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The hangar deck stored the carrier’s aircraft, with large elevators raising planes up to the flight deck as needed. Now the carrier’s entry level, it has audio guides, aircraft displays, a gift shop, café, and restrooms. Don’t miss the 24-ft (7-m) Plexiglas model of the Midway used by shipbuilders in World War II to construct the carrier.

Sometimes called the Superstructure, ladders take you up to the navigation room and bridge, from where the ship’s movements were commanded. The flight control deck oversaw aircraft operations.

The area of the Midway’s flight deck is roughly the size of four football fields. Additional aircraft are on display here, as well as the entry to the Island. The flight deck stored planes on one end, while the angled deck served as a runway for dramatic take-offs and landings.

Examples of eight typical carrier aircraft are located on the flight and hangar decks. Among the displays are the F-14 Tomcat, which flies at speeds exceeding Mach 2, a F-4 Phantom, and A-6 Intruder. The Midway once held up to 80 aircraft of various types.

The Midway could store up to 1.5-million lbs (680,388 kg) of dry provisions and a quarter-million lbs (113,398 kg) of meat and vegetables to feed a crew who ate 13,000 meals daily.

The Midway’s crew often had tos wait several weeks at a time for a Carrier Onboard Delivery flight to receive letters from home. The post office was also in charge of the disbursement of money orders.

Sleeping berths for 400 of the 4,500 crew members are displayed on the hangar deck. Beds were too short to be comfortable for anyone over 6 ft (1.8 m), and the accompanying metal lockers could hold barely more than a uniform. Enlisted men were often just out of high school.

Notice the arresting wire on the flight deck. This enabled a pilot to land a 30-ton jet cruising at 150 miles (241 km) an hour on an area the size of a tennis court. A hook attached to the tail of a plane grabbed the wire during landing. Two steam catapults helped propel the plane for take-off.

For an additional price, which also includes a briefing, a flight suit, and 30 minutes of flight, you can experience flying a plane by taking the controls of a flight simulator. Also on hand are several standard flight stations, where, for another ticket, you can practice taking off from a carrier.

Located on the mess deck, the metal shop produced metal structures and replicated metal parts for the ship or its aircraft. Self-sufficiency and versatility were the keywords for tours of duty when the ship would be away for months at a time.