul of the American Pacific Fleet.
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.
Been to this ship three times and now have to go back again. They have added a great deal since my last visit.
As a local, I'm glad you enjoyed your time in San Diego. I just hope you got fish tacos.
I always go to El Indio after visiting the Midway.
I toured the Midway it took about 3 hours to see all the displays. By the time I was done I was exhausted from all the information. A great display.
Yes on subsequent videos covering additional parts of the Midway. I would love to see the Engine Room and learn the engine specifications.
As a young boy I was blessed to have a chance to spend a night aboard her, in her crew berths. We were forward of the hangar deck, close to the bow. Was an awesome experience I'll never forget!
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.
Yes, more video ! I toured her years ago with my son. We spent more than half the day and still didn't see it all. We did the audio tour, the island tour and wandered around some.
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.