Midway (CVB 41) - Naval Cruise Book

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r. , .„ Matthias B. Gardnkr Vice Admiral, I SN B( R in W asliington, D. C, Matt Gardner had attended Tennessee Mili- tary Institute, Sweetwater, Tennessee, and Pennsylvania State College before liis appointment to the U. S. iaval Academy. Graduated in June 1918. he was ordered to the usual sea and short duty of a junior officer, and in 1922 was designated a naval aviator. At the outbreak of orI l War II in- Admiral (Gardner served as Chief of Staff to the Commander Airiraft Scoutin;; Forces. In May 1942. he became Chief iif Staff. Commander Aircraft Soutli Pacific, and on ovember 7. 1943. .Admiral Gardner took command of the L.S.S. ENTERPRISE, which emerged from the war as one of the most decorated ships in the Navy. As the war drew to a close, he became .Assistant Chief of Staff for Plans, Commander in Chief of the Strategic Plans Division, . fter assuming the duty as Commander Naval Air Bases, 1 4tli Naval District, he was appointed Assistant Chief of Naval Operations. Two years later he took command of Carrier Divi- sion Four. The next month, with the rank of ice Admiral, he assumed com- mand of the Second Fleet, relieving .Admiral Robert B. Carney. From tlie .Seconfl Fleet command, he came to the Sixth Fleet. Distinguisliing liimself in both wars. ice .Admiral Gardner wears the ictory Medal. Philippine Liberation Ribbon, the Legion of .Merit and the Navy Lnit Conimendatiou Ribbon.

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Speed — 33 knots. Complement — 3.500 officer anil men. Armament — 14 five-inch 54 calibre dual purpose fruns. plus three-inch 50 calibre automatic anti-aircraft guns. Aircraft — 100 plus. The MID A is literally a floating city. She has a population of about ' ?500. She ' s compact, hut there are no housing shortages. There is no such thing a.s bedding down on park benches: in fact, that is one of the few things lacking, a park. We don ' t have complicated bus schedules (but after walking tlie hangar and flight deck several times a day you may feel that one should be instituted I. The only traffic jams are those at meal time. e have the corner drug store complete with gedunks and poggy bait ( ice cream and candy i . Our liangai deck can quickly be turned into a huge municipal athletic stadium and our athletic gear locker would put many colleges to shame for completeness. We have a picture show and sometimes even double features. Then there is our church which functions not only on Sundays, but throughout the entire week. We have a bank and a post office and even a newspaper. Our hospital is com- plete with operating rooms, surgical dressing rooms, diathermv and X-ray machines. The IIDW AY S personality consists of the hospitality of the South, the cordiality of the est, the friendliness of the North and the good will of the East. We ' re just sort of cosmopolitan. As an individual, the MIDWAY is BIG. Ninety tons of blue prints were required when she was being built. She weighs in at 45,000 tons dripping wet, but when she ' s ready for a cruise, she ' s in the super-heavyweight class, a hulk- ing 60,000 tons. When she quenches her thirst, she drinks up about 3,000.000 gallons of fuel oil and 365,000 gallons of aviation gasoline. Her arteries are made up of over 260 miles of piping. Her respiratory or ventilation svstem could completely change the air in the Holland Tunnel once every eight minutes. Her nerve system combines over 5000 miles of wiring and cable. Her four power plants produce over 212,000 shaft horse power, which means she could outpull 70 passenger diesel locomotives. She has 1.500 telephones installed — enough to supply a normal city of 3000 people. .And she ' s a trim lady, using over 20,000 gallons of paint during a year just to look pretty. She has endurance, for if she really wanted to, she could cruise around the world without refueling. W hen the MIDVt A feeds her masters, she uses an average of 4200 pounds of potatoes a day. 360 pounds of sugar, 1800 pounds of flour and when we have steak or roast beef, over 2250 pounds are used in one meal. On pie day over 650 pies are baked for one meal. Nine hundred two-pound loaves of bread are b-iked every day. and over 7000 eggs are used when served for breakfast. Excuse us if we are bragging, but we think the Mighty Mid is a big ship — in lots of ways. She ' s also the best in the Navy, which means the best in the world. Doesn ' t it?

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IMMEDIATELY before reportiiif; for duty as COMCARDI FOUR. U. S. Atlantic Fleet, with the U.S.S. MIDWAY as his flagship. Rear Admiral Austin K. Doyle was Chief of aