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The Real Truth About Squadron Life at Sea
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- čas přidán 18. 08. 2024
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In this episode Ward goes aboard the USS Midway (CV-41) to walk through the day in the life of a squadron at sea.
I've paid for hour long tours from museum staff, but none of those tours matched the 15 minutes of down to earth commentary by Ward. Thank you, sir.
Born & raised San Diegan. First saw the Midway when I was 8 years old, when she was tied up at North Island being decommissioned after Desert Storm. Since she came back as a museum, I’ve taken my kids aboard at least a dozen times, never gets old! Unfortunately we moved to Arizona last year, California having become politically and financially untenable (and I’m a state employee! ) but the Midway remains as our favorite attraction whenever we’re back in San Diego to visit. I love that ship!
Thanks! My dad was on the Midway, sometime in the early’50’s. We lived in Norfolk while he was at sea. He was a cook and could crack four eggs at a time, two in each hand, quite a party trick. My husband and I toured the USS North Carolina, which was absolutely fascinating. I loved the fact that you could wander and explore on your own, unlike the USS Missouri in Hawaii.
The F-14 on board has a lot of highway miles, it was towed from MCAS Miramar down the freeways to the bay where it was barged to NAS North Island for maintenance and paint. If you paid for the paint you could put the squadron of your choice on one side of the plane, there's a few aircraft like that on there. The H-3 was last in HC-85 where a corrosion inspection got it struck from inventory, sorry, I didn't mean to just doing my job. The SH-2F sat for a while in the depot storage until the museum needed to prep it for display, so much fun folding the blades for the first time in years with no support equipment to lock the stick or support the blades. When I was in San Diego and had a chance to go onboard the smells were similar to every ship I've been on.
Are you employed at the FRC at North Island?
@@olentangy74 No, I was attached to the squadron that last flew the Midway's display H-3 and worked at their restoration hangar before I transferred to a new duty station. The Tomcat was on display at MCAS Miramar when it was still a Naval air station, the Marines didn't want it since they never flew the type and have since rid themselves of the aircraft that they had brought from El Toro..
@@5695q I was attached to HS-2 at North Island when they were still flying Sea Kings. They were the first squadron selected for the SH-60’s though that happened after I left.
@@5695q It's disappointing to know that HQMC is forcing the relocation of the Flying Leatherneck Museum from Miramar back to Irvine/El Toro.
I went aboard the USS Norff Carolina when I went to grab my son from a trip to the sandbox. Once I went below deck my heart rate increased significantly. Same sights, smells etc as on a Carrier/LPH and the same flashbacks. I miss the F-4s, A-6’s, A-4’s and F-8’s. I had to man a .50 spot at the end of the runway at Camp Wilson. F-4’s used to scare the hell outta me when they were on approach. A controlled crash instead of a landing. Every bird seemed it was gonna crash right on top of me.
Great tour !
I used to love hanging out on Vultures' Row on the USS America, watching night traps after dinner. Each airplane had a very different character. The F-14 was just brute force; it thumped HARD when it landed. The F/A-18 was like an athlete, and made a third wire trap look like a dance move. The E-2C looked too big to land on the deck, but did a commendable job. The A-6 and variants-- stable as a table. Very controllable, it seemed. My favorites, the S-3 Viking, were like graceful hippos, with those two big fans underhung from a parasol wing. They looked more like business jets than warbirds.
I remember sometimes when the a-6 flew over the fan tail, jp-5 would come pouring down on us, which would start the die leaking in our vests...... Good times actually
@@driggs2821 I remember watching the E-2c come in and thinking...... There us no way this thing is trapping here.
7:40 Mr. Carroll, I don't think I've ever seen you smile so hard. Must be a hell of a rush of nostalgia!
