The USS Midway Museum has welcomed two new historic World War II aircraft to its collection. One is highly polished and looks much like it did when it came off the Chance Vought Corporation’s aircraft assembly line in 1946. The other, only a few years older, looks like it’s been sitting in mud at the bottom of a Southern California lake for 65 years – which it was.
Collaborating once again with our partners at the National Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola, Fl., Midway obtained long-term loans on a F4U Corsair fighter-bomber and SB2C Helldiver dive bomber. The Corsair has been fully restored and has spent several years on exhibit at the renowned aviation museum on Florida’s panhandle. The Helldiver, or more accurately its pieces, has been sitting outdoors in the Florida sun behind the museum for nearly a decade and a half and resembles something more akin to a mangled metal junk pile than an airplane.
As part of the USS Midway Museum’s 20th anniversary, the museum introduced two larger-than-life mascot characters in 2024. The “Cat Officer” and “Middie,” humorous representations of sailors who would have served on Midway, have been mingling with visitors during weekends,…
The USS Midway Museum was again transformed into a winter wonderland with an aviation twist for the second year of its Jingle Jets holiday celebration. As the city’s newest and most unique holiday tradition, Jingle Jets brought an extraordinary holiday…
Under a brilliant sunny sky, they country’s military veterans were honored when the San Diego Veterans Day Parade once again marched down Harbor Drive with more than 10,000 spectators lining the parade route.
San Diego County boasts one of the largest veteran populations in the United States with more than 200,000 former and retired military members living and working in the county. The annual Veterans Day event, under the leadership of the USS Midway Museum, featured nearly 90 enthusiastic participants including a variety of bands, floats, ceremonial vehicles and marching units from veterans organizations, military commands, local businesses, and community service and civic groups.
It’s estimated that less than two dozen of those who fought at Pearl Harbor during the surprise attack by the Japanese Imperial Navy on Dec. 7, 1941 are still alive today. Those few remaining survivors are all more than 100…
One of the most anticipated experiences of the holiday season is putting up outdoor Christmas lights. Whether around a home, along a fence or on trees and shrubs, the sight of these festive lights are one of the first signs…
Food For Thought
“The Corsair is a wonderful airplane, but it’s a handful
on landing.”
U.S. Marine Corps Colonel Gregory “Pappy” Boyington, commanding officer of the famous F4U Corsair Black Sheep Squadron (VMF-214) during World War II, commenting on the aircraft’s high performance but challenging landing characteristics.Midway Partners
By the Numbers
12,500/15The estimated number of Chance Vought F4U Corsair fighter-bombers built for the Navy and Marine Corps between 1942 and 1953, and the estimated number of restored F4U Corsairs that are still flyable today.