![]() ![]() ![]() Two years later, the ship launched a modified P2V-3 Neptune capable of carrying a 9,000-pound atomic bomb, proving that airplanes loaded with atomic bombs could be based on aircraft carriers. That success was a catalyst for naval missile operations. In a 1947 test of new technology, the Midway launched a captured German V-2, the first large-scale rocket fired from a moving platform. ![]() The number of aircraft on the flight deck was reduced to 100 from 130 after determining the reduced number could be coordinated more efficiently. These included a lengthened deck, installation of advanced radar and more sophisticated weapons. The carrier underwent numerous upgrades as it adapted to the jet and nuclear ages. The Midway was the largest ship in the world until 1955. The ship is 1,001 feet long and powered by 12 boilers turning four Westinghouse steam turbines to provide a propulsion of 33 knots (38 mph). The ship’s crew totaled about 4,000 officers and enlisted men. in Virginia, the Midway hosted an air group of about 130 planes shortly after it was commissioned. The ship was decommissioned April 11, 1992. 10, 1945, eight days after Japan’s formal surrender. Named for the decisive June 1942 Battle of Midway in the Pacific during World War II, the carrier was launched on March 20, 1945, and commissioned Sept. ![]() Looking at the ship, he answered, “That sure is a small airport!” I glanced at the massive aircraft carrier and said, “Whoa, that sure is a huge ship!” During my friend’s 20-year career in the Navy he was a pilot with many landings on the flight deck of carriers. During my four years in the Navy I was a swift boat maintenance and repair electrician in Vietnam and subsequently stationed on the USS Sperry, a supply ship for submarines, at San Diego’s Ballast Point. Navy aircraft carrier Midway with a friend shortly after it was permanently docked in San Diego as the USS Midway Museum. A San Diego museum showcases one of the Vietnam War’s most famous aircraft carriers ![]()
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