Bookable
An Apollonaut travel guide
The place behind the detail.
A carrier commissioned in 1945, decades in the Pacific and a museum on San Diego Bay offer several ways into the story of the Midway.
On this page
A carrier of the post-war navy
The Midway was commissioned on 10 September 1945, just after the Second World War ended, and was the largest aircraft carrier in the world until 1955.
Her flight deck, island and hangar deck show how a carrier was arranged to launch, recover and maintain aircraft at sea.
Decades of service
Midway aircraft flew in the Vietnam War, and from 1973 to 1991 the ship was based at Yokosuka in Japan. In April 1975 she took part in the evacuation of Saigon, and in January 1991 she launched the first carrier strikes of the Gulf War.
Many people served aboard her over 47 years. Their work and their losses are part of the ship’s story, and the museum also holds ceremonies of remembrance.
A museum ship
Decommissioned in 1992, the Midway was towed to San Diego and opened as a museum on 7 June 2004. By 2012 it welcomed more than a million visitors a year.
This history belongs to the ship and the people who served aboard her. The History page offers a longer introduction, and the timeline gives a short route through selected milestones.
Read at the source
Sources & further reading
Links lead to the original publishers.