Ward, thanks for mentioning the A-6. I saw you mental calculator was having trouble with the number of 500# Snake Eyes. The airplane would actually carry 11 under each wing and six in the centerline station for a total of 14,000#. It would take four WW2 era B-17s to lift that much ordnance. You would need to have plenty of tanker support to carry that load very far. Each of the five bomb pylons would take a MIR for six bombs each, but the forward inboard positions would foul the landing gear doors and could not be used. During Viet Nam the Marines had a solution for that. They would just remove the forward landing gear doors and get clearance for the 29th and 30th bombs. I was I had many friends in VA-95 at NAS Whidbey Is when the Midway was forward deployed to Japan. The A-6 runs in my family. My older brother was an AQ in VA-165 (Constellation), my younger brother was a Pilot in VMA-533 (Kennedy) and I was an ADJ in VA-52 (Kitty Hawk).
….and my recruiter said, “well son, how does Artillery sound to you?”
and I was like Hell yeah Staff Sergeant!
I watch videos like these and read comments like yours while I remember watching F-18’s dive bomb the impact area we just lit up at night with illumination at Twentynine Palms and I think, “yeah I didn’t plan out my military career very well”. I still loved my unit and loved my brothers , doing well in civilian life so I guess I can’t complain too much.
All of us on the ground watching those up above, at one point or many, we all thought to ourselves or we said it out loud, “I shoulda been a pilot.”
Great episode! Agree, stepping on board a couple of weeks ago for a commissioning ceremony and being greeted by that familiar JP5 smell brought back nice memories to both the wife (CVN sailor - Reagan and Stennis) and I (LHA sailor - Belleau Wood and Tarawa). Wild seeing ancient gear we worked on in CIC!
Good picks Shipmate. Stennis and Belleau Wood. I did Stennis, Lincoln, and Peleliu. We…ahem….”borrowed” some parts from Belleau Wood before she was eventually sank. Less paperwork to “borrow” 😁😁
Watched Tg 2nd time worth the time great story great movie better than star wars because it's all real world ooorah Mooch, griffin out over
A friend was the weapon’s officer in plane that flew on the Eisenhower, that was dockside for some temporary maintenance in SanDiego about 30 years ago and he took me on board and the smell..OMG..like being in an old tin can..never forget it.
He showed me where their air squadron was located on the ship, the steam room below the deck, the central mess hall.
I was surprised to see how shabby the planes looked. All of the paint worn off around the area where the canopy meets the aircraft, the dirty airframe bodies and inside the cockpit, it looked well worn and shabby.
When I commented on this he said, “he’d prefer to be in a plane that didn’t shine like a diamond in the sky and if the seats looked well worn and the plane was still flying that was a good sign!”
Ward good stuff! I don't have any traps on Midway but the sea handling was improved by adding blisters to the side to stabilize it a bit more. The flight deck also had a gap athwardship to allow flexing.
The A-6 as configured has 28 MK-82 Snake eyes since the forward gear doors would hit the bombs if they were on the forward inboard station on pylons 2 and 4. "TINS" During Viet Nam the Marines shore based would remove the fwd gear doors to carry the full 30 bombs. Since the MER's were preloaded away from the squadrons and down loading the bombs to make them fit the airplanes wasn't feasible.
Totally concur about the smells! Even my dad a WW2 Naval Aviator on Enterprise Tiger Cruise 1986 mentioned the smells and then said the crew never aged they were all the same age as when he flew in the war. He was the only one who got older. What a poignant thought.
Outstanding work as usual.
Sparky
Thanks, Sparky!
Preloaded MERS saved the backs of many AOs. Good video, good point on the fwd doors...IYAOYAS
My understanding is that the blisters that were put on in the mid 80's in Yokosuka made things worse. I wasn't on the ship but with a fwd deployed helo Det. (LAMPS) at the time. I was also on a escort FF with the Midway in '79 and remember how low she sat in the water.
@@johnknapp952 I was on the ship before and after the blister mod. The blisters made the rolling problem far far worse.
A buddy of mine was on the Midway as his first ship. He was as IIS so worked with the air wing a lot.
I'm a USMA grad. "Beat Navy" runs deep in my veins. But I love this channel and have lots of respect for Navy aviation. Keep up the good work, Ward.
