USS Midway ( CV - 41 ) USS " Midway " ( CVB / CVA / CV - 41 ) was an aircraft carrier of the United States Navy , the lead ship of its class . Commissioned a week after the end of World War II , the " Midway " was the largest ship in the world until 1955 , as well as the first U . S . warship too big to transit the Panama Canal . A revolutionary hull design , based on the planned , gave her better maneuverability than previous carriers . She served for an unprecedented 47 years , saw action in the Vietnam War , and was the Persian Gulf flagship in 1991 ' s Operation Desert Storm . Decommissioned in 1992 , she is now a museum ship at the USS Midway Museum , in San Diego , California , and the only remaining U . S . aircraft carrier of the World War II era that is not an . Early operations and deployment with the 6th Fleet . " Midway " was laid down 27 October 1943 by Newport News Shipbuilding Co . , Newport News , Virginia and was launched 20 March 1945 ; sponsored by Mrs . Bradford William Ripley , Jr . She was commissioned on 10 September 1945 ( eight days after the Surrender of Japan ) with Captain Joseph F . Bolger in command . After shakedown in the Caribbean , " Midway " joined the U . S . Atlantic Fleet training schedule , with Norfolk her homeport . From 20 February 1946 , she was flagship for Carrier Division 1 . In March , she tested equipment and techniques for cold - weather operations in the North Atlantic . In September 1947 , a captured German V - 2 rocket was test - fired from the flight deck in Operation Sandy , the first such launch from a moving platform . On 29 October 1947 , " Midway " sailed for the first of her annual deployments with the 6th Fleet in the Mediterranean . Between deployments , " Midway " trained and received alterations to accommodate heavier aircraft as they were developed . In June 1951 , " Midway " operated in the Atlantic off the Virginia Capes during carrier suitability tests of the F9F - 5 Panther . On 23 June , as Cdr . George Chamberlain Duncan attempted a landing in BuNo " 125228 " , a downdraft just aft of the stern caused Duncan to crash . His plane ' s forward fuselage broke away and rolled down the deck , and he suffered burns . Footage of the crash has been used in several films , including " Men of the Fighting Lady " , " Midway " , and " The Hunt for Red October " . In 1952 , the ship participated in Operation Mainbrace , North Sea maneuvers with NATO forces . On 1 October , the ship was redesignated CVA - 41 . " Midway " cleared Norfolk 27 December 1954 for a world cruise , sailing via the Cape of Good Hope for Taiwan , where she joined the 7th Fleet for operations in the Western Pacific until 28 June 1955 . During these operations , Midway pilots flew cover for the evacuation from the Quemoy - Matsu crisis from the Tachen Islands of 15 , 000 Chinese nationalist troops and 20 , 000 Chinese civilians , along with their pigs , cows and chickens . On 28 June 1955 , she sailed for Puget Sound Naval Shipyard , where she underwent an extensive modernization program ( SCB - 110 , similar to SCB - 125 for the " Essex " - class carriers ) . " Midway " received an enclosed hurricane bow , an aft deck - edge elevator , an angled flight deck , and steam catapults . She was returned to service on 30 September 1957 . Home ported at Alameda , California , " Midway " began annual deployments with the 7th Fleet in 1958 , and in the South China Sea during the Laotian Crisis of spring 1961 . During her 1962 deployment , her aircraft tested the air defense systems of Japan , Korea , Okinawa , the Philippines , and Taiwan . She again sailed for the Far East 6 March 1965 , and from mid - April flew strikes against military and logistics installations in North and South Vietnam . Returning to Alameda on 23 November , " Midway " entered San Francisco Bay Naval Shipyard on 11 February 1966 for a massive modernization ( SCB - 101 . 66 ) , which proved expensive and controversial . The flight deck was enlarged from 2 . 8 to 4 acres ( 11 , 300 to 16 , 200 m² ) , and the angle of the flight deck landing area was increased to 13 . 5 degrees . The elevators were enlarged , moved , and given almost double the weight capacity . " Midway " also received new catapults , arresting gear , and a centralized air conditioning plant . Cost overruns raised the price of this program from $ 88 million to $ 202 million , and precluded a similar modernization planned for . After " Midway " was finally recommissioned on 31 January 1970 , it was found that the modifications had hurt the ship ' s seakeeping capabilities and ability to conduct air operations in rough seas , which required further modifications to correct the problem . Air - to - air kills in Vietnam . On 17 June 1965 , aviators of " Midway ' s " Attack Carrier Wing 2 downed the first four MiGs credited to U . S . forces in Southeast Asia . On 12 January 1973 , Lieutenants V . T . Kovaleski ( pilot ) and J . A . Wise ( RIO ) of the VF - 161 Chargers made the last air - to - air kill of the Vietnam War , downing a North Vietnamese MiG - 17 with an AIM - 9 Sidewinder launched from their F - 4B Phantom II . A return to Vietnam . Midway returned to Vietnam and on 18 May 1971 , after relieving on Yankee Station , began single carrier operations . She departed Yankee Station on 5 June , completed her final line period on 31 October , and returned to her homeport on 6 November . " Midway " , with embarked Carrier Air Wing 5 ( CVW 5 ) , again departed Alameda for operations off Vietnam on 10 April 1972 . On 11 May , aircraft from " Midway " along with those from , , and continued laying naval mine s off North Vietnamese ports , including Thanh Hoa , Dong Hoi , Vinh , Hon Gai , Quang Khe and Cam Pha as well as other approaches to Haiphong . Ships that were in port in Haiphong had been advised that the mining would take place and that the mines would be armed 72 hours later . " Midway " continued Vietnam operations throughout the summer of 1972 . On 7 August 1972 , an HC - 7 Det 110 helicopter , flying from " Midway " , and aided by planes from the carrier and from " Saratoga " , searched for the pilot of an A - 7 Corsair II aircraft from " Saratoga " , who had been downed the previous day by a surface - to - air missile about inland , northwest of Vinh . Flying over mountains , the HC - 7 helo spotted the downed aviator with its searchlight and , under heavy ground fire , retrieved him and returned to an LPD off the coast . This was the deepest penetration of a rescue helicopter into North Vietnam since 1968 . By the end of 1972 , HC - 7 Det 110 had rescued 48 pilots , 35 in combat conditions . On 5 October 1973 , " Midway " , with CVW 5 , put into Yokosuka , Japan , marking the first forward - deployment of a complete carrier task group in a Japanese port , the result of an accord arrived at on 31 August 1972 between the U . S . and Japan . The move allowed sailors to live with their families when in port ; more strategically , it allowed three carriers to stay in the Far East even as the economic situation demanded the reduction of carriers in the fleet . For her service in Vietnam from 30 April 1972 , to 9 February 1973 , the " USS MIDWAY ( CVA - 41 ) / ATTACK CARRIER AIR WING FIVE ( CVW - 5 ) " received the Presidential Unit Citation from Richard Nixon . It read : " By virtue of the authority vested in me as President of the United States and as Commander - in - Chief of the Armed Forces of the United States , I have today awarded THE PRESIDENTIAL UNIT CITATION ( NAVY ) FOR EXTRAORDINARY HEROISM TO USS MIDWAY ( CVA - 41 ) and ATTACK CARRIER AIR WING FIVE ( CVW - 5 ) Operation Frequent Wind . " Midway " , " Coral Sea " ( CV - 43 ) , " Hancock " ( CV - 19 ) , and responded 19 April 1975 to the waters off South Vietnam when North Vietnam overran two - thirds of South Vietnam . Ten days later , Operation Frequent Wind was carried out by U . S . 7th Fleet forces . During this operation , " Midway " had offloaded fifty percent of her regular combat air wing at NS Subic Bay , Philippines . She steamed to Thailand , whereupon eight CH - 53 from 21st Special Operations Squadron and two HH - 53 helicopters from 40th Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Squadron were loaded for the purpose of ferrying people from Saigon out to the fleet cruising in the South China Sea . Hundreds of U . S . personnel and Vietnamese were evacuated to waiting ships after the fall of Saigon to the North Vietnamese . On 29 April 1975 , South Vietnamese Air Force Major Buang - Ly loaded his wife and five children into a two - seat Cessna O - 1 Bird Dog and took off from Con Son Island . After evading enemy ground fire Major Buang headed out to sea and spotted the " Midway " . The " Midway " ' s crew attempted to contact the aircraft on emergency frequencies but the pilot continued to circle overhead with his landing lights turned on . When a spotter reported that there were at least four people in the two - seater aircraft , all thoughts of forcing the pilot to ditch alongside were abandoned - it was unlikely the passengers of the overloaded Bird Dog could survive the ditching and safely egress before the plane sank . After three tries , Major Buang managed to drop a note from a low pass over the deck : " Can you move the helicopter to the other side , I can land on your runway , I can fly for one hour more , we have enough time to move . Please rescue me ! Major Buang , wife and 5 child . " Captain Larry Chambers , the ship ' s commanding officer , ordered that the arresting wires be removed and that any helicopters that could not be safely and quickly relocated should be pushed over the side . To get the job done he called for volunteers , and soon every available seaman was on deck , regardless of rank or duty , to provide the manpower to get the job done . An estimated worth of UH - 1 Huey helicopters were pushed