The Midway-class aircraft carrier was the most modern and advanced aircraft carrier design developed for the United States Navy during World War II. However, the class did not see action in the war. The lead ship of the class, USS Midway (CV-41), was commissioned in late 1945 along with her two sister ships, USS Franklin D. Roosevelt (CV-42) and USS Coral Sea (CV-43).
Description[]
The then unnamed vessels of the CVB-class roughly resembled the design as that of the Essex-class. The results of the design were largely influenced by the Royal Navy's armored carriers. The design also reduced the air group's strength from 72 aircraft, as carried by the Essex-class, to only 64. Damage sustained by British carriers early in the war lead to development of the Midway-class design. When HMS Illustrious was hit by bombs off Malaya in 1941, that revealed weakness in hanger protection, US engineers designed the then CVBs with hangers divided into five compartments separated by forty and fifty pound STS division bulkheads that extended from flight deck to hanger deck with large doors suitable for the handling of aircraft, this, in conjuncture with sprinkerlers and fog foam sprayers would prevent the spreading of fires on the hanger deck. The CVBs were also designed with armored flight decks after flight deck armor proved its worth in protection against bomb attacks on British carriers of 3.5 to 1.5 inches to protect the hangers and underdeck compartments. While the CVBs were not completed until late in the war, the effectiveness of flight deck armor was further witnessed on carriers of the British Pacific Fleet. It was soon taken up to make the CVBs larger carriers and still retain the armored flight deck. The Midway-class design was the final one to be chosen.In order to save weight, the originally planned eight-inch guns were scrapped and lighter five-inch guns fitted while anti-aircraft armament was reduced to single mounts. The resulting carriers were very large, with the ability to accommodate more planes than any other carrier in the U.S. fleet, some thirty to forty more aircraft than the Essex class. In their original configuration, the Midway class ships had an airwing of almost 130 aircraft. Unfortunately, it was soon realized that the coordination of so many planes was beyond the effective command and control ability of one ship.
The final Midway-class design resembled that of the modern US aircraft carriers, a stark contrast to the earlier Lexington, Yorktown, and Essex-class carriers. The Midway-class ships had a displacement of 45,000 tons, the largest in the United States Navy at that time. Dimensions were 295 meters long, 34 meters beam, and 10 meters draught. Armor protection was a 7.6 inch belt with 3.5 to 1.5 inch flight deck armor. On board machinery was steam turbines driving two shafts and generating 212,000 hps, giving the ships a top speed of 33 knots. Crew was 4,104, cramped compartments and interior left to accommodate the large crew was one of the undesirable characteristics of the ship. The armament was eighteen 5 inch guns, twenty-one quad 40 mm Bofors AA guns, and twenty-eight 20 mm Oerlikon AA gun. The armament was later refitted after 1945. The airwing comprised of up to 130 aircraft, but was cut down extensively after the war.
History[]
The Midway-class was originally designed in 1940 as armored variant of the Essex-class aircraft carrier. The Midway-class ships were lain down from October 1943 to July 1944. Six were originally intended but only three were built by Newport News Shipbuilding and New York Navy Yard, to late to participate in the war. The Midway-class ships remained in service for a long period after the war, the lead ship of the class, USS Midway (CV-41), being the longest serving aircraft carrier in the US Navy. Although they were intended to augment the US Pacific Fleet during the war, USS Midway (CV-41) was not commissioned until 10 September 1945, eight days after the Surrender of Japan.
Ships in class[]
External links[]
Midway-class aircraft carrier on Wikipedia
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