Tag: San Diego

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Military History

The Ship in the City

Another much delayed posting, this time it’s San Diego – the most south west city in the USA and perhaps not on everyone’s trip list. Actually it was the first US city I ever visited back in 2019.

USS Midway (CV-41) was commissioned in September 1945 and was the lead ship for the “Midway” carrier class. It was the world’s largest aircraft carrier until 1955. It was also the first naval class unable to transit the Panama Canal.

It was decommissioned in 1992.

The midway is a big ship
Close up it begins to tower over you
And it’s long
And it’s a multi storey building into the bargain- topside
Hanger deck
Hanger deck
Scale model in Perspex built by the manufacturer
An early flat top – a classic design reached it’s zenith in the ww2 “escort” carrier – bought in large numbers by the British under lend-lease

In a previous post

https://thewargamingerratic.home.blog/2025/08/19/rocket-armed-biplanes-even-in-1945/

I wrote about the Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm museum and mentioned HMS Battler – a US built escort carrier.

The Coronado bridge takes you into what was north island and the Pacific Fleet home
San Diego is a sea side city
An active service carrier
Ships in dock at the north end of north island with the high ground of Point Loma beyond
Flight deck looking towards the city
The island is a big building
The fleet only arrived a few years before the aviation
The start of fleet aviation at San Diego, Glen Curtiss stood on the upper wing of one of his float planes
City side location
The iconic flight deck pose is a popular statue
The aircraft were fantastic while scale and size of the Midway was stunning
Early morning a modern ship slips out to sea
At the same time another unidentified ship returns to north island