USS Midway Museum

This morning we headed to downtown San Diego to tour the aircraft carrier USS Midway.  Since it was decommissioned in 1992 it has been turned into a museum and it was quite something to trek through the corridors of what was once the largest warship in the world.  It was commissioned in 1945 and named after the Battle of Midway in WW11.  Although it never saw action in WW11 it has seen lots of action since, from Vietnam to being the flagship of the Persian Gulf air operation in Desert Storm in 1991.  When it was built in 1945 it cost $90 million.  The most recent Aircraft Carrier was just completed at a cost of $12.6 Billion.

Some other interesting facts about USS Midway:  Total weight 69,000 tons; 2,000 feet of anchor chain; 2 - 20 ton anchors; 18 ft tall propellers; 1001 ft long; 258 ft wide; 3.5 inch thick steel flight deck; 100,000 gallons fuel used daily; 260 gallons used per mile; 4,500 man crew; 10 tons of food consumed daily; 1,000 loaves of bread and 500 pies served each day.  Over 1 million visitors tour the ship each year.

Now here are some pics of our tour.

I got myself in a bit of trouble.  

Cockpit of a WW11 fighter. No digital here
All dials and gauges.  

Sleeping quarters were just a bit tight.
There was additional storage under each mattress.

When I first walked into this compartment my heart skipped a beat.
I didn't immediately notice that this hatch was covered by plexiglass.
It was quite the drop to the water below 

These are the anchor chains.  Each link weighs 170 lbs. 

Engine room

These were some of the easier stair to negotiate.  Some were so steep they were
more like ladders than stairs.  Had to keep one eye on the steps and another
overhead to watch for low iron beams. 

Lots of different kitchens and mess halls. 

Other than the Officers Mess, buffets rule. 

Complete laundry with pressing machines and even dry cleaning. 

Reason for most visits to Doctor.  Head injuries.
Short and skinny navy personnel have a real advantage.
I spent the whole tour, except the flight deck, in a crouching position.

The corridors went on and on.  Most of the time I had no idea where we were or
what direction we were going.  It was quite the maze below deck. 

No Lori is not talking on the phone.  We each got little devices that would play at
various locations to explain what we were viewing.
Now those are big pots.

The flight deck was lined with different planes and helicopters, most of which were
in service at one time or another on the Midway. 

The plane is sitting on a lift which takes the planes from the hanger deck to
the flight deck.  

A view from the flight deck looking out on the harbour towards downtown. 

The bridge towering above the flight deck

We got a tour of the bridge and this is a shot from above. 

View from the docks.
The yellow awning is now a restaurant complete with a Starbucks. 

It was hard to get the whole ship in.  Its simply too big. 

After we toured the ship we took a walk down the docks.  One of the many things that caught your eye was the colours.  They were so vibrant.  A big change after the sandy brown of the desert.

Before my time but this picture is iconic.  Taken by a photographer
during the VJ day celebrations.

A tribute to Bob Hope who was famous for his trips around the globe
to entertain the troops.  

I said there were some colours, right. 

Even the Lobster traps were like a rainbow. 

These were working traps, not tourist props.
They were lined up on a dock opposite fishing trawlers. 

Seagulls and Pelicans lined the pier with sailboats filling the bay. 

I couldn't get enough of those traps. 

Even the buoys and barnacles provided a splash of colour. 

We kept hearing barking.  Finally we found the source.  

3 Sea Lions.  2 frolicking in the water and this one just plain tuckered out. 

Thats it for today.  Tomorrow its Cabrillo National Monument and Old Town.  We have to take advantage of the good weather cause another one of those pacific storms is due to hit on Friday and it looks like it will be a wet 2 or 3 days.  

Till Then.