View source for Midway-class aircraft carrier

{{Short description|Class of American aircraft carriers}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2021}}
{{more citations needed|date=June 2010}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
| Ship image = USS Midway (CVB-41) steaming off the Firth of Clyde in September 1952.jpg
| Ship caption = USS ''Midway'' before [[Flight Deck|SCB-110]] upgrade
}}
{{Infobox ship class overview
| Name = ''Midway'' class
| Builders = *[[Newport News Shipbuilding]]
* [[New York Navy Yard]]
| Operators = {{naval|United States}}
| Class before = {{sclass|Essex|aircraft carrier|4}}
| Class after = * {{sclass|Forrestal|aircraft carrier|4}}
| Subclasses = USS Coral Sea
| Cost = 
| Built range = 27 October 1943 – 2 April 1946
| In service range = 
| In commission range = 10 September 1945 – 11 April 1992
| Total ships building = 
| Total ships planned = 6
| Total ships completed = 3
| Total ships cancelled = 3
| Total ships active = 
| Total ships laid up = 
| Total ships lost = 
| Total ships retired = 3
| Total ships preserved = 1
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
| Hide header = 
| Header caption = 
| Ship type = [[Aircraft carrier]]
| Ship displacement = *{{convert|45000|LT|t|0|lk=on}} (standard)
*{{convert|60000|LT|t|0|abbr=on}} ([[full load]]) <ref name="Ships Specifications">{{cite web |last1=Dorais |first1=Bob |title=UNDERWAY Ships Specifications|url=https://www.usscoralsea.net/specs.php |website=www.usscoralsea.net |access-date=15 April 2022 |ref=23}}</ref>
| Ship length = {{ubl|{{convert|968|ft|m|abbr=on}} overall|
{{convert|901|ft|m|abbr=on}} waterline|
{{convert|924|ft|m|abbr=on}} flight deck}}
| Ship beam = *{{convert|121|ft|m|abbr=on}} Waterline
* {{convert|136|ft|m|abbr=on}} Overall
| Ship height = 
| Ship draft = {{convert|33|ft|m|abbr=on}}
| Ship power = 12 Babcock and Wilcox boilers
| Ship propulsion = *[[Westinghouse Electric Corporation|Westinghouse]] [[Steam turbine]]s
* {{convert|212000|shp|abbr=on}}
| Ship speed = {{convert|33|kn|lk=in}}
| Ship range = 
| Ship endurance = 
| Ship complement = 4,104
| Ship sensors = *'''As Built''':
*1 × SC-2 Surveillance Radar
*2 × SG Surface Search Radars (On top Mark-37 GFCS)
*1 × SK-2 Air Search Radars
*2 × Mk-37 GFCS
| Ship EW = *'''As Built''':
*1 × TDY-2 ECM (Anti-Radar)
| Ship armament = *'''Original armament of Midway and Franklin D. Rosevelt:'''
* 18 × [[5"/54 caliber Mark 16 gun|{{convert|5|in|mm|abbr=on|0}}/54 caliber guns]]
* 21 × quad [[Bofors 40 mm Automatic Gun L/60|40 mm Bofors gun]]
* 28 × twin [[Oerlikon 20 mm cannon|20 mm Oerlikon cannon]] 
*'''Original armament of Coral Sea:'''
* 14 × [[5"/54 caliber Mark 16 gun|{{convert|5|in|mm|abbr=on|0}}/54 caliber guns]]
* 20 × twin [[3"/50 caliber gun]]s
* 14 × twin [[Oerlikon 20 mm cannon]]s
* '''Refit armament:'''
* 2 × 8-cell [[RIM-7 Sparrow|Sea Sparrow]] launchers
* 2 × Mark 71 mod 0 [[Phalanx CIWS]]
| Ship armour = 
| Ship armor = *Portside Belt: 7.6 inch
*Starboard Belt: 7 inch
*Lower Edge and Upper Belt: 1.96 inch
*Flight Deck: 3.5 inch
*Hangar Deck: 2 inch
*Main Deck: 2 inch
| Ship aircraft = Up to 130 (1940s–50s), 65–70 (1980s)
| Ship aircraft facilities = *'''Original Aviation Facilities:'''
* 2 Centerline Aircraft Elevators
* 1 Deck Edge Elevator
* 2 Aircraft Catapults
* 2 Hangar Decks
*'''1950s Modernizations:'''
* 1 Centerline Aircraft Elevator
* 2 Deck Edge Elevators
* 3 Steam Catapults
* Angled Flight Deck
*'''1970s Modernizations for USS Midway:'''
* 3 Deck Edge Aircraft Elevators
* 2 Steam Catapults
* Enlarged Angled Flight Deck
| Ship notes = 
}}
|}
[[File:USS FD Roosevelt (CVA-42) after refit 1969.jpeg|thumb|''Franklin D. Roosevelt'' under way in 1969]]

