USS Midway Museum
910 North Harbour Drive
San Diego CA, 92101
Daily 10.00 - 17.00 h every day
Admission $ 39.- (2024)
www.midway.org
Tel. +1 619-544-9600
 

In early October 2024, the writer had the opportunity to visit the USS Midway Museum in San Diego. Located at the Navy pier in downtown San Diego, the USS Midway was America’s longest serving aircraft carrier of the 20th century (from 1945 to 1992) and a total of 225’000 young sailors served on this floating city. Today, the Midway interactive museum is an unforgettable adventure for fans of aircraft carriers and the U.S. Navy.

A little history: The USS Midway museum opened on 7^th June 2004. It is the most popular and most visited naval warship in the United States. Displayed on it are currently 37 different aircrafts, and it houses a movie theater called The Battle of Midway Theater and several flight simulators. In 2018 and 2019, scenes from the critically acclaimed film “TopGun: Maverick” were filmed on the museum premises. It also hosted the global premiere of that film on 4^th May 2022.

USS Miway CV-41 (Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)

USS Miway CV-41 (Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)

USS Miway CV-41 (Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)

Island of USS Miway CV-41 (Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)

Island of USS Miway CV-41 (Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)

Flightdeck

Grumman F-14A Tomcat  (Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)

Grumman F-14A Tomcat  (Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)

Grumman F-14A Tomcat  (Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)

Grumman F-14A Tomcat  (Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)

Grumman F-14A Tomcat  (Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)

Vought A-7E Corsair II (Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)

Vought A-7E Corsair II (Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)

Douglas A-4F Skyhawk (Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)

Vought F-8K Crusader of VF-111 (Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)

Vought F-8K Crusader of VF-111 (Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)

Grumman A-6E Intruder (Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan) 

Grumman A-6E Intruder (Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan) 

Grumman A-6E Intruder (Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan) 

Grumman C-2A Greyhound (Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan) 

Grumman C-2A Greyhound (Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan) 

Grumman C-1A Trader  (Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan) 

Hangar

Grumman F4F-3 Wildcat (Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan) 

Douglas SBD-4S Dauntless (Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan) 

Grumman TBM-3 Avenger (Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan) 

On the day of the writer’s visit on the USS Midway, i.e. on 2^nd October 2024, no less than three active American aircraft carriers were birthed in San Diego. They were USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70), USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71) and USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76). The silhouettes of these three carriers can be seen on one of the enclosed photographs.

last update 18. November 2025

Written 14. November 2025

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