Great video, Mooch. Last time I was aboard MIDWAY was about 15 years ago with a former Tomcat bubba named Tom "Slick" F., you likely flew with him at some point back in the day. As we're walking around the flight deck, he tells me the story of a Tomcat that had to make an emergency landing aboard MIDWAY. Sure enough, when we got close to the display Tomcat, we saw a placard with the story. Another former shipmate flew Hornets aboard MIDWAY in the late 80s. Returning to the boat one stormy night off the coast of Japan, the ball went down and they had to go to MOVLAS. MIDWAY, with its unique top-heavy modifications, was doing its characteristic pitch and roll in the heavy seas. The deck pitched down as he crossed the fantail and he had to do an "extended bolter." The nose gear did not touch the deck before he cleared the crotch. With a slight nose-down attitude in the black of night and awfully close to the water, he went full blower, yanked the stick back and went into a PIO as he avoided a stall. He called, "Boss, I'm done, goin' to Japan." Another shipmate was aboard the KA-6 tanker and both jets diverted. They had a few brews at the O Club to recover. Those certainly were the heady days of Reagan's 600-ship Navy and NORPAC exercises, pushing the envelope against the Russians. Lastly, I got to go aboard MIDWAY in 1992 just after she decommissioned at NORIS, as they were pulling all the gear out of her. Love your sea stories and insights, keep 'em coming!
Two Tomcats recovered aboard Midway on 29 September 1982. One from VF-114 - AARDVARK 111 - and one from VF-213 - LION 202. Thus the different squadron markings on the vertical stabs.
Read all about it in "CVW: US Navy Carrier Air Wing Aircraft 1975-2015" written by Mike Crutch.
Thanks for bringing back memories sir. Served aboard her 50 years ago. PR2 VA-122
Ward…great cover of material regarding the history of the Midway and the life of an aviator. As a volunteer aboard the Midway, I never cease to be amazed walking about this historic ship and experiencing the sights and smells. It is “Midway Magic”.
Born in 1963 I first encountered / met seamen of the USS Midway, CV41 as kid in 1971 in Akiya Japan, a small village some 35km outside of Yokosuka . I lived through the last years of the Vietnam war with these men and Marines stationed aboard . They spared me the details and hardship of their missions until I figured them out later while growing up,. Yet, this beauty of a ship and its crew with a history to tell forged me and has, not a spot but a world in my heart!
Definitely my favourite museum ship. I've toured her twice and this was a good reminder of why I enjoyed it so much. Thanks!
I was on the Enterprise and I am glad they never made her a museum ship, I don't want a bunch of disrespectful landlubbers touching and fondling her brass, it's just so demeaning for a once great ship!
My first - and only - time on a carrier was a visit to USS Coral Sea with my Dad during a layover in Sydney in the very early ‘60’s . . . About 60 years ago! Your visit to Midway has brought back treasured boyhood memories - just part of that rich fabric so many of us followed as boys then dreaming of the skies and yearning to get into aviation. And the passion has not dimmed since! Thank you, from that “Land Down Under”.
I knew guys who served on Midway. Never heard a complaint about her even though she was nearly 40 years old at the time. One of my favorite History channel episodes was from the Dogfights series called Migs In May For Midway.
One of things on my bucket list is to go visit that ship. Oh, and your right about the smells on ship. Went to the USS Intrepid museum in NYC a few years ago and I had to pause a few moments to absorb the ambience when I stepped on board, especially the smells. My girlfriend asked me what was I doing. I looked at her, smiled, and said, "Reliving history."
Thanks for another great episode, Sir.
I can recall visiting her back in 2021 at the height of the pandemic. She's a beautiful ship with a long history and service time. Would love to visit her again someday.
Thanks, Mooch! I was an engineer (Assistant DCA/Repair Officer) on USS Ranger (CVA-61), Top Gun of the Pacific Fleet, for three years (64-66). Your tour of the Midway was fascinating, but a bit depressing. Ranger was going to become a museum on the Columbia River in Oregon (don’t recall the exact site), and I was a member of the USS Ranger Association. A lot of time and effort was expended by numerous former Ranger officers and enlisted members of this group, and we were hopeful Ranger would be memorialized as Midway is, but in the end the Navy pulled the plug on this worthy project! She was towed to a metal recycling yard in Brownsville, Texas, arriving July 12, 2015, where her dismantling began. It was a sad ending for a such mighty aircraft carrier. I believe she was the first US carrier built from the beginning as an angled-deck carrier.
