Sunday, July 11th saw a extensive car
tour to San Diego. The purpose for the tour was to tour the
recently opened WWII Aircraft Carrier Midway. The ship is docked
near Seaport Village. The Midway was launched in 1945 near the
end of WWII. It is approximately 900 feet long.
This tour proved to be very popular as we had nearly
60 adults for the day. Several Regions from the LA area
participated and the San Diego Region had a very good showing.
This tour did get to visit areas of the ship not normally accessible
to the public.
After the tour of the ship, many went over to the
Corvette Diner for a mid afternoon meal.
The above pictures show the layout of the
Midway. It is a classic design with the offset launch ramp
installed in the 1960's.
The Bow of the ship with a view from the Flight
operations Deck. In the distance the Aircraft Carrier
Enterprise is seen docked at the Navy Yard on Coronado
Island. The Enterprise is about 200 feet longer than the
Midway.
The view from the Operations Deck an aircraft is seen
ready for launch with the steam catapult. The bottom picture
shows a plane landing at the stern end of the ship. The aircraft
tailhook catches the restraint cable.
A view of the San Diego Harbor with a luxury cruise
ship in the distance. Several additional ships are along the
dock as well as some great fish restaurants.
In the ship's engine control room is seen a layout
board exhibiting the ship's engines and all the control valves and
power reduction gear boxes. From this room is the control for
the entire diesel/steam generated power of the ship.
The Flight Deck, "The busiest part of the whole
ship", according to our guide. At the top of the tower is
the Flight Operations Deck which we toured.
A trainer T-6 aircraft sits below deck. This area
is usually crowded with aircraft after landing andpreparation for
take-off. Access between the upper Flight Deck and lower Flight
Deck is a "high-speed' elavator which can be seen from outside
the ship.
The Corvette Diner! This restaurant establishment
contains several Corvettes and a lot of Memorabilia from the
50's. The food is very good, it is noisy and usually crowded.