The '''''Midway'' class''' was a [[ship class|class]] of three [[United States Navy]] [[aircraft carrier]]s. The [[lead ship]], {{USS|Midway|CV-41|6}}, was [[Ship commissioning|commissioned]] in September 1945 and [[Ship decommissioning|decommissioned]] in 1992. {{USS|Franklin D. Roosevelt|CV-42|6}} was commissioned in October 1945, and taken out of service in 1977.<ref>[http://www.gonavy.jp/CV-CV42f.html Go Navy, USS Franklin D. Roosevelt]</ref> {{USS|Coral Sea|CV-43|6}} was commissioned in April 1947, and decommissioned in 1990.<ref>[http://usscoralsea.net/ USS Coral Sea USS CORAL SEA TRIBUTE SITE]</ref>

==History==
===1940s===
The [[Hull classification symbol#Aircraft carrier type|CVB-41]]-class vessels (then unnamed) were originally conceived in 1940 as a design study to determine the effect of including an [[armored flight deck]] on a carrier the size of the {{sclass|Essex|aircraft carrier|4}}. The resulting calculations showed that the effect would be a reduction of air group size—the resulting ship would have an air group of 64,<ref>Friedman, ''U.S. Aircraft Carriers'', p. 213: "Table 9-1. Evolution of Schemes for the Midway Design 1940–41". Design CV-D displaced 28,000 tons and had a nominal complement of 64 aircraft.</ref> compared to 90–100<ref>Roberts, John, ''The Aircraft Carrier Intrepid'', p. 8. London: Conway Maritime Press, 1982.</ref><ref>Friedman, ''U.S. Aircraft Carriers'', p. 138: Friedman discusses how the proposed ''Essex''-class carriers were designed for a nominal complement of 74 aircraft in 4 squadrons of aircraft, but these numbers were constantly revised due to changes in aircraft weight and dimensions, and the perceived increased need for fighters which had smaller dimensions than strike aircraft.</ref> for the standard ''Essex''-class fleet carriers. As it progressed, the design also became heavily influenced by the wartime experience of the [[Royal Navy]]'s armored carriers:
{{Blockquote|As a result of study of damage sustained by various British carriers prior to our entry into the war, two important departures from traditional U.S. Navy carrier design were incorporated in the CVB Class, then still under development. {{HMS|Illustrious|87|6}} in an action off [[Malta Convoys|Malta on 1 January 1941]] was hit by several bombs, three of which detonated in the hangar space. Large fires swept fore and aft among parked planes thereby demonstrating the desirability of attempting to confine the limits of such explosions and fires by structural sectionalization of the hangar space. On the CVB Class the hangar was therefore divided into five compartments separated by 40 and 50-pound [[Special Treatment Steel]] (STS)<ref>STS = Special Treatment Steel. STS was a form of high tensile steel that was often used to provide armor protection. 40 and 50-pound refers to armor that was {{convert|1|in|mm|adj=on}} or {{convert|1.25|in|mm}} thick (40 or 50-pound weight per square ft).</ref> division bulkheads extending from the hangar deck to the flight deck, each fitted with a large door suitable for handling aircraft. It is hoped that this sectionalization, in conjunction with sprinkler and fog foam systems, will effectively prevent fires from spreading throughout the hangar spaces, as occurred on {{USS|Franklin|CV-13|6}} on 30 October and 19 March. The damage experiences of several British carriers, which unlike US Carriers were fitted with armored flight decks, demonstrated the effectiveness of such armor in shielding hangar spaces from GP bombs and vital spaces below the hangar deck from semi-[[Armor-piercing shell|armor-piercing]] (SAP) bombs. Accordingly, the CVB Class was designed with an armored flight deck consisting of 3-1/2-inch STS from frames 46 to 175 with a hangar deck consisting of two courses of 40-pound STS between frames 36 and 192. Although none of the CVB Class carriers were completed in time to take part in war operations, the effectiveness of armored flight decks against Kamikaze attacks was demonstrated by various carriers attached to the [[British Pacific Fleet]] ... |<ref>Bureau of Ships, Navy Dept [http://www.researcheratlarge.com/Ships/CV13/1946DamageReport.html CV13 Damage Report]</ref>}}