She was third, behind her sisters Forrestal and Sara. Still an awesome boat. Saw her back in '92 in Japan, before she got replaced by Kitty Hawk on Forward Deploy.
@@DuraLexSedLex Don't forget the 4th in the Forrestal class series - CV-62, USS Independence.
Welcome to SD Ward, I hope you are enjoying our fine weather. The Navy brought me here and I never left. The Midway is great now, but I have memories of having to relive her on station early due to issues with her stability. Wasn't my favorite boat then for sure, but now she's the one I get to show friends and family around on so it all worked out I guess.
Loved this! Thanks for the tour and explanation Ward. As a civilian, these behind the scenes explanations are fascinating to me. As a career aerospace engineer working in the private sector, my dad would have loved your episodes. I guess I got my love of aircraft and air power from him and his stories about the weapon systems he helped design. Thank you for continuing to provide us with such high value content.
I thought the exact same thing as I stepped aboard Midway a few weeks ago. Those smells of jet fuel, oil, and humanity instantly brought back memories. Also found it fitting that there were coffee urns all over the place as we had them as well.
I just received my copy of "Punk's War" this week. I am saving it to binge read over the weekend.
HI, Ward. Every time I visit Midway the smell of the ship brings back pleasant memories. I'm glad I am not the only one to notice this. I was on Ranger CVA61 67-68-69 cruises in VAQ130 flying right seat in the EKA-3B Skywarrior and we shared a conjoined ready room with an A5 Vigilante squadron.
John Cheney....Hello fellow Skywarrior !! You are a few years older than I am. I was enlisted and an AE3 in VAQ-33 from 71-75. We had four ERA-3B's, four A-4's, two F-4's and one gorgeous EC-121 Super Constellation. We were an ECM squadron and it's mission was to train the fleet in how to recognize and respond to the electronic tactics of the enemy.
When I first got to the squadron and did the requisite familiarization with the Line Division, I immediately knew that that was where I wanted to be and not just chasing sparks all the time, so I volunteered to be a Plane Captain for our A-3's. I loved it..!! Those A-3's became "mine" and I took a great deal of pride and "ownership" of those aircraft.
@@marbleman52 Thanks for the reply. I was not aware of your squadron. But I have a new appreciation for all the Plane Captains did for our Whales. This appreciation includes all the troops on the flight deck that made the ballet happen. Such fond memories of those two cruises, as everybody seemed to be on the same page.
@@johncheney3670 Hi...I think that I was very fortunate to have been assigned to VAQ-33. It was the only squadron that did what we did. No, I didn't get to experience a carrier deployment and the excitement and challenge and very real danger of working on the flight deck launching & recovering our planes, but I know that I would have also loved doing that, and doing it in a very professional manner.
But there were other things I was involved in that were special to me. VAQ-33 was the first squadron...actually just a detachment...that went to Canada and held ECM exercises with the Canadian Air Force. The ambient day temps were 30 below zero Farenheit. Just one ( or was it two...many years ago now...lol..! ) of our ERA-3B's went and I used what Plane Captain "seniority" I had and demanded that I was the PC to go. And so it was. I earned a Letter of Commendation on that det. At the time, I was among the very few enlisted men of my low rank of 3rd class Petty Officer to have ever earned that award.
I was also at Miramar and out at the 'hot' refueling pits just off the taxiway, waiting for our planes to return from an exercise, when the first operational F-14's arrived. What an awesome sight it was..!! Those F-14's came in so slow, wings full forward, and touched down so lightly that the tires barely smoked if they did at all..!! And what made my mouth hang open was to watch how soon they turned off the runway...incredible..!! Our planes would disappear way down the runway and it would take them several minutes to come back into sight.
Yea, we lowly enlisted men do not get the attention and the glitz and glamour that the military pilots get. But we know that without us, hopefully doing our jobs to the best of our ability and training and doing it in a professional manner, that the planes wouldn't fly very much.
But that's okay...I am proud and honored to have been part of a team of Officers and enlisted men that all had to work together and support each other to make a squadron successful on every flight and on every mission.