overboard into the South China Sea . With a 500 - foot ceiling , five miles visibility , light rain , and 15 knots of surface wind , Chambers ordered the ship to make 25 knots into the wind . Warnings about the dangerous downdrafts created behind a steaming carrier were transmitted blind in both Vietnamese and English . To make matters worse , five additional UH - 1s landed and cluttered up the deck . Without hesitation , Chambers ordered them scuttled as well . Captain Chambers recalled in an article in the Fall 1993 issue of the national Museum of Aviation History ' s " Foundation " magazine that Major Buang was escorted to the bridge where Captain Chambers congratulated him on his outstanding airmanship and his bravery in risking everything on a gamble beyond the point of no return without knowing for certain a carrier would be where he needed it . The crew of the " Midway " was so impressed that they established a fund to help him and his family get settled in the United States . The O - 1 that Major Buang landed is now on display at the Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola , FL . Upon completion of ferrying people to other ships , she returned to Thailand and disembarked the Air Force helicopters . The CH - 53s then airlifted over 50 South Vietnamese Air Force aircraft to the ship . With almost 100 helicopters and aircraft of the former South Vietnamese Air Force aboard , she steamed to Guam where the aircraft and helicopters were offloaded in twenty - four hours . On her way back to the Philippines to pick up her air wing she was rerouted to act as a floating airfield in support of special operation forces rescuing a pirated cargo ship ( see Mayagüez incident ) . She picked up her regular air wing again a month later when she returned NAS Cubi Point , Philippines . After Vietnam . On 21 August 1976 , a Navy task force headed by " Midway " made a show of force off the coast of Korea in response to an unprovoked attack on two U . S . Army officers who were killed by North Korean guards on 18 August . ( The U . S . response to this incident was Operation Paul Bunyan ) . " Midway ' s " response was in support of a U . S . demonstration of military concern vis - à - vis North Korea . " Midway " relieved " Constellation " ( CV - 64 ) as the Indian Ocean contingency carrier on 16 April 1979 . This unscheduled deployment was due to colliding with tanker " Liberian Fortune " near the Straits of Malacca , with " Midway " taking over " Ranger " ' s mission while it went in for repair . " Midway " and her escort ships continued a significant American naval presence in the oil - producing region of the Arabian Sea and Persian Gulf . On 18 November , she arrived in the northern part of the Arabian Sea in connection with the continuing hostage crisis in Iran . Militant followers of the Ayatollah Khomeini , who had come to power following the overthrow of the Shah , seized the U . S . Embassy in Tehran on 4 November and held 63 U . S . citizens hostage . " Midway " was joined 21 November by " Kitty Hawk " ( CV - 63 ) , and both carriers , along with their escort ships , were joined by the and her escorts on 22 January 1980 . " Midway " was relieved by " Coral Sea " ( CV - 43 ) on 5 February . Missions in the 1980s . Following a period in Yokosuka , " Midway " relieved " Coral Sea " 30 May 1980 on standby south of the Cheju - Do Islands in the Sea of Japan following the potential of civil unrest in the Republic of Korea . While transiting the passage between Palawan Island of the Philippines and the coast of Northern Borneo on 29 July , Midway collided with the Panamanian merchant ship " Cactus " . The " Cactus " was southwest of Subic Bay and headed to Singapore . The collision occurred near the liquid oxygen plant and two sailors working in the plant were killed and three were injured . Midway sustained light damage and three F - 4 Phantom aircraft parked on the flight deck were also damaged . On 17 August , " Midway " relieved " Constellation " to begin another Indian Ocean deployment and to complement the task group still on contingency duty in the Arabian Sea . " Midway " spent a total of 118 days in the Indian Ocean during 1980 . On 16 March 1981 , an A - 6 Intruder from VA - 115 aboard " Midway " sighted a downed civilian helicopter in the South China Sea . " Midway " immediately dispatched HC - 1 Det 2 helicopters to the scene . All 17 people aboard the downed helicopter were rescued and brought aboard the carrier . The chartered civilian helicopter was also plucked out of the water and lifted to " Midway " ' s flight deck . On 25 March 1986 , the final carrier launching of a Navy fleet F - 4S Phantom II took place off " Midway " during flight operations in the East China Sea . The aircraft was manned by pilot Lt . Alan S . " Mullet " Colegrove and radar intercept officer Lt . Gregg " Ichabod " Blankenship of VF - 151 . Phantoms were being replaced by the new F / A - 