The concept went to finding a larger carrier that could support both deck armor and a sufficiently large air group. The weight-savings needed to armor the flight deck were achieved by removing the planned cruiser-caliber battery of {{convert|8|in|mm|0|adj=on}} guns and reducing the 5-inch antiaircraft battery from dual to single mounts. Unlike the Royal Navy's aircraft carriers, for which the armored deck was part of the ship structure, the ''Midway'' class retained their "strength deck" at the hangar deck level and the armored flight deck was part of the [[superstructure]]. They would be the last USN carriers to be so designed; the immense size of the succeeding {{sclass|Forrestal|aircraft carrier|0}} [[supercarrier]]s would require a new deep-hulled design carrying the strength deck at the flight deck level to produce a stronger and lighter hull.

The heavily subdivided arrangement of the machinery spaces was based on that of the {{sclass|Montana|battleship}}, while the two inner propeller shafts were partially enclosed in skegs, similar to contemporary battleship construction.<ref>{{cite book|last=Friedman |first=Norman |title=U.S. Aircraft Carriers: An Illustrated Design History |year=1983 |publisher=Naval Institute Press |location=Annapolis, Maryland |isbn=0-87021-739-9 |pages=219}}</ref> While the ''Essex''-class carriers had eight main engineering compartments, the ''Midway''-class had 26, including twelve boiler rooms well off the centerline and four widely separated engine rooms. More extensive use of electric arc-welding than in previous warships reduced the weight by about 10 percent of what would have been required for riveted structural assembly.<ref name=tbg>{{cite journal |last=Grassey |first=Thomas B. |year=1986 |title=Retrospective: The ''Midway'' Class |journal=Proceedings |volume=112 |issue=5 |pages=182–199 |publisher=[[United States Naval Institute]] }}</ref>

The resulting ''Midway''-class carriers were very large, with the ability to accommodate more planes than any other carrier in the U.S. fleet (30–40 more aircraft than the ''Essex'' class). In their original configuration, the ''Midway''-class ships had an airwing of up to 130 aircraft. It was soon realized that the coordination of so many planes was beyond the effective [[command and control]] ability of one ship.{{why|date=December 2022}}  However, their size did allow these ships to more easily accommodate the rapid growth in aircraft size and weight that took place in the early jet age. The forward flight deck was designed for launching 13-ton aircraft; and the aft flight deck was designed for landing 11-ton aircraft, assuming in-flight expenditure of fuel and ordnance.<ref name=tbg/>

While the resulting ships featured excellent protection and unprecedented airwing size, they also had several undesirable characteristics. Internally, the ships were very cramped and crowded. [[Freeboard (nautical)|Freeboard]] was unusually low for such large carriers; in heavy seas, they shipped large amounts of water<ref name=tbg/> (only partially mitigated by the fitting of a hurricane bow during the SCB-110/110A upgrades) and corkscrewed in a manner that hampered landing operations. The follow-up ''Forrestal''-class featured a deeper hull that had more freeboard and better seakeeping.

In contrast with the earlier {{sclass|Lexington|aircraft carrier|5}}, {{sclass|Yorktown|aircraft carrier|5}} and {{sclass|Essex|aircraft carrier|5}}-classes, the beam (width) of the ''Midway''-class carriers meant that they could not pass through the [[Panama Canal]].

Although they were intended to augment the US Pacific fleet during World War II, the lead ship of the class, {{USS|Midway|CV-41|2}}, was not commissioned until 10 September 1945, eight days after the [[surrender of Japan]].<ref name=tbg/>

While ''Midway'' and ''Coral Sea'' followed the US Navy's policy of naming aircraft carriers after battles (two {{sclass|Casablanca|escort carrier}}s gave up their names for the larger ships), USS ''Franklin D. Roosevelt'' inaugurated the policy of naming aircraft carriers after former US Presidents that the US Navy generally follows today.

===1950s===
None of the class went on war cruises during the [[Korean War]]. As the three ships became essential to the Navy's strategic nuclear weapons role in Europe, they were mainly deployed to the [[Atlantic Ocean|Atlantic]] and [[Mediterranean Sea|Mediterranean]]. Until the availability of the ''Forrestal'' class, they were the premier commands sought by senior naval aviators. They were "admiral makers" for many of their commanding officers including future [[Chief of Naval Operations]] [[George Whelan Anderson Jr.]] and [[David L. McDonald]].

