- San Diego Aircraft Carrier Museum
The San Diego Aircraft Carrier Museum is a
maritime museum located in downtown San Diego,California at Navy Pier. The museum consists of the USS "Midway" aircraft carrier.History
In August 1991, "Midway" departed Yokosuka and returned to Pearl Harbor. Here, she turned over with USS "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 on11 April 1992 in a ceremony in which the main speaker was Secretary of DefenseRichard Cheney . She was stricken from theNaval Vessel Register on17 March 1997 . During the decommissioning process, she was used to film portions of the movie "At Sea", a documentary on carrier life shown only at the Navy Museum inWashington D.C. Both sailors and their families participated in the filming or the homecoming scenes.On
30 September 2003 , "Midway" began her journey from theNavy Inactive Ship Maintenance Facility ,Bremerton, Washington , toSan Diego, California in preparation for use as a museum and memorial. She was docked at theCharles P. Howard Terminal inOakland, California , during the first week in October while the construction of her pier in San Diego was completed. Then, on10 January 2004 the ship was moored at her final location at the Navy Pier in downtown San Diego, where she was opened to the public on7 June 2004 .Visitors may tour the
ship's bridge ,flight deck ,hangar deck ,mess deck ,primary flight control ,Tactical Flag Command Center , enlisted and junior officer quarters, thecaptain 's andadmiral 's quarters,sickbay , and anengine room . Additionally, several restored aircraft are on display on the hangar deck and on the flight deck. Self-guided audio tours are provided with admission. Events and meetings are held on board as well.Bringing the ship to San Diego as a museum was the source of some controversy. Critics raised objections including environmental concerns and blocking of scenic sightlines. Under the terms agreed to in receiving space to dock the ship, a portion of the ship's bow is accessible free of charge to allow all visitors to enjoy views of the San Diego harbor and skyline without paying admission, and the preservation of some acres of land as a
wetland habitat. There were also concerns that the Midway Museum would steal customers from other local attractions. For example, the ship is located near the independently operatedMaritime Museum of San Diego , which includes a collection of historic ships including thetall ship "Star of India", a formerSoviet Foxtrot class submarine , and the "HMS Surprise", a replica Britishfrigate used in the filming of the movie . Through 2004, the Maritime business has actually received an increase of visitors, and the executive director of the Maritime Museum believes that part of the credit goes to the arrival of the "Midway". [Sauer, Mark [http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/features/20050213-9999-mz1c13midway.html Aircraft carrier Midway finds itself awash in visitors]February 13 ,2005 "San Diego Union Tribune" - Accessed23 March 2006 ]References
External links
* [http://www.midway.org San Diego Aircraft Carrier Museum] .
* [http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/m10/midway-iii.htm history.navy.mil: USS "Midway"]
* [http://www.navsource.org/archives/02/41.htm navsource.org: USS "Midway" (CV-41)]
* [http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=Alameda,+CA&ie=UTF8&z=19&ll=37.794483,-122.283422&spn=0.001903,0.00349&t=h&om=1 ex-"Midway" caught on Google Maps in Alameda during her final voyage]
* [http://speakingofhistory.blogspot.com/2006/07/podcast-34-touring-uss-midway-in-san.html A Podcast from Speaking of History about a tour of the USS Midway in July of 2006]
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