I served on her from 1986-89 Yokosuka Japan.. V-3 and V-1 division. And she helped me get into NROTC and my flying career started
Served as an aviation electronics tech In VF-151 (Vigilantes) during the mis 80s. Lots of memories! Thanks for the tour Ward Carroll!
1988-1991 VFA 151 myself
My son and I were lucky to spend the night on the Midway with Cub Scouts. I barely fit on that bunk!
I was fortunate enough to be able to spend 8 hours exploring the USS Midway on a beautiful sun drenched Saturday back in May 2017 while working on project near San Diego. The audio narration that is part the Midway museum is fabulous. The Midway visit is a bucket list day for any military history buff. Thanks for sharing your walk about day.
Bucket list to go back to. Went on in 2005. Some areas weren't open to the public yet. Great museum.
My wife and I toured the USS Midway, without a doubt one of the best tours you can take. Being on that ship brought back alot of memories of my dad and all the ships served on. He started his career on the USS Oriskany then commissioned the USS Saipan from there he served on the USS Inchon and finally retired off the USS America. To this day I love the smell of jp5, diesel fuel and navy crude oil. Keep the videos coming.
Another great vid! Thx. Also for those who watched Top Gun and recall them saying that they can't launch aircraft because "both catapults are broken"... that would have made sense on a carrier of this class of carrier because it has only 2 cats, but not on the newer carriers because they have 4 cats. As a Greenshirt that always bugged me!
Thanks again for your service, Ward. I've visited the Midway a few years ago, but would have preferred you along for the tour. Great stuff.
Former AT here. Thank you for the walk down memory lane. I spent my entire career in the Pacific, between the PI (Cubi Pt, VC-5), San Diego (CV-61 and CV-64), and Guam (HC-5). Did all the obligatory cruises in the Gulf, including Desert Shield/Storm. Your video reminds me of how much I miss the "haze grey and underway" lifestyle. Even spent a little time on the Midway. Wouldn't change a thing. Served with some of the best people I've ever met, while in the Navy. I have also gotten into DCS over the past few years, and listen to the DCS podcasts, and I always enjoy your content. Keep up the good work shipmate.
Perfect! I'm on the third "Punk" book and good to see some of the interiors that I had to put my own guess on. My dad was a Navy Chief for like 30 years but not aviation related he served on destroyers "Tin Cans" prior to and during WWII and beyond in the Pacific Fleet. He had his share of WWII battles in the Pacific islands, he did not talk about that time much, no desire to remember that stuff he'd just rather go fishing.
I was a volunteer docent on this ship shortly after it was opened as a museum. My brother was a marine onboard this ship. Nice tour you gave. They finally filled up the flight deck with a lot more displays. It is a nice feeling to tour the Midway. There are a lot of areas to cover that's for sure.
My dad was on the crew of the Midway when it was forward deployed to Yokosuka, Japan in October of 1973. He was a corpsman and was part of Operation Frequent Wind.
I remember the smell of the Midway when I visited with my dad. I was also very lucky to get to go on a dependents cruise for a day on the Midway. Great memories.
Good to see you she's been very well taken care of! Thank you Commander
Hope you enjoyed my hometown Ward, although I'm sure it isn't your first time here. My daughter has been saying we should visit the Midway again, so thanks for the nudge to go see the old girl again.
VERY enjoyable video! As a kid, I was on the Midway several when she docked at Yokosuka in the early - mid 1960s. That was always a HUGE treat for me.
I'm half Vietnamese. I'm gonna need to see this ship in person now. Thanks, Ward.
Midway is the only carrier I've ever been on! On a vacation back in 2016. I walked the entire ship tour. It was really interesting to see what life would have been like aboard a carrier! Thanks for the awesome video!
I served aboard the Midway from February 20, 1962 to April 21, 1964 as a YN3 in the Legal Office. Your presentation taught me a lot that I didn't know. Very well done, and very interesting. I have taken my grandchildren aboard in San Diego 4 times. Never gets old. Thanks!!
I had the pleasure of visiting the Midway in 2008 and would have loved to spend a second day on her. It was there that I learned about the dog bones function in the catapult system, something I had not heard before in + 20 years of interest in military aviation. A great museum and a great experience walking through the ship and over the flight deck.
