Arizona CAP cadets and senior members visit the USS Midway in San Diego

Yuma 508 teams with three other Arizona Wing squadrons for a drive to San Diego and a day touring the USS Midway

Each year as part of the aerospace education program of Yuma CAP Composite Squadron 508 we like to have at least one field trip to a location outside our immediate geographic area. This year we chose to take a journey to San Diego, California for a tour of the USS Midway floating museum. For many, the event began with an overnight rest stop at our hangar in Yuma. Accommodations were somewhat Spartan but fulfilled the need. Cadets enjoyed getting to know their peers from other squadrons around the state.

Saturday, October 6^th started early with a muster of participants just before dawn at 0600.

Group photo Yuma Hangar 0600 6 Oct.

 After roll call, everyone loaded into CAP vans and personal vehicles for the 3+ hour drive to San Diego. Our aim was for everyone to meet at the museum at 1000. Amazingly, everyone gathered by the museum ticket office just a few minutes after 10. We trekked up a number of ramps to enter the Midway on the hangar deck. A museum volunteer provided a brief welcome/orientation speech. Next we moved on to pick up our individual self-guided audio tour devices. Although there were 37 cadets and 12 senior members present, the cavernous vessel seemed to absorb our group as folks dispersed to all points of the compass.

My first stop was at the carrier’s island tour that was reputed to have large crowds and long waits later in the day.

Elevated view of the flight deck

Starboard island USS Midway

Our guide took us through compartments dedicated to flight deck operations, ship’s command, navigation center, and helm station. I was taken aback by antiquated celestial and radio navigation methods that were then in use during the ship’s active service. Charts with cross bearings from shore sightings and instruments including a stop watch and sextant were on display.

Sextant and historic LOP on chart

Absent were the now ubiquitous GPS indicators utilized for current global navigation strategies.

Entry to the self-guided tour of the captain’s and admiral’s living quarters was at the base of the island. The living spaces were comfortable but not luxurious. This tour also included stops at the combat information center, radar facilities, and communications center. One young visitor was enthralled by the rotary dial phone in one of the compartments. Huge radio receivers and teletype printers were indicative of technology extant in the early 1990’s. I was surprised to see the animatronics installation of with the ship’s commander describing his duties. The display reminded me of the Abraham Lincoln show operated by Disneyland in the last century that I saw when I was the same age as our current cadets.

Midway tour or Disneyland?

Our group reassembled for the short walk to Seaport Village for lunch at the food court. It seemed like there were a lot of choices so cadets again melted away to enjoy their meal selections. It was a good time for a break.

Back on board the Midway, it was time to explore the main attraction of the museum, the flight deck. Numerous static aircraft displays spanned naval aviation from WWII to the F-4 Phantom and some of our current operating aircraft including the F/A-18 Hornet.

F-4 Phantom parked on deck

Helicopters were amply represented. Well- prepared presentations gave visitors a chance to sit and rest their legs. Explanations of operation of the catapults and the aircraft retrieval techniques were both entertaining and educational. I would wager that there are few among us that would like to assume the responsibilities of either a carrier-based pilot or the LSO (landing signal officer.) The statue of a “shooter” formed the centerpiece of the striking tableau for our Squadron 508 group photo on the flight deck.

Launch!

As the afternoon progressed, many of the cadets made their way back to the hangar deck and a more leisurely pace. The area describing the history of the USS Midway was especially informative. The ship was conceived during WWII but was not commissioned until 1947. There were 3 iterations of the ship’s flight deck from the initial straight deck that precluded simultaneous launch and landing operations and the two versions of the enlarged flight deck with offset surface that enabled take-offs and landings at the same time. The ship and her company received many awards and commendations for their service including operations during the Vietnam War, evacuation of the US Embassy in Saigon in 1975 and the first Gulf War-Operation Desert Storm in 1991. Midway was decommissioned in 1992 before she became an active museum in San Diego in 2004. She is now a major shore-side attraction for the area.

The queue for the video of the eponymous Battle of Midway was too long for me but all who saw it reported that it was well worth seeing. Seems like a good excuse for a return visit to the museum sometime in the future. The battle represented a critical point in Pacific operations during WWII. It was an important victory for US naval aviation.

Several of our more adventurous cadets joined the line for full-motion aerial combat simulators. More cautious guests could watch the action the “pilots” were seeing as well as the actions of those inside the simulators. We clearly have some capable budding fighter pilots in our squadron.

Our visit was over all too soon at 1500. Much of the driving back to Arizona would be completed during daylight hours with the sun at our backs and a very enjoyable day to add to our CAP memories.

Fair winds and following seas, USS Midway