18 Hornet s . " Midway " continued serving in the western Pacific throughout the 1980s . In order to alleviate persistent seakeeping issues , " Midway " received hull blisters in 1986 . The modification proved unsuccessful , and actually increased the vessel ' s instability in high seas . On 30 October 1989 an F / A - 18 Hornet aircraft from the " Midway " mistakenly dropped a general - purpose bomb on the deck of during training exercises in the Indian Ocean , creating a five - foot hole in the bow , sparking small fires , and injuring five sailors . " Reeves " was south of Diego Garcia at the time of the incident . Disaster struck the Midway on 20 June 1990 . While conducting routine flight operations approximately 125 nautical miles northeast of Japan , the ship was badly damaged by two onboard explosions . These explosions led to a fire that raged more than ten hours . In addition to damage to the ship ' s hull , two crew members were killed and 9 others were wounded ; one of the injured later died of his injuries . All 11 crewmen belonged to an elite fire - fighting team known as the Flying Squad . When Midway entered Yokosuka Harbor the next day , 12 Japanese media helicopters flew in circles and hovered about 150 feet above the flight deck . Three bus loads of reporters were waiting on the pier . About 30 minutes after Midway cast its first line , more than 100 international print and electronic journalists charged over the brow to cover the event . The news media made a major issue out of the incident , as it happened amid other military accidents . It was thought that the accident would lead to the ship ' s immediate retirement due to her age . Operation Desert Storm and the 1990s . On 2 August 1990 , Iraq invaded neighboring Kuwait and U . S . forces moved into Saudi Arabia as part of Operation Desert Shield to protect that country against invasion by Iraq . On 1 November 1990 , " Midway " was again on station in the North Arabian Sea being the carrier of Battle Force Zulu ( which included warships from the US , Australia , and other countries ) , relieving " Independence " . On 15 November , she participated in Operation Imminent Thunder , an eight - day combined amphibious landing exercise in northeastern Saudi Arabia which involved about 1 , 000 U . S . Marines , 16 warships , and more than 1 , 100 aircraft . Meanwhile , the United Nations set an ultimatum deadline of 15 January 1991 for Iraq to withdraw from Kuwait . Operation Desert Storm began the next day , and the Navy launched 228 sorties from " Midway " and in the Persian Gulf , from en route to the Gulf , and from " John F . Kennedy " , " Saratoga " , and " America " in the Red Sea . In addition , the Navy launched more than 100 Tomahawk missiles from nine ships in the Mediterranean Sea , the Red Sea , and the Persian Gulf . Desert Storm officially ended 27 February , and " Midway " departed the Persian Gulf on 11 March 1991 and returned to Yokosuka . In June 1991 , she left for her final deployment , this time to the Philippines to take part in Operation Fiery Vigil , which was the evacuation of 20 , 000 military members including their families from Clark AB , on the island of Luzon , after the eruption of Mt . Pinatubo . The " Midway " , along with twenty other U . S . naval ships , ferried the evacuees to the island of Cebu , where they were taken off the ship by helicopter . After taking part in the evacuation , she once again returned to Yokosuka . A final cruise and then on to life as a museum . In August 1991 , " Midway " departed Yokosuka and returned to Pearl Harbor . Here , she turned over with " Independence " which was replacing " Midway " as the forward - deployed carrier in Yokosuka . " Midway " then sailed to San Diego where she was decommissioned at Naval Air Station North Island on 11 April 1992 in a ceremony in which the main speaker was Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney . She was stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on 17 March 1997 . During decommissioning , she , her sailors , and their families were filmed for the movie " At Sea " , a documentary on carrier life shown only at the Navy Museum in Washington , D . C . On 30 September 2003 , " Midway " began her journey from the Navy Inactive Ship Maintenance Facility , Bremerton , Washington , to San Diego , California , in preparation for use as a museum and memorial . She was docked in early October at the Charles P . Howard Terminal in Oakland , California , while work proceeded on at the Broadway Pier in downtown San Diego . On 10 January 2004 , the ship was moored at her final location , where she was opened to the public on 7 June 2004 . In the first year of operation , the museum saw 879 , 281 visitors , double the expected attendance . On 11 November 2012 , a college basketball game between the Syracuse Orange and the San Diego State Aztecs was played on the flight deck . The Orange won , 62 - 49 .