Aircraft carrier "Midway": the main characteristics, weapons. US aircraft carriers

Aircraft carriers are majestic ships that embody the fighting power of the state. Midway is an aircraft carrier that has been in the ranks of the US Navy for 47 years. The ship served America reliably and took part in the Vietnam conflict. In 1992, it left the US Navy aircraft carrier fleet, and five years later it was transformed into a ship-museum. Today we will get acquainted with this magnificent ship, its history, device, armament and many other interesting facts.

History of creation

About the construction of a new class of ships, the US Navy aircraft carrier fleet thought about at the end of 1941, after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. For a time, the US government and fleet management could not come to a consensus on a new type of ship. Franklin Roosevelt and Admiral Ernest King believed that it was necessary to build small aircraft carriers. Meanwhile, Admiral Chester Nimitz insisted on the construction of aircraft carriers with a displacement of at least 45,000 tons. Ultimately, Nimitz was able to convince the leadership, and in December 1942, Roosevelt approved a project to build two aircraft carriers with a displacement of just over 40,000 tons.

In October 1943, in the vicinity of the state of Virginia , the aircraft carrier CV-41 was laid. Its construction lasted 17 months. In March 1945, a solemn descent to the water of a new aircraft carrier, giving great hopes for the US Navy, was held.

Predecessors

Before the aircraft carrier "Midway" appeared, the most numerous and powerful American aircraft carriers were Essex class ships. "Midway" received from them some features: the scheme of booking, as well as the layout of aircraft lifts and "islands". As for the external differences, the main ones were a huge chimney and felling, which the "older brothers" did not have.

Design

The first sketches of a heavy aircraft carrier, which would one day replace the Essexam, were developed back in the 1940s. The development was in full swing, despite the fact that until 1942 the prospects for the construction of the giant ship were very vague. The development of this project was strongly influenced by the events of the Second World War. The strongest arguments in favor of increasing the booking of the ship were the death of the ship Gloryes and the battle at Midway Atoll (hence the name of the aircraft carrier).

Since the new ship was much more powerful than its predecessors, a special classification was invented for it. The aircraft carrier was assigned the class CV-B, which existed until 1952, until the more modern aircraft carriers of the USA appeared, entailing the need for a new classification.

Building

To build an aircraft carrier "Midway", the size of which is more than solid, in those days it was not easy even for such a developed state as America. The best suited for construction were dry docks, which were then extremely few. But fortunately, at the time of signing the blueprints for the heavy aircraft carrier, the premises were vacated, where the building of the Montana battleships did not take place.

The aircraft carrier with the CVB-41 index was ordered by a large shipbuilding company Newport News Shipbuilding. By the way, the name "Midway" was appropriated to the ship only in the autumn of 1944. Together with him, the same class was represented by two more ships: "Franklin D. Roosevelt" and the aircraft carrier "Coral Sea". The hero of our conversation was completely ready 23 months after the posting. The aircraft carrier Midway, whose length is as much as 295 meters, has become an American achievement. At that time he was considered not just a powerful combat unit, ready to work in any conditions, but a real work of art. It's time to find out, thanks to which the aircraft carrier "Midway" earned so much respect.

Protection

The booking of the aircraft carrier included an armored belt and three armored decks. In addition, there was a local booking of some rooms. The flight deck was protected by an 87 mm layer of armor. In addition to the horizontal, the ship carried a very solid vertical protection. The aircraft carrier was equipped with an armored belt 193 mm thick, which was never repeated on ships of this class. But here there are some nuances. During construction, an impressive superiority of the ship to the right side was discovered, so the 193 mm armor was retained only on the starboard side. On the left side, it was reduced to 178 mm and smoothly cut to the bottom to 76 mm.

As for the armor above the main belt, there is no reliable data here. According to one version, there was armor 50 mm thick, and on the other - only 30-pound plating. The belt closed in the citadel through 160-millimeter crosshead bulkheads. The steering machine was protected by box-shaped armor: along the sides - 193 mm; Front and rear - 160 mm, from above - 127 mm, and from the bottom - 63 mm. The battle room was covered with 165 mm armor along the sides and 87 mm on top. Cables of the main control systems were enclosed in pipes with a thickness of 102 mm.

Driving performance

The power plant of the ship consisted of four turbocharged engines "Westinghouse", which were connected with a dozen boilers "Babcock and Wilcox." Motors powered four 5.5-meter mushroom screws with a speed of rotation up to 200 rpm. 10 thousand tons of fuel the ship was enough for about 15 thousand miles. When planning to get a smaller fuel consumption, but the overload of the armor has made its own adjustments. Boilers were located in the bow and stern of the aircraft carrier, in watertight compartments. The power plant occupied a total of 26 compartments. On the one hand, this increased its vitality, and on the other hand it complicated the service. In the future, such a scheme was not applied due to difficult maintenance.

