Midway-Class: The U.S. Navy’s ‘Battle’ Aircraft Carriers

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Key Points and Summary: The Midway-class aircraft carriers, introduced at the end of World War II, served as key transitional warships for the U.S. Navy from the prop-driven era into the jet age.

-Although criticized for design flaws—crowded conditions, low freeboard, and maintenance challenges—they proved resilient and adaptable through multiple upgrades, including enhanced armor and the adoption of angled flight decks.

-The three ships—USS Midway, USS Franklin D. Roosevelt, and USS Coral Sea—played major roles from the Korean conflict to Vietnam, culminating in Operation Desert Storm. Their lengthy service underscores the importance of carrier innovation and their vital place in naval aviation history.

Midway-Class Carriers: Triumphs, Flaws, and Decades of Naval Dominance

Although not the most well-known aircraft carriers in the U.S. Navy fleet, the Midway-class flat-tops served many decades. 

Only three were built, but they were large and stacked with lots of aviation fighter power, an angled flight deck with increased armor topside, and additional aircraft that could be launched and recovered. These airplanes became more modern over the years as the jet age ensued. 

Built in the 1940s and first serving in 1945, the lead vessel of the class, the USS Midway, sailed until the 1990s and when built, was the largest ship in the world for ten years. 

The Midway-class had an incredible length of service time encompassing several wars, including the conflict in Korea, Vietnam, the Cold War, and Operation Desert Storm.

Here is a review of Midway-Class aircraft carriers and all the facts you need to know. 

Midway-Class: Some Criticized Noted Design Problems 

The Midway-class included the USS Franklin D. Roosevelt and the USS Coral Sea. 

The ships originally were designed to carry a remarkable 130 aircraft. Unfortunately, the Midway-class had many design flaws that eventually allowed only 100 aircraft to launch and be recovered on the huge flight deck.  

Seaforces.org was critical of the Midway-class design. “These ships were very wet, very crowded and quite complex; these problems were never solved. The design made them difficult and expensive to modernize or upgrade. In later years, these ships were limited by low freeboard, severe crowding of crew and equipment, low hangar clearances, poor seakeeping and extreme age; they were unable to operate the latest and largest aircraft. Overall, they must be considered to be a less than satisfactory design, but they had long service lives because of the urgent need for large carriers.”

Despite this scathing review, let’s give the Midway-class the benefit of the doubt and examine the aircraft carriers’ specs and positive aspects.

The Next Step Beyond the Awe-inspiring Essex-class 

The Midway-class did improve on the vaunted Essex-class carrier that was so successful in World War Two. There were 32 Essex-class ordered to be built, and the Navy finally settled on 24 since the war against Japan ended. Meanwhile, the Midway-class had the armor to withstand direct hits from enemy ships. The flight decks were redone in 1947 to give them more strength for survivability and a higher launch and recovery tempo.

Well-protected from Japanese Suicide Attacks

The Midway-class carriers were built during Japanese kamikaze attacks, so more powerful caliber anti-aircraft guns were added. 

Five-inch anti-aircraft guns adorned the ship, along with high-caliber twin guns and quad guns. 

During the modern era, Sea Sparrow air defense missiles and a close-in weapons system were added. 

More updates were ordered in the 1950s to bring the carrier into the jet age, but there was not a uniform approach, and the three flat-tops had different modernization processes and outcomes.

Sucking Up a Lot of Fuel

The Midway-class carriers displaced 60,000 tons and were nearly a thousand feet long. Westinghouse steam turbines drove four shafts and four propellors. 

The top speed was an impressive 33 knots. Unfortunately, the engines were not fuel efficient and burned 100,000 gallons daily, so they had to be re-fueled repeatedly during operations. 

Angled-flight Deck Was the Most Important Addition

The carriers had an angled-fight deck added in the 1950s that significantly improved the performance of the air wing. This critical innovation allowed simultaneous take-off and recovery.

 In the 1950s, Midway-class carriers were updated with better catapults and arresting gear. 

Could the Midway-class Fight a Nuclear War?  

Over the decades, numerous types of aircraft were deployed on the carriers. Most noteworthy was the early XFD-1 Phantom jet in 1946, plus a Privateer plane that could carry nuclear bombs. 

This was a massive development during the early days of the Cold War, and it gave American nuclear strategists many ways to devise operations that could later be used for atomic warfare involving the Navy. 

The flattops were so large that 4,000 sailors called them home during deployments. The carriers initially launched “four squadrons of gull-winged Corsair fighters and three of Helldiver bombers,” the National Interest noted.  

Classic Aircraft Carrier Operations During the Vietnam War

The glory days of the Midway-class happened in Vietnam when F-4B Phantom II fighters went on missions to bomb targets in North Vietnam. 

The Midway was involved in combat missions during the Vietnam era until the end of the conflict. An F-4J based on the carrier knocked out a MiG-17 in what turned out to be the last enemy airplane killed in the war.

In the 1980s (Franklin D. Roosevelt was decommissioned in 1977), the Midway-class kept up flight deck operations with old Phantoms and A-7 Corsairs. They even fielded the early F/A-18s. The USS Midway, after the Coral Sea was retired in 1990, had a great First Gulf War with 3,339 combat sorties to punish Saddam Hussein’s military.

Midway-Class: A Historic Group of Aircraft Carries 

The Midway-class carriers were terrific for their longevity. They had design flaws, and I’m sure sailors did much belly-aching and complaining over the decades about conditions on board. But any ship that had such an excellent combat record like the Midway-class should be seen favorably by naval historians. Vietnam was the best engagement for the class, and, incredibly, the USS Midway fought during Operation Desert Storm. That angled flight deck was a winner when carrier aviation evolved. We should give the Midway-class credit for serving that long and ushering in the jet age while paving the way for nuclear-powered carriers. 

About the Author: Dr. Brent M. Eastwood 

Brent M. Eastwood, PhD, is the author of Don’t Turn Your Back On the World: a Conservative Foreign Policy and Humans, Machines, and Data: Future Trends in Warfare, plus two other books. Brent was the founder and CEO of a tech firm that predicted world events using artificial intelligence. He served as a legislative fellow for U.S. Senator Tim Scott and advised the senator on defense and foreign policy issues. He has taught at American University, George Washington University, and George Mason University. Brent is a former U.S. Army Infantry officer. He can be followed on X @BMEastwood.