USS Midway Museum

The USS Midway Museum, at 910 North Harbor Drive on the Embarcadero in San Diego, California, is a floating museum aboard the aircraft carrier USS Midway, commissioned on September 10, 1945, a week after the end of World War II. She was the lead ship of her class and the longest-serving US Navy aircraft carrier of the 20th century, in service until 1992. During that time she was modernized with an angled flight deck and larger catapults, and she took part in the Vietnam War, where her aircraft flew thousands of sorties, and in Operation Desert Storm in 1991. She also supported the evacuation of Saigon in 1975. After decommissioning, she was brought to San Diego and opened as a museum on June 7, 2004. The ship is about 1,000 feet long, and visitors tour the flight deck, hangar deck, island, engine spaces, galley, brig, sick bay and living quarters, with more than 60 exhibits and about 30 restored aircraft on display, including helicopters and jets from different eras. Many guides are veterans who served on Navy ships, and an audio tour, narrated by former crew members, is included with admission. Docents offer firsthand accounts of daily shipboard life, and flight simulators add interactive elements. The museum's approach is immersive, with the ship preserved as an artifact of Cold War naval aviation. Preservation requires continuous maintenance by staff and volunteers, including hull care, repainting and aircraft restoration. A full tour often takes three to four hours. The museum is generally open daily from about 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM, with last admission at 4:00 PM, and an adult ticket costs about $39. Nearby are the Embarcadero waterfront, the Unconditional Surrender statue and the Maritime Museum.