Rising as a tumultuous Navy-gray mass from the sea, the aircraftcarrier Midway and its peers bring with them a reputation to match theirspectacular girth. Consisting of only two ships, the U.S.S. Midway andthe U.S.S. Coral Sea, they are the two oldest ships within the U.S. navalinventory.
Originally built as a group of three, the third carrier, the U.S.S.Franklin D.Roosevelt, was decommissioned in 1977. Its successor, the U.S.S.Nimitz, is the nameship of another class of the same type of vessel.
Within the United States Navy, different ships are commissioned,deactivated, and returned to duty within periods of years or even decadesbetween each change. This category of ships was designed to replace theprevious Essex class, and weighed twice as much, with armored flight decksand a 137-craft capacity.
As the only U.S. aircraft carrier stationed in foreign waters, theU.S.S. Midway, based out of Yokosuka, Japan, and the U.S.S. Coral Sea wereboth endowed with angled decks in 1977. They were modified to carry primarilytwo types of weapons: The Phalanx Close-In Weapons System Mark 15 multibarrelgun, and the Sea Sparrow missile.
The Phalanx System incorporates 20-millimeter depleted uranium-tippedrounds, and identifies, confirms its target, sights, and hits it with theaid of radar wave detection. It is ideal within the environment of a seabattle where a vessel is inundated with incendiary projectiles, such asair-to-ship missiles.
65 aircraft of at least five varieties may be hauled from the twocraft's 1000-foot flight decks. They include F/A-18 Hornet fighters, F-14ATomcats, A-6E Intruders, EA-6B Prowlers, E-2C Hawkeyes, and SH-3H Sea Kinghelicopters.
The expected replacement for the U.S.S. Midway in the late 1990sis the Forrestal-class ship U.S.S. Ranger. The U.S.S. Coral Sea will replacethe U.S.S. Lexington as the sole training ship for carrier-based aircraftpilots.