The speed of the aircraft carrier was 33 knots, which at that time was simply an excellent indicator even in comparison with less bulky ships. It is noteworthy that the ship, as well as the representatives of the class "Essex" well kept the collected pace. This is confirmed by the 4452-mile journey that he made with an average speed of 32.5 knots.

Auxiliary equipment

The main aviation technical equipment of the ship were two catapults, three lifts and several finishers. In the same way, the latest (at that time, of course) versions of the Essex were equipped. In addition, the aircraft carrier "Midway" was equipped with systems for refueling and servicing aircraft. Catapults H-Mk-IV-1 thanks to an elongated path gave the fighter a speed of 145 km / h. The recharging of the catapult took only 60 seconds. As for the airmen, they stopped a 13.5-ton aircraft flying at speeds of about 90 mph. Two aircraft lifters with dimensions of 16.5 / 14 m and a lifting capacity of 12 t were located on the deck. The onboard lift was already four meters high and raised 8 tons.

The power plant of the ship included 8 turbogenerators of alternating current with a capacity of 1250 kW each. The mains voltage was 440 V. The generators were installed in watertight compartments adjacent to the rear of the boiler room. In addition, in a pair of isolated compartments were located emergency diesel generators with a total capacity of 2,850 kW. As a result, the total power of the aircraft carrier reached a record level of 12 850 kW. A pair of desalination plants fully provided the ship with water for boiler and domestic needs.

Habitability

The crew of the aircraft carrier included not only the ship's, but also the aviation staff. According to the plans of 1943, the number of crew was to be 3443 people. Of these, 2,121 people (2006 sailors and 106 officers) belonged to the ship and 1331 people to the air force. In addition, 140 reserve places were planned in case the ship would become the flagship. According to the project, the ship was designed for even more places to avoid overcrowding. However, by 1947 the crew was already 4,100 people, whose living conditions left much to be desired. However, all aircraft carriers of the United States suffered from overcrowding at that time.

Armament

The ship was equipped with the most powerful guns ever used on aircraft carriers. Among them were 18 guns of the 127th caliber, 21 - 40th and 28 - 20th. Aircraft carriers of the "Midway" type differed significantly from their predecessors in terms of anti-aircraft weapons. Instead of 127-millimeter guns with a barrel length of 38 calibers, the new ships received 127-mm guns MK-16. They were developed for the battleship Montana, the construction of which never took place. The gun was installed in a single tower setup and had impressive characteristics. The aircraft carrier "Midway" became the only ship that received the MK-16 guns. Later they were installed on the Japanese destroyers "Murasame", but these were guns removed from the "Midway" during the modernization in the 50's.

For near antiaircraft defense, the ship was equipped with four-barreled "Bofors" of the 40th and single-barreled "Erlikons" of the 20th caliber. At the time of joining the US Navy, the artillery armament of the aircraft carrier was 18 single-barrels and 21 four-barreled units.

Aviation Group

Since 1945, the aircraft carrier was carrying the Chance Vought F4U Corsair fighters. Two years later, the Grumman F8F Bearcat and Grumman F8F Bearcat fighters got on board. In the early 60's on the ship appeared jet aircraft Grumman F9F Panther. In 1956, their service aboard an aircraft carrier was started by such aircraft: F3H Demon, Vought F-8 Crusader, Douglas A-3 and Douglas A-4 Skyhawk. The latter in 1970 was replaced by the A-7 Corsair II.

In 1965, all fighters replaced with new ones - McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II. In 1986, they were replaced by F / A-18 Hornet aircraft. In the early 70's, a bomber and a refueling tanker Grumman A-6 Intruder arrived aboard. The helicopter SH-2 Seasprite also served on board the aircraft carrier, which was used mainly for ship servicing and cargo delivery. He worked in places where there was no way to moor to the pier. To date, the entire air group is part of the aircraft's exposition.

Radars

The radar equipment of the aircraft carrier Midway practically did not differ from the Essex equipment. It included two radar stations for detecting air targets, two radars for detecting surface targets, one radio altimeter and a large number of stations controlling fire.

Modernization

The ship was repeatedly refined. The first modernization took place already in 1955. Its goal was to extend the life of the aircraft carrier and expand its capabilities. The ship's design received a number of changes. The main of them are:

1. The landing strip was turned 8 degrees relative to the longitudinal axis of the aircraft carrier. Thanks to this little refinement, it became possible to simultaneously land and take off from the ship.
2. Instead of two obsolete steam catapults, the ship was equipped with three more powerful ones.
3. The braking system was strengthened. At the same time, the number of brake cables was reduced.
4. Elevators of the deck moved, increasing their load capacity.
5. "Island" was significantly modernized and equipped with a number of new equipment.
6. The ship received a new "assault nose".
7. The number of artillery pieces was reduced to 8.
8. The aircraft crane was replaced with a new one - more powerful.
9. The volume of aviation fuel tanks was increased.
10. In the vicinity of the waterline, an armored belt was dismantled.

All this led to the fact that the tonnage of the vessel increased to 62 thousand tons.

At the end of 1966, the second revision of the aircraft carrier Midway took place, which became the largest in the history of the complex modernization of the ship. The results of the update are:

1. Moved elevators with increased payload.
2. Reduced number of pairs of catapults - up to two.
3. Reinforced brake system.
4. Increased twice the area of the flight deck.
5. Modernization of the "island".

Thanks to these improvements, the ship remained in service until the 90's. The budget for modernization amounted to 202 million dollars.

Service

In February 1946, the ship became the flagship of the first aircraft-carrying division. In March of the same year, the aircraft carrier tested equipment and equipment designed for severe cold weather. In early autumn, the V-2 rocket was launched from the ship.

The most difficult test for the aircraft carrier "Midway" was the operation Frostbite, which assumed the preparation of equipment for service in the Far North.

In the summer of 1951, the ship worked on the tests of carrying the F9F-5 aircraft in the Atlantic Ocean. The following year, Midway took part in maneuvers with NATO forces. In 1954, the ship made a nearly round-the-world voyage, the end point of which was the island of Taiwan. Here it, as part of the US Seventh Fleet, served as a base for aircraft covering the evacuation from the island during the first Taiwan crisis.

In March 1965 aircraft aircraft carrier struck at military targets of North and South Vietnam. In total, during the war in Vietnam, Midway aviators shot down eight aircraft. In 1971, after modernization, the vessel again returned to Vietnam, where its aircraft mined approaches to local ports. In the end, for the Vietnamese services, the aircraft carrier received an award from the President of America.

In 1975, the ship took part in Operation Intermittent Wind. April 29 Byong-Ly - Major of the Air Force of South Vietnam - evacuated the family on the plane Cessna O-1. Heading toward the sea, the aircraft was met by the aircraft carrier Midway. After several attempts, the ship made contact with the plane. The latter asked for a landing. In order for it to take place, the crew had to release the take-off deck from aircraft and helicopters. Some of them even dropped into the water. The plane landed successfully on the deck, and the captain personally praised the pilot for his professionalism and courage. The equipment thrown into the water cost the US Navy $ 10 million. The crew of the aircraft carrier was so impressed by the act of the Vietnamese major that even helped him to find work in the vastness of America.

In the 80's, "Midway" with a group of other vessels was repeatedly involved in operations to demonstrate the US military concern over North Korea. In March 1981, two helicopters, part of the aircraft carrier's flight group, rescued 17 people injured by the fall of a civilian helicopter. The helicopter itself was also raised on deck.

In June 1990, there was a tragic event on board an aircraft carrier. On the ship there were two explosions, which led to a fire, raging for about 10 hours. As a result, two crew members were killed and 9 others were injured. The event was covered by more than a hundred international journalists. The media made the incident a big problem, it was thought that the ship would retire after that.

In 1989-1991 years. The ship took part in hostilities against Iraq, in particular, in Operation Desert Storm. In June 1991, it helped the people of the Philippines, who suffered from the eruption of the Pinatubo volcano.

Turning into a museum

In 1992, the vessel was withdrawn to the reserve. Until 1998, it was in a canned state in the city of Bremerton, Washington State. In September 2003, the aircraft carrier went on his last voyage. The end point of the route was the Broadway Pier in the center of San Diego, where a museum was made from the ship. The opening took place on June 7, 2004. For the first year of the museum's work it was visited by more than 870 thousand people, which twice exceeded the expectations of project managers.

For such a long service the ship received many awards. The most important of these was the President's bloc of gratitude. There were also awards for participation in the Vietnamese military operations, the liberation of Kuwait and other operations. Some awards to the ship were appropriated more than once.

Conclusion

The aircraft carrier "Midway", whose characteristics we examined today, has become one of the most outstanding ships of the US Navy. He, on the one hand, amazes with his greatness and symbolizes the power of modern military equipment, and on the other - reminds us of the absurdity of the war. War - a universal shame. And it would be much better if billions of dollars were invested not in military affairs, but in something more useful.