Midway Class Aircraft Carriers DVD

The Midway Class Aircraft Carriers DVD is a collection of films and newsreels on the famous CVB Midway Class Aircraft carriers. They were the Navy's first armor plated deck aircraft carriers, and were conceived in 1940. The first of their class was the USS Midway, CV-41. Her keel was laid down in 1943, and was commissioned in Sept 10th, 1945, one week after the war ended with Japan. The Midway class carriers became the largest ships in the world until 1955, and at 972 ft long and a beam of 113 ft, they also were the first Navy ships that couldn't pass through the Panama canal.

The big difference between the Midway Class carrier and the famous Essex Class carrier was the armored deck vs the Essex's wooded deck. This also led to a complete design change. To accommodate the weight, the ships had to be bigger, wider, and lower to compensate for the greater weight from the 4 inches of steel armored deck.

The USS Midway has served for 47 years of continuous service and all three Midway aircraft carriers served in Vietnam. The USS Midway even served in the War with Iraq, "Desert Storm".

There were three carriers in the Midway class: USS Midway, USS Franklin D. Roosevelt and the USS Coral Sea.

Film #1 - USN Carrier History - This a great history of the importance of the USN carriers, from USS Langley CV-1 to the construction of the Yorktown class, to Essex class to the Midway class and finally, the 1st nuclear carrier CVN-65, USS Enterprise. Runtime is about 17 minutes.

Film #2 - The USS Midway, CV-41 - This a great story about the early days of the USS Midway CV-41 at sea. This rare film shows the USS Midway as a "straight deck" carrier with F8F Bearcats and AD Skyraiders in use, plus a few jets onboard. Runtime is about 9 minutes.

Film #3 -A Day aboard the CV-42 - In 1957, a film crew got to go aboard the USS Roosevelt for a day. Great footage of the ship in action too. Runtime is about 12 minutes.

Film #4 -The Battle of the Coral Sea and Midway - This film is from the 1952 series Victory at Sea, called Midway. This episode tells the story of how Japan took over almost all of the Asian Pacific region and was only stopped at the Battle of the Coral Sea and Midway. Japan never recovered after these battles. These great battles are where the Midway class got their names. This is a great story. Runtime is about 26 minutes.

Film #5 -USS Midway CV-41 Newsreels - This a short collection of newsreels on the USS Midway CV-41 with a runtime of about 9 minutes:

• USS Midway Launched
• Midway with the 7th Fleet
• USS Midway carries out Arctic Tests
• Short Carrier Post WW2 story on Naval aircraft

Film #6 -USS FDR, CV-42 - This is a collection of short clips on the CV-42 USS Franklin D. Roosevelt with a runtime of about 11 minutes:

• CV-42 launched from drydock
• CV-42 commissioned
• Ceremonies of CV-42 at Navy Day
• CV-42 Civilian go aboard the CV-42

Film #7 -USS Coral Sea CV-43 - This is a collection of short clips on the USS Coral Sea CV-43 with a runtime of about 8 minutes:

• USS Coral Sea sent to Vietnam
• The AD Skyraider story and the CV-43

Total runtime for the Midway Class Aircraft Carriers DVD is about 92 minutes. Format is NTSC DVD and region-free.