During the 1950s, ''Midway'' and ''Franklin D. Roosevelt'' underwent the [[Ship Characteristics Board|SCB-110]] modernization program (similar to [[SCB-125]] for the ''Essex'' class), which added [[angled flight deck]]s, [[steam catapult]]s, mirror landing systems, and other modifications that allowed them to operate a new generation of larger and heavier naval aircraft. ''Coral Sea'' had a variant modernization program called SCB-110A with an angled deck 3 degrees greater than the other two.<ref name=tbg/><ref>Friedman, ''U.S. Aircraft Carriers'', p. 300</ref>

===1960s===
All three of the ''Midway'' class made combat deployments in the [[Vietnam War]]. {{USS|Coral Sea|CV-43|2}} deployed to the [[Gulf of Tonkin]] six times, {{USS|Midway|CV-41|2}} deployed on three occasions, and {{USS|Franklin D. Roosevelt|CV-42|2}} made one combat deployment before returning to the Mediterranean.

In the late 1960s, ''Midway'' underwent an extensive modernization and reconstruction program under SCB 101.66, which proved to be controversial and expensive and thus was not repeated on the other ships. While $82 million had been budgeted for the modernization, the actual cost was $202 million, in comparison to $277 million for simultaneous construction of the brand-new {{USS|John F. Kennedy|CVA-67|6}}.<ref name=tbg/>

''Roosevelt'' instead received an austere $46 million refit (SCB 103.68), enabling her to operate the Grumman [[A-6 Intruder]] and LTV [[A-7 Corsair II]]. In July 1968, ''Roosevelt'' entered [[Norfolk Naval Shipyard]] for her 11-month modernization program. The forward centerline elevator was relocated to the starboard deck edge forward of the island, the port waist catapult was removed, the crew spaces were refurbished, and all of the four remaining {{convert|5|in|mm|0|adj=on}} anti-aircraft turrets were removed. ''Roosevelt'' set sail with 4 - 5" guns, 2 on either side controlled by 3 Mk 56 Gunfire control systems and one Mk 37 System. ''Roosevelt'' also received a deck edge spray system using the new seawater compatible fire-fighting chemical, Light Water. She put to sea again on 26 May 1969.

===1970s===
By the 1970s, ''Franklin D. Roosevelt'' and ''Coral Sea'' were showing their age. All three retained the [[McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II]] in their air wings, being too small to operate the new [[Grumman F-14 Tomcat]] fleet defense fighter or the [[S-3 Viking]] anti-submarine jet. In 1977, ''Franklin D. Roosevelt'' was decommissioned as she was the least modernized and in poor condition compared to the others in her class. On her final deployment, ''Roosevelt'' embarked [[Hawker Siddeley Harrier|AV-8 Harrier jump jets]] to test the concept of including [[Vertical/Short Takeoff and Landing|VSTOL]] aircraft in a carrier air wing.
{{multiple image|caption_align=center|header_align=center
 | align = right
 | total_width = 500
 | width1 = 2840
 | height1 = 1880
 | image1 = USS Midway (CV-41) leaving Yokosuka, Crew spelling Sayonara.jpg
 | width2 = 2800
 | height2 = 1820
 | image2 = USS Coral Sea (CV-43) aerial photo in 1986.JPEG
 | footer = ''Midway'' (above/left) and ''Coral Sea'' (above/right) in the 1980s; the difference in their appearance at this late stage in their service is due to ''Midway''{{'}}s extensive rebuild in the late 1960s (SCB 101.66), which was not carried out on ''Coral Sea''.
}}

===1980s===
''Coral Sea'' was rescued from imminent decommissioning by the election of [[Ronald Reagan]] as president of the United States in 1980. Reagan's proposed [[600-ship Navy]] gave the remaining ships a new lease on life. ''Coral Sea'' underwent extensive refits to address the ship's poor condition. 

When the [[McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet]] became operational in the mid-1980s, the Navy quickly deployed them to the ''Midway'' and ''Coral Sea'' to replace the older F-4s. On 15 April 1986, aircraft from ''Coral Sea'', as well as USAF [[F-111F]]s from [[RAF Lakenheath]] in the UK, struck targets in Libya as part of "[[Operation El Dorado Canyon]]". The Hornets went into action for the first time, flying several ship-to-shore air strikes against Libyan shore installations that were harassing the fleet. During this action, the Hornets from ''Coral Sea'' attacked and destroyed the SA-5 missile site at [[Sirte]] which had been "painting" US aircraft with its radars. This was the combat debut for the Hornet, and incidentally marked the first combat use of the [[AGM-88 HARM]] [[anti-radiation missile]]. The Hornets attacked the SAM sites in bad weather and at wave top heights. All of them returned without mishap.