Great vid Mooch ... have shared. I've visited two USN carriers in Australia over the years - once in Fremantle Western Australia and once in Sydney, New South Wales. Always an eye-opening experience.
47yrs ago i was attached to VA-34 BLUEBLASTERS out of NAS OCEANA. We flew off the JFK-CV67 and broke in rand new the Dwight D Eisenhower CVN69. So many memories. I love your channel. Thank You 😊
Great video, I've visited USS Midway before, great ship and glad she was saved.
Mooch,
I had a great time watching this vid! I felt like I was walking along with you on the deck! Great day!
Very cool! That was my dad’s ship. He was an air traffic controller from 73 to 75 in CATC. After that Atsugi Japan. Midway still feels like home. Even for us dependents. Thanks for making the video Sir.
Hi Ward. I'm a Navy brat in El Centro. I wish I could have come over the hill to meet you. FYI, the pilot named on the A-1 when you enter the hangar bay, Lt. Peele, was my Dad's CO on the Connie, CV-64, in 1976-78(?) when he was the ships secretary (CWO3 Donald R Vaughn).
Thank you, Ward! Great tour! Hoping you'll show a glance to where the USS Carl Vinson is being berthed at North Island before you depart...
Thanks. My dad's last cruise in his 32 year career was on the Midway. He retired at NAS Lemoore after returning back from Atsugi. He was in HC1 Det 2. He loved the flight deck and was a Maintenance Chief in VA-22 on the Ranger and Coral Sea during the Vietnam War. They flew A-4s then. I road home with him on a Tiger Cruise on The Big O's last deployment in 1976. I remember the smell very well. Took my kids to Midgay Museum in 2009. Looks like they have made some upgrades.
Great job Mooch. Except for the smells, you brought back a lot of memories for me, including hunching down the passageways and the knee knockers... my memories of bruised shins and a couple of head bumps came rushing back. VR, Mags
First off, your comment about the smell is spot on. That's how you knew that you were back on the boat. That smell hits you! So, I was in VFA-25 when we sailed aboard CV-62 USS Independence to trade ships, and aircraft with CVW-5 in Pearl Harbor back in 1991. We left Pearl aboard Midway, and VFA-192's very poorly maintained F-18's. (Our Squadron gave up our 2 year old F-18C's, for their tired F-18A's) Every day there was an emergency on the Midway. Flooding, Fire, Smoke, fuel oil leak, sewer back up, etc. She was an old lady, and her time had come. That being said, glad to see the Midway is a living example for folks to see what it is like to be on a carrier. Thank you for the walk through.
spent 61,62 and part of 63 attached to the midway via attack squadron 23. All summer cruises, no air conditioning and the South China Sea was miserable with typhoons one week and sweltering heat the next. Loved it. AMH 2 flight deck troubleshooter.
Mr Carroll, thanks for your channel. I've had a long day and this just made it a bit easier
Glad to hear it, Brian!
I enjoyed touring the Midway a number of years ago when I was out in San Diego.
The smile on your face tells the story. Many heartfelt thanks and much respect for your service to our country and thank you for the videos. I knew a F-14 driver, Captain Tom Joyce. I think he flew w/ VF-2 Bounty Hunters. Thanks again!
Great tour Ward. I was looking on google earth at the deck and seeing the lay out of the planes. Then i tried setting down on the deck and to my surprise, you can move around on the deck and see most of the planes pretty up close.
I was on COMCARGRU FIVE Staff when in NORPAC 83 2 F-14, one from each Squadron, were forced to land on MIDWAY. they were hosted the Fighter Squadrons, given a MIDWAY 100 Traps Patch with the TWO Zeros XX Out. The next day Pre-flight Crews from ENTERPRISE flew over to launch the aircraft to return to ENTERPRISE. All events went off Safely! The launch on Number # 1 Cat, JBD Down, all Aircraft cleared Aft of the Cat. Lots of interest on deck, Good Times.
