At the tender age of 17 I joined the navy and by 18 was receiving combat pay.
http://www.navsource.org/archives/02/41.htmhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Machinist%27s_Matehttp://www.midwaysailor.com/midway/museum4.htmlhttp://www.midwaysailor.com/frankday/engineroom.htmlhttp://www.asbestos.com/navy/aircraft-carriers/uss-midway-cv-41.phphttp://www.pbase.com/amoxtli/uss_midwayBelow copied from other sources Vietnam War The USS Midway was deployed on and off for Vietnam operations. She left for Vietnam from Alameda on April 10, 1972. Her aircraft, along with ones from Coral Sea (CV-43), Kitty Hawk (CV-63) and Constellation (CV-64), laid minefields in the following significant Vietnamese ports - Thanh Hoa, Dong Hoi, Vinh, Hon Gai, Quang Khe and Cam Pha. The most challenging, yet successful, operation that was carried from Midway was the search and rescue of an aviator, who was downed by a surface-to-air missile in North Vietnam. The operation was carried out with the help of an HC-7 Det 110 helicopter which flew from the Midway. The helicopter, aided by planes from the USS Saratoga (CV-60), flew over the mountains, and despite receiving heavy gunfire, rescued the aviator. In October 1973, the ship was stationed at Yokosuka, Japan, that marked the first deployment of a complete carrier task force. The legacy was followed by Kitty Hawk, George Washington and others.
The original twelve Babcock and Wilcox diesel fueled boilers produced steam at 600 psi, developing 212,000 h.p. Four Westinghouse geared turbines converted thermal energy via the turbine reduction gears, attached to the drive shaft, one of them 1.5 football fields in length, finally coupled to four propellers that weighed twenty-two tons each, and were eighteen feet in diameter. They thrust the ship through the water at over 33 knots (1 knot equals 1 1/8 mph), consuming 260 gallons of fuel per mile. Refueling by support tankers was required every six to eight days to fill the 2.23 million gallon tanks. A steam turbine also supplied power to drive eight generators, creating 1,000 KW each. Generated power was channeled throughout the ship via electrical panels and boards. Ship’s lighting, combat systems and electronics provided step-down from 480V thru 110V, AC to DC satisfying all electrical shipboard needs. This power grid is representative to a 1945-era city of a million homes. The Main Control. The Chief Engineer had to keep his eye on many dials as he monitored steam pressure throughout the ship.
Original ship’s design included two launching catapults, fourteen arresting cables and six barriers. The aircraft compliment was at 137, then operating F4U-4B Corsairs and SB2-C5 Helldivers. The original catapults were hydraulically operated; later to be changed to a more efficient steam operated system, required by newer, heavier jet aircraft. Commissioned on September 10, 1945, Captain Joseph F. Bolger became the Midway’s first commanding officer. Captain Bolger, eager to participate in the war effort, was disappointed that World War II ended one week prior to Midway’s commissioning. The Midway’s original ships compliment included 316 officers and 3,127 enlisted men. By 1990, the crew had increased 35%, requiring more technologically trained crew members. T
The Midway, the ship that never slept, was underway October 12, 1945 on her shakedown cruise ready to record the most amazing adventure of any United States Navy ship, serving from one week after World War II and ending with the liberation of Kuwait in 1991. She was involved in nearly every international crisis in the latter half of the twentieth century, accompanied by proud American sailors averaging only 19 years of age during her record trek on the seven seas. Chow line: 13,500 meals were served every day. Imagine preparing 10 tons of food a day! It took a dedicated crew to fulfill the demands.
The
engineering department alone accounted for near 1,000 men to keep propulsion, desalination, electrical, electronics, communications, infrastructure and plumbing systems shipshape while at sea. Some engineering watches and duties were limited to four hours due to excessive noise and temperatures often reaching in excess of 120 degrees. The task of cleaning the “guts” of the boilers was probably the worst of the worst. It required entering the interior of the boiler and scraping, wire brushing and removing all of the coal black, sticky oily debris. It took days to scrub off the remaining soot from sailors’ bodies, not to mention their clothing. Engineering crew members (nicknamed “snipes”) were part of the most demanding departments on board the ship. When it broke “down”, you do not leave until it was fixed “up”. As important as the “black gang” was, it took many more specialized crew members to make the likes of the Midway hum.
Due to a sudden North Vietnamese invasion of South Vietnam, Midway left on
April 10, 1972, for a third Vietnam deployment, seven weeks prior to her scheduled deployment date. On this deployment, Air Wing Five aircraft played an important role in the effort of U.S. forces to stop the flow of men and supplies into South Vietnam from the North. On May 11, aircraft from Midway along with those from USS Coral Sea, CVA-43, USS Kitty Hawk, CVA-63, and USS Constellation, CVA-64 continued laying minefields in ports of significance to the North Vietnamese: Thanh Hoa, Dong Hoi, Vinh, Hon Gai, Quang Khe, and Cam Pha, as well as other approaches to Haiphong. Ships that were in port in Haiphong had been advised that the mining would take place and that the mines would be armed 72 hours later. On August 7, an HC-7 Det 110 helicopter, flying from Midway, and aided by other planes from the carrier and USS Saratoga, CVA-60, conducted a search and rescue mission for a downed aviator in North Vietnam. The pilot of an A-7 aircraft from Saratoga had been downed by a surface-to-air missile about 20 miles inland, northwest of Vinh, on 6 August. The HC-7 helo flew over mountainous terrain to rescue the pilot. The rescue helicopter used its search light to assist in locating the downed aviator and, despite receiving heavy ground fire, was successful in retrieving him and returning to an LPD off the coast. This was the deepest penetration of a rescue helicopter into North Vietnam since 1968. HC-7 Det 110 continued its rescue missions and by the end of 1972 had successfully accomplished 48 rescues, 35 of which were under combat conditions.
In October, an aircraft crash landed on Midway's deck. This aircraft ran into a group of parked aircraft and destroyed eight of them, killed 5 crewmen and injured 23 others. On January 12, 1973, an aircrew flying from Midway was credited with downing the last MiG of the war. Upon the signing of the cease-fire on January 15, Midway returned home.
The
Presidential Unit Citation was awarded to Midway and Carrier Air Wing Five for exceptional heroism for the period April 30, 1972 to February 09, 1973. This award was a rare presentation during the Vietnam War. During this time Midway was on her third Vietnam combat cruise and spent 208 line days on Yankee Station. CVW-5 had five air combat victories including the last downing of a MiG during the Vietnam hostilities. CVW-5 suffered 15 combat and five operational losses in this period. On September 11, 1973, Midway left Alameda on one of her most important voyages to date. Arriving in Yokosuka, Japan on October 5, 1973,
Midway and Carrier Air Wing Five marked the first forward-deployment of a complete carrier task group in a Japanese port as the result of an accord arrived at on August 31, 1972 between the United States and Japan. Known as the Navy's Overseas Family Residency Program, Midway's crew and their families were now permanently home ported in Japan. In addition to the morale factor of dependents housed along with the crew in a foreign port, the move had strategic significance because it facilitated continuous positioning of three carriers in the Far East at a time when the economic situation demanded the reduction of carriers in the fleet. It also effectively reduced the deployment cycles of her sister Pacific Fleet carriers.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=39Z80oHUZOwhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lqP_JGw1pEE&feature=relatedhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sdXjm8pZMwshttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_H3IR6XBRI&feature=relatedhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g3VCfCsX5Yo&feature=relatedhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-tRXewCAmU&feature=related
USS Bryce Canyon AD 35 Destroyer tender. Home port Pearl Harbor, HI. I spent 1975 and 1976 stationed here.