The three ships of the Midway class are the forgotten class of USN carriers. They were originally part of the USN’s immense ship-building programme during World War II. Building on the success of the Essex-class fleet carriers, the USN sought an even larger carrier with superior protection and a larger air group. After some debate whether the new class was needed as the war drew to a close, construction on the first ship began in October 1943. Of the six ships projected, only three were ever completed: CVB-43, under construction at Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Company, was named Midway in October 1944, taking its name from an escort carrier already in commission. As the lead ship, the whole class took its name. CVB-42, being built at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, was about to be ‘launched’ (the ships were too big to be launched from a slipway so were actually floated out of a dry-dock) when President Roosevelt died suddenly on 12 April 1945, so the new ship was quickly named Franklin D. Roosevelt. CVB-43 was named Coral Sea in September 1943 during completion in Newport. CVB-44 was cancelled in late 1943 followed by the final two ships in March 1945.

Even given their immense size, all three ships were completed quickly, but the first ships of the class were not commissioned until September 1945 so missed the war. When the USN was dramatically downsized after the war, all three Midway-class carriers remained in commission. They were the most powerful and largest warships in the world until the first USN ‘supercarrier’ Forrestal was commissioned in 1955. As the largest and most capable American carriers of the early Cold War period, they had an important role to play. All three were initially kept in the Atlantic and Mediterranean to conduct presence missions and perform in the nuclear deterrent role against the Soviets.

Being big enough to accept significant modernization and to operate the increasingly large jet aircraft brought into service by the USN, the Midway class was kept in constant service after commissioning. Eventually, all three ships received a first round of comprehensive modernization. Midway and Coral Sea received additional modernizations which made them equivalent to the Forrestal class. In this sense, they were the USN’s first supercarriers. Later in their careers, all three ships saw combat in the Vietnam War and one was active in the 1990 Gulf War. The first ship of the class to leave active service was Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1977. Coral Sea was decommissioned in 1990. The oldest serving ship was Midway which served from 1945 until 1992. She still exists today as a museum ship in San Diego, California.

A major part of NVG 331 is devoted to tracing the modernization programme for the class. The first round of modernization was focused on giving each ship the capability of carrying nuclear weapons and operating aircraft large enough to deliver them. To keep up with the faster and larger jet aircraft brought into service, each ship received myriad upgrades to its aircraft handling facilities. Most prominently, these included the incorporation of an angled deck, as well as larger elevators and more powerful catapults. As each modernization added more weight, the size of the original heavy antiaircraft battery was greatly reduced. By the end of their careers, the ships were only lightly armed with close-in self-defence weapons.

On balance, the Midway class must be considered a success. It constituted the heart of the USN’s carrier fleet during the first decade of the Cold War until the Forrestal-class supercarriers came into service. Until the advent of the Forrestal class, they were the largest ships in the USN and the largest in the world. As the centrepiece of the early Cold War fleet, the Midway class performed the critical mission of helping to deter Soviet aggression in Europe by both their presence in sensitive areas and their ability to conduct nuclear strikes. They were too important to commit to the Korean War, which was viewed as a secondary theatre by the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

By virtue of their large air groups, the Midway class was the USN’s premier power-projection asset during the first decade of the Cold War. Once modernized, they remained capable power-projection platforms as they proved off Vietnam and during the first Gulf War. In this respect, they were not overshadowed by the supercarriers since the older ships carried almost identical air groups and were able to generate similar sortie rates. Only late in their careers when they were not able to carry the F-14 fighter and, as they aged, did their utility begin to wane. As the most modern of her class, Midway served well up until the end of her 47-year career. Coral Sea enjoyed a career only a few years shorter, and also proved to be a fully capable power-projection asset up until the end.

Their basic design was sound and proved able to receive extensive modernization. As with all USN carriers, the Midway class was viewed first and foremost as an offensive platform. In this regard, it was successful since the carriers embarked large air groups and could operate the largest aircraft in USN service for their first 30 years of service. As designed, they possessed an enhanced level of protection. Though this was never tested, the ability of the Midway class to take damage would have been considerable and they would have proven difficult to sink. However, like all USN ships of the period, they would have been vulnerable to damage inflicted by Soviet antiship missiles, which could have gained a mission kill by making flight operations impossible.

The emphasis on protection and the resulting armoured flight deck created problems. By carrying armour that high up, freeboard was reduced which made the class very wet, both on the hangar and flight decks. In heavy seas, the bow rode into the waves, not over them. Taking water over the bow was a real issue since USN doctrine called for deck parks, with the bow area being a favourite spot to park aircraft. Midway was even more susceptible to unfavorable sea conditions after her last two modernizations created dangerous rolls in heavy seas.

In the final analysis, the Midway class was a successful design and the ships recorded successful careers. Their extensive modernization work allowed them to remain fully capable carriers throughout their lives. Modernization to Midway and Coral Sea made them essentially equal to the Forrestal-class supercarriers. Performing innumerable deployments to flash points around the world and conducting combat operations in two wars are ample testimony to their capabilities. Though somewhat forgotten in the pantheon of American carriers, the ships of the Midway class spent the first part of their careers as the largest warships in the world and then remained equal in capabilities to the supercarriers that would eventually replace them.

Find out more in Midway-Class Aircraft Carriers 1945–92.