The USS Midway once housed 4,500 crew on the 970ft aircraft carrier.   It was decommissioned in San Diego California in 1992 (after being commissioned in 1945) and opened as a museum in 2004 where it is still docked today.

The USS Midway is basically a giant museum.  I know what you are thinking.  Museums are boring and you can’t wait to get out of there.  Not true with the Midway museum.

From the entrance, right when you board the aircraft carrier, you are given the opportunity to receive headphones with a touchpad device.  This device provides valuable information regarding the Midway Aircraft Carrier and features stories of the sailors and others involved with the carrier.  I highly recommend you get one of these devices for you tour.

After you receive your audio tour device there are numerous activities in the vicinity such as talking with a veteran who was actually stationed on the carrier.  You can eat at the restaurant, check out the aircraft and helicopters and even ride in some flight simulators (at an extra cost).

The Midway has hundreds of large print numbers that you then input into your touchpad device so you can hear related information regarding that number.  So as you explore the carrier, make sure you listen to as many audio presentations as you can.  Most are a few minutes in length with the options to listen more, kind of like a bonus features.

Below deck you are able to walk around and see where the food was prepared, the crews sleeping quarters, the dentist office, mail room, mess hall, medical clinic, engineering rooms and more.  You could literally spend hours exploring all the exhibits and learning about the history and significance of this giant vessel.

Much of the carrier is closed off or reserved for special tours.

On the flight deck on top there are more than 29 restored aircraft to learn and explore.  There are several aircraft that you can actually climb aboard and check out from the inside.

Here are the aircraft listed on board the Midway:

• EKA-3 Skywarrior
• A-4 Skyhawk
• H-34 Seabat
• H-46 Sea Knight
• T-2 Buckeye
• F9F Panther
• SBD Dauntless
• F9F-8P Cougar
• F/A-18 Hornet
• F-8 Crusader
• C-1 Trader
• E-2 Hawkeye
• SNJ Texan
• A-6 Intruder
• A-1 Skyraider
• A-7 Corsair II
• S-3 Viking
• SH-2 Seasprite
• SH-3 Seaking
• F-4 Phantom II
• F-14 Tomcat
• RA-5 Vigilante
• Huey Gunship
• TBM Avenger
• Grumman F4F-3 Wildcat
• Vought F7U-3 Cutlass
• Douglas SBD-1 Dauntless

USS Midway Aircraft Carrier Video