The Midway-class carriers arrived just a bit too late to participate in the closing stages of World War II in the Pacific, not being commissioned until September of 1945. Enthusiasts of alternate history possibilities have imagined them, loaded down with F8F Bearcats and F4U-4 Corsairs to fend off the expected hordes of kamikazes that would have come from the Japanese home islands in the event of a conventional invasion in 1946.
Fortunately, that event never happened, and the Midways entered a fleet engaged in peacetime conversion, becoming the newest, biggest, and baddest carriers out there, with huge 130-plane air groups (at least until the advent of larger jet aircraft brought those numbers back down). Franklin D. Roosevelt in fact, conducted the first jet aircraft trials aboard an American aircraft carrier.
Three ships, Midway, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Coral Sea were actually completed of the six planned vessels, with the remainder being canceled at the end of the war. All three remained with the active fleet after the war, serving long into the Cold War and Vietnam eras, and later, through major modifications and ever-changing air groups. Both Franklin D. Roosevelt and Coral Sea were eventually scrapped, but Midwaydecommissioned in 1992, and remains as a museum ship to this day in San Diego. Interestingly, the book notes that she is the largest museum ship in the world.
Stille’s book starts with a general introduction to the class. The remainder is arranged in two main parts, an overview of the design and eventual modernization, and individual histories of the ships themselves, followed by a final analysis and conclusions. The book speaks heavily on configuration, weapon and equipment changes, along with the changing political landscape that influenced such developments.
Stille does not shy away from places where the Navy “got it wrong” with this class when it came to modifications, citing engineering miscalculations along the way. The Midways certainly were in no way perfect, but Stille describes well how they filled the transition role between the old Essexes and the following Forrestal-class supercarriers. His final conclusion describes them as a successful class, with ample modernization and expansion capabilities which made them useful combat-capable carriers for many years after their initial launching, despite their design limitations, and the difficulties of keeping up with ever-changing military technology.
The book is illustrated with many overall shots of the ships, but not a whole lot of close-up detail. I would have liked to have seen some shots of the interior of the hangar deck, but as seems to be the case with many books of this subject, there are none. It seems to be geared more for the naval historian than the ship modeler, as most of the photographs are small, and black-and-white. There are also some nice color profiles, showing the ships in different configurations as time progressed, and a color photograph or two sprinkled in here and there.
At 47 pages in a soft-cover volume, it is not a long read. There are no exciting fire-and-steam combat stories, but it is an enjoyable and interesting look at the United States Navy carrier fleet in transition from steam to nuclear power. If you are a fan of the Midways, this book certainly belongs in your library. Recommended for the naval historian.
