Midway class aircraft carrier
The
Midway class aircraft carrier was one of the longest lived carrier designs in history. First commissioned in late 1945, the lead ship of the class,
USS Midway was not decommissioned until 1991, shortly after seeing service in the
Gulf War.
The class was originally conceived as the largest aircraft carrier of the era, with the ability to ferry more planes than any other carrier in the US fleet (30-40 more aircraft than the
Essex-class). In their original configuration of
World War II aircraft, they had an airwing of almost 130 aircraft. Unfortunately, it was soon realized that so many planes was beyond the effective command and control ability of one ship. However, the greater carrying ability of the class made it perfect for the larger and heavier jet fighter planes that started showing up in the 1950's. The Midway class vessels were originally conceived as a
thought experiment to determine the effect on air group of an armored flight deck on the tonnage of an
Essex-class ship; the resulting math showed that the effect would be disastrous on air group size (a maximum air group of 45, compared to 90-100 for the standard
Essex-class fleet carriers of the day), so instead the concept went to finding a larger carrier which could support both deck armor and a sufficiently large air group. Unlike the Royal Navy's aircraft carriers, however, the
Midway-class ships retained their "strength deck" at the hangar deck level; the armored flight deck was instead
superstructure. They would be the last USN carriers so designed; the titanic size of the
Forrestal-class supercarriers would require the strength deck to be located at flight deck level.
While the resulting ships featured excellent protection and unprecedented airwing size, they also exhibited several undesirable characteristics. Freeboard was unusually low for such large carriers. In heavy seas, they shipped large amounts of water and cork-screwed in a manner that complicated landing operations. Internally, the ships were very cramped and crowded.
None of the class went on war cruises during the
Korean War and were mainly deployed to the
Mediterranean. During the 1950's, the ships were fitted with angled decks, steam catapults, and other features that allowed them to operate a new breed of large, heavy naval jets.
All three of the Midway class made combat deployments in the
Vietnam War.
Coral Sea deployed to the
Gulf of Tonkin six times,
Midway deployed on three occasions, and
Franklin D. Roosevelt made one combat deployment before returning to the Mediterranean.
By the 1970s, the Midway class carriers, particularly
Franklin D. Roosevelt and
Coral Sea, were showing their age. They retained the
F-4 Phantom II in their air wings, being too small to operate the new
F-14 Tomcat fleet defense fighter or
S-3 Viking anti-submarine jet. In 1977,
Franklin D. Roosevelt decommissioned. On her final deployment,
Roosevelt embarked
AV-8 Harrier jump jets to test the concept of including
VSTOL aircraft in a carrier air wing.
Coral Sea was rescued from imminent decomissioning by the election of
Ronald Reagan in 1980. Reagan's proposed
600-ship Navy resulted in the remaining two ships having their service lives extended. When the
F/A-18 Hornet became operational in the mid 1980's, the Navy quickly deployed them to the Midway class carriers to replace the older F-4s.
But even this reprieve could not last indefinitely. By 1990,
Coral Sea, which had long since earned the nickname "Ageless Warrior", was on the list for decommissioning.
Midway had one last war in which to participate, and was one of the six aircraft carriers deployed by the US against
Iraq in the Gulf War. A few months after the war, the last of the class left Navy service.
Coral Sea was slowly scrapped in Baltimore as legal and environmental troubles continually delayed her fate.
Midway spent over a decade in the mothball fleet before being rescued by a museum group. The ship is now open to the public as a museum in
San Diego California.
As built (1940s)
 |
USS Franklin D. Roosevelt CV-42 |
*Displacement: 45,000 tons (stand)
*Length: 968 ft (295 m) (oa)
*Beam: 113 ft (34.4 m) at waterline
*Draft: 33 ft (10.1 m) max
*Armament: 18 x 5 in/38 (127 mm) DP; 21 x 40 mm quads; 28 x 20 mm
*Speed: 33 knots (61 km/h)
*Power: 212,000 hp (158 MW)
*Drive: 4 screws; geared turbines
*Aircraft: 130 (theoretical), 100 (practical)
USS Coral Sea, as retired (1991)
 |
USS Coral Sea CV-43 |
*Displacement: 65,200 tons full load
*Length: 1003 feet/305.7 meters
*Beam: 236 feet/72 meters at flight deck
*Draft: 35 feet/10.7 meters
*Armament: 3 Phalanx CIWS
*Speed: 33 knots (61 km/h)
*Power: 212,000 hp (158 MW)
*Drive: 4 screws; geared turbines
*Aircraft: 65
USS Midway, as retired (1992)
*Displacement: 69,873 tons full load
*Length: 976 feet/297.5 meters
*Beam: 263.5 feet/80.3 meters at flight deck
*Draft: 35 feet/10.7 meters
*Armament: 2 x 8-cell
Sea Sparrow launchers, 2 x Mark 71 mod 0
Phalanx CIWS*Speed: 33 knots (61 km/h)
*Power: 212,000 hp (158 MW)
*Drive: 4 screws; geared turbines
*Aircraft: 75