Got a strong feeling that Mr Carroll really enjoyed making this one! Could tell by the constant grin on his face! And I could see some pride too. Thank you for your service, and for another great video
I've been watching battleship New Jersey's videos on that ship. This is great! Thanks for taking your time to show us around!
My first deployment was on The Coral Sea (CV-43.) What an experience it was.
CV-43 MarDet from 77-80. Great ship
@@jhollie8196 I was in VA-94 on the 77 cruise. I worked AIMD ORD.
@@NotaVampyre111 No shit? Me too. VQ-1--the bigass whale. Man, Coral Sea had low water levels, no ice. Really sucked. Good times.
@TomSwift-wy1gx not to mention the ever present list to port. My shop, AIMD was on the aft hanger deck. When I asked about why the over head above the fantail was deformed, I was told it was from a ramp strike. I never liked that shop but it was better then the flight deck.
Ahoy Shippy! I remember those Tomcat squadrons from the 1988 and 1989 West Pacs! RIP Big-E!
Amazing show I love it that you can experience all your old memories.
The Midway was the first of five carriers I had the privilege of serving on. I was with HC-1 Det 2 (SH-3G) from Jan 74 through Apr 76. While she was old even then, she was and remains my favorite ship, It does my heart good to see that she is still proudly serving our country by providing a glimpse at what these mighty ships do to protect our country and just a bit of what daily life is like while unerway. Great job amd thank you!
Been there, done that. USS Carl Vinson Air Dept V-3, 1988-1989.
VF-302 F-14 Tomcat plane captain 1991-1993.
I could listen to you all day
Great tour, brings back memories of 70 and 71 on board the JFK CV67 as a plane captain in VF14 on F4B Phantoms. Nothing like the Roof.
My first ship, way, way back in 1982. I returned to San Diego in 2016, and visited the old girl. The sights & smells brought back a lot of memories. There are signs everywhere aboard asking for former crew to let them know. I did, and was warmly welcomed, and got to tour the ENTIRE ship, not just the normal routes. In fact, I took the tour guide on a tour.
Great tour! Glad you enjoyed the nostalgia
Thank you for making this happen
Thank you for bringing up all my old memories when I was station on the Midway with VF -161 Rock Rivers from 1984 - 1988.
Excellent tour Ward, really a hoot, you don’t realize how big a flight deck is until you see someone standing in the middle of it ! 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🦅
Or how small it is until you're trying to land a plane on it :)
Thank you for the constant great content.
Thank you for the tour of Midway, my oldest son is stationed at Naval Base San Diego and have visited the Midway each time I have gone for a visit. Learned a lot of interesting information. Thank you for your service sir.
Cool video Mooch! I have visited the midway museum a few times myself when I lived in SoCal. Waiting for Punks trilogy on Audible in august.
Got to observe Midway, from a distance, conducting flight ops in the Gulf in 91'. Very glad I got to see her in action.
Thanks for the tour. There's so much more on the ship now than when I toured her about 18 years ago.
Everyone's right about the sights and smells. Midway gave me a real deja vu because she's a sister ship to the USS Hornet, on which I did my 1st Class midshipman training cruise. On that cruise I also spent a day on the USS New Jersey at USNS Long Beach and went to Hawaii and back. Great dances for us to attend with fine, classy women anxious to meet a real midshipman!
As a CV-41 Midway sailor attached to VA-56 in 1979 & 80 out on Gonzo Station and a big fan of Wand’s program he failed to mention and view the E-2C & A-7E aircraft, two other weapon systems that played a major roll for the Navy. Keep up the Great Work that your are doing Commander and a huge fan of your program. 15:41
Thank you sir. My dad was on the Midway during Vietnam. Seen her from the dock, really need to get back out there and do the full tour someday.
You talked about the smells which bring on memories. As an Army artilleryman, the same thing happens we I smell of propellant. The smell of freedom!
This is such a super channel!!! Bravo Sir!!! Thankyou for your service and showing us your fantastic world.
Did this tour alone a few years back and enjoyed it tremendously…current freightdog pilot here, and highly enjoy all of your videos. Cheers!
