Midway (CVB 41) - Naval Cruise Book

Page 13 text:

: sMe.. MEMORIAM Charles Roger Babcock

Page 12 text:

ilniiiihiv (,ii(l. iitir liraiinly Inllur. in It li,,si- limiils nn- ihc liiiiif: anil till ' ilind: ii c t i ■ ' Vice ihtiiihs fur alt lli isr. Thy siTiiinls. uliii hull ' laid ilimii ihrir n is in iht- smiii- i,j ihiir rnunlry. (.riinl In llwin 77m nirrcy iinil liiihl tij t h iri ' si ' me. lluil ihr liiiiiil iinrk iihiih Thiin hiisl liriinn in ihrin may hi ' jiiTJ I ' ll I ' d: ihriiugh Ji ' sus (hrist. ihy Sun. uur Lord. Anwn.

Page 14 text:

, 1 lit Inn If ' 5 Jjff ri V As a coral atoll in the I ' ac-ific some 1200 niili-ii nortliwi-st of Hoiioliilii, Mid- way Uland ua.« little knouii prior to World War II. It uai« one of the few remaining Pacific outposts left to oppo.M- the Japanese advance on the Hawaiian Ulandit and the west roast. Near this dot in the Pacific, a small United States Fleet met and defeated a much larjicr force of Japanese -hips in one of the {jreatest naval battles of the «.ir. It was here, loo, that .American .Naval .Aviation and supporting surface units handed the Japane.se .Navy its first decisive defeat in 3.S0 years. Putting an end to the long period of Japanese offensive action, the victory in the Battle of -Midwav restored the balance of naval power in the Pacific campaign. It is con- sidered by many historians as the turning point in the «ar against Japan. The keel of the U.S.S. MIDW A Y ( CVB-41 1 was laid with much fanfare at Newport News. Virginia, on Navy Day. 27 October. 194. ' J. and was launched on 2(1 Maroh I ' M.i. Her sponsor was Mrs. Bradford William- Hipl.-v II. widow of one of the na al pilots lost in tile Battle of Midway. .Also on liand was Lieutenant George Gay. LSNR, the sole sur ivor of the famous Torpedo Squad- ron Eight. Officers and men of the island garrison at the time of the Battle of -Midway presented the carrier with a gift — an electric organ which sings thanksgiving and reverence at all divine worship services. In March 1946, on her post-shakedown cruise, the MIDW .W led a picked group of ships into the icy North .Atlantic for cold weather experimental tests in Operation Frostbite. The MIDW -AY added another first to her record — that of being the first ship from which a V-2 rocket v as fired. W ith the launching of the -2 from the aft end of her flight deck, the feasibility of launching such missile? from ship- board was proved. In the fall of 1949, the MIDW AY again penetrated the far North Atlantic waters while on cold weather maneuvers with the L. S. Second Task Fleet. During this cruise she plowed through heavy seas, up the Davis Straits to cross the Arctic Circle, qualifying her crew for the exclusive Royal Order of Blue Nose. A few statistics: Standard displacement — 15.000 tons. Overall length— 968 feet. Extreme beam — 113 feet.