A 1986 refit for ''Midway'' removed her 6" armor belt and bulged her hull to try to increase freeboard. While successful in this regard, the bulges also resulted in a dangerously fast rolling period that prevented ''Midway'' from operating aircraft in heavy seas. The bulging was therefore not repeated on ''Coral Sea''.

===1990s===
The [[Presidency of Ronald Reagan|Reagan era]] reprieve could not last. In 1990, ''Coral Sea'', which had long since earned the nickname "Ageless Warrior", was decommissioned. ''Midway'' had one last war in which to participate, and was one of the six aircraft carriers deployed by the U.S. against Iraq during [[Operation Desert Storm]].<ref>AR 600-8-27 p. 26 paragraph 9–14, p. 28 paragraph 2–14</ref> A few months after the campaign, ''Midway'' was decommissioned.

''Coral Sea'' was slowly scrapped at Baltimore as legal and environmental troubles continually delayed her fate. ''Midway'' spent five years in the mothball fleet at [[Bremerton, Washington]] before being taken over by a museum group. The ship is now open to the public at the [[USS Midway Museum|USS ''Midway'' Museum]] in [[San Diego, California]].

==Ships in class==
{| class="sortable wikitable plainrowheaders"
! scope="col" | Name
! scope="col" | Hull no.
! scope="col" | Builder
! scope="col" | Laid down
! scope="col" | Launched
! scope="col" | Commissioned
! scope="col" | Decommissioned
! scope="col" | Fate
|-
! scope="row" | {{USS|Midway|CV-41|2}}
| {{nowrap|CV-41}}<br>{{nowrap|CVB-41}}<br>{{nowrap|CVA-41}}
| [[Newport News Shipbuilding|Newport News Shipbuilding and Dockyard Co.]], [[Newport News, Virginia|Newport News]]
| 27 October 1943
| 20 March 1945
| 10 September 1945
| 11 April 1992
| Museum ship at [[San Diego]]
|-
! scope="row" | {{nowrap|{{USS|Franklin D. Roosevelt|CV-42|2}}}} ({{nowrap|ex-''Coral Sea''}})
| {{nowrap|CV-42}}<br>{{nowrap|CVB-42}}<br>{{nowrap|CVA-42}}
| [[Brooklyn Navy Yard|New York Naval Shipyard]], [[New York City]]
| 1 December 1943
| 29 April 1945
| 27 October 1945
| 30 September 1977
| Broken up at [[Kearny, New Jersey|Kearny]], 1978
|-
! scope="row" | {{USS|Coral Sea|CV-43|2}}
| {{nowrap|CV-43}}<br>{{nowrap|CVB-43}}<br>{{nowrap|CVA-43}}
| [[Newport News Shipbuilding|Newport News Shipbuilding and Dockyard Co.]], [[Newport News, Virginia|Newport News]]
| 10 July 1944
| 2 April 1946
| 1 October 1947
| 26 April 1990
| Broken up at [[Baltimore]], 2000
|-
! scope="row" | unnamed
| CV-44
| colspan="6" | Cancelled 11 January 1943
|-
! scope="row" | unnamed
| CVB-56
| colspan="6" rowspan="2" | Cancelled 28 March 1945
|-
! scope="row" | unnamed
| CVB-57
|}
[[Hull code]]s;
*CV – Fleet/Multi-purpose carrier
*CVA – Attack carrier
*CVB – Large carrier

==See also==
* [[List of aircraft carriers]]
* [[List of aircraft carriers of the United States Navy]]
* [[Naval aviation]]

==References==
{{Reflist|colwidth=30em}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Midway class aircraft carriers}}
{{Midway class aircraft carrier}}
{{WWII US ships}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Midway Class Aircraft Carrier}}
[[Category:Aircraft carrier classes]]
[[Category:Midway-class aircraft carriers| ]]
[[Category:Cold War aircraft carriers of the United States| Midway-class aircraft carriers]]
[[Category:Vietnam War aircraft carriers of the United States| Midway-class aircraft carriers]]