I too was struck by the familiar odor of the hanger deck on a visit to Midway a few years ago. I commented on the smell, which I had experienced on visit to other aircraft carriers, to the others in my group. A man passing by asked if I had served on carriers. I allowed that I had not served on aircraft carriers, and didn't mention that I was retired Army. We had lunch in the galley on the fantail and I ordered the creamed chipped beef on toast. Seemed like it was taking an inordinate amount of time and was disappointed that when delivered it was was cold. My father was a WWII veteran that made "sh!t on a shingle" on occasion and I also enjoyed the Army "bear sh!t on a board" - creamed ground beef on toast.
“First thing that hits you…the smell…..flood of memories.” No truer words have been spoken! :)
Midway greenshirt vet here, love it and have’nt seen her since 77’. Definately a bucketlister !
Thanks Ward!! I have learned so much about Naval Aviation by watching your channel for the past year or so!! Keep up the great work!!!
I love this channel because it's all the little details you share with all of us that are so different from any other channel I follow; keep up the excellent work.
Spent 63-65 in FDR (CVA-42) in Main Engines Control.. Toured the Midway twice and get nostalgic even today when I see her. You are right...Navy ships all smell alike....even museum ships. Thanks for the tour.
Thanks for the tour Ward. It is nice to know what our aviator brothers were doing on the big boat while we were chasing behind in our CGN cruiser.
Visited The Midway 10 years ago made to feel very welcome aboard whilst serving in British Army 🇺🇸👍👍
Great video Mooch, brings back a lot of memories. Thank you!!!
Very nice summary Ward. Brings back lots of memories. It might be worthwhile to do an episode where you describe the full duties of a fighter pilot. It isn't all turning and burning as you well know. My first assignment was as the Line Division Officer --- overseeing a bunch of enlisted guys only a few years younger than I was, but also very gifted for getting in lots of mischief. Developing leadership, administrative and mentoring skills was just as important to being a successful officer, as being a good stick. Keep up the great work.
I was made the acting enlisted CQ for a short time in the USAF while waiting for PCS orders to go through (more years ago than I care to admit). Given the amount of mischief they got up to in just my two week stint, I can only imagine what being the LDO was like! lol
@@faelwolf1177 Ha! I was no angel either..... Fortunately, I received some very valuable 'coaching' from senior enlisted personnel/Chiefs, who were of great assistance in my leadership journey. It was hard work being both a Division Officer and a carrier pilot, but I'd do it all over again in a heartbeat if anyone asked me to. :-)
good ole crime shack haha
Great episode, Ward! I was just on the Midway a month ago for the first time. Great experience. Really well done by the folks who run the museum. My whole day would've been satisfactory with just seeing the Tomcat they have on deck (which, even though it was partially disassembled for restoration, was in fact sufficient). But, my favorite part ended up being the former Navy guys they had as docents on the deck giving lectures on various shipboard operations, like launch and recovery. As it was late on a Wednesday afternoon, the crowd was pretty light and I ended up getting to talk personally with several of the docents after their final talks of the day. I actually ended up bringing you up in the conversation when one of the docents (I think a former A-6 pilot) walked into the conversation between me and a former fighter pilot (who said of all the fighters he flew the F-14 was his least favorite because of how the fuselage made recovery more challenging) and asked how the heck I ended up getting into such technical conversation on carrier operations with the other docent.
Love visiting the Midway, I helped restore the UH-1B on the flight deck when I was an AE1. I was also in its Battle Group for awhile during Desert Storm (on the LAMPS det on USS Princeton CG-59. Tomorrow is the 31st anniversary of the mine strike) The first video of the CVA in Alameda shows the Coral Sea, my Dad was a BT on board her at that time.
Love your videos
Always a pleasure few minutes with you! (Zagorfly)
I was in San Deigo a couple of years ago and toured the Midway with my grandkids. I added a hat to my Navy collection. During my 28 years active in the AF, I deployed on the Deyo, Nimitz, Saratoga, Enterprise and Nassau. Fun times. Thanks for the video.
Good stuff! Hope to see ya tomorrow!
Awesome! Thank you - I was on the Midway '84-'87. I started out as an E1 snipe but was able to cross train / cross rate to the airwing and wound up working in the photo lab as a PH.