Qualla: USS Midway (CV-41) https://qualla.com/uss-midway-cv-41 en-us © 2026 Bendyline Mon, 20 Jul 2026 10:21:03 GMT Qualla serial false Qualla support@bendyline.com yes https://qualla.com/_m/9/m/u/d/uss-midway-cv-41-wp/soviet-il-38-may-passing-low-o.jpg Qualla: USS Midway (CV-41) https://qualla.com/uss-midway-cv-41 USS Midway (CV-41): Introduction https://qualla.com/uss-midway-cv-41/ Photo credit US Navy Employee, Public domain. The handwritten note fluttered down to the flight deck, dropped from a circling Cessna packed impossibly tight with seven souls. "Can you move the helicopter to the other side, I can land on your runway. Please rescue me! Major Buang, wife and 5 child." It was April 29, 1975, and aboard USS Midway, Captain Larry Chambers faced an impossible choice. Within minutes, millions of dollars worth of Huey helicopters were being shoved over the side into the South China Sea, clearing a landing strip for a father who had bet everything on finding this ship somewhere in the vast Pacific. The Cessna touched down safely, and Major Buang became the first Vietnamese pilot to land a fixed-wing aircraft on an American carrier. That moment captures something essential about Midway: a ship that spent 47 years doing what others said could not be done.

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]]> Thu, 22 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/9/m/u/d/uss-midway-cv-41-wp/9mud-uss-midway-cv-41-intro.mp3 0:06 1 full USS Midway (CV-41): First Blood Over Vietnam https://qualla.com/uss-midway-cv-41/ Photo credit US Navy Employee, Public domain. On June 17, 1965, aviators from Midway's Attack Carrier Wing 2 made history when VF-21 pilots downed the first two MiGs credited to American forces in Southeast Asia. It was a distinction that bookended the war itself: aircraft from Midway would also claim the last air-to-air vic...

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]]> Thu, 22 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/9/m/u/d/uss-midway-cv-41-wp/9mud-uss-midway-cv-41-first-blood-over-vietnam.mp3 0:06 2 full USS Midway (CV-41): The Rock'n Roll Carrier https://qualla.com/uss-midway-cv-41/ Photo credit US Navy Employee, Public domain. Midway earned her nickname the hard way. In 1986, engineers added hull blisters meant to improve stability, but the modification backfired spectacularly. In moderate seas, she rolled so severely that waves crashed over the flight deck, making aircraft operations nearly impossible...

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]]> Thu, 22 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/9/m/u/d/uss-midway-cv-41-wp/9mud-uss-midway-cv-41-the-rockn-roll-carrier.mp3 0:06 3 full USS Midway (CV-41): Desert Storm's Opening Salvo https://qualla.com/uss-midway-cv-41/ Photo credit US Navy Employee, Public domain. At 2:00 AM on January 17, 1991, Midway launched aircraft from Carrier Air Wing 5 for the first carrier strikes of the Gulf War. An A-6E Intruder from VA-185 Nighthawks became the first carrier aircraft over the Iraqi coast. Four hours later, Intruders attacked Shaibah Air Base at...

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]]> Thu, 22 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/9/m/u/d/uss-midway-cv-41-wp/9mud-uss-midway-cv-41-desert-storms-opening-salvo.mp3 0:06 4 full USS Midway (CV-41): Farewell, Yokosuka https://qualla.com/uss-midway-cv-41/ Photo credit US Navy Employee, Public domain. In June 1991, Mount Pinatubo erupted in the Philippines, and Midway answered one final call. Operation Fiery Vigil evacuated 20,000 military members and their families from Clark Air Base, with Midway ferrying refugees through ash-darkened skies to the island of Cebu. Two months ...

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]]> Thu, 22 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/9/m/u/d/uss-midway-cv-41-wp/9mud-uss-midway-cv-41-farewell-yokosuka.mp3 0:06 5 full USS Midway (CV-41): A Living Memorial https://qualla.com/uss-midway-cv-41/ Photo credit U.S. Navy, Public domain. On June 7, 2004, USS Midway opened to the public as a museum ship moored at Navy Pier in downtown San Diego. Nearly 880,000 visitors came that first year alone, double what anyone expected. Today, you can climb the same ladders that sailors scrambled up during General Quarters, s...

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]]> Thu, 22 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/9/m/u/d/uss-midway-cv-41-wp/9mud-uss-midway-cv-41-a-living-memorial.mp3 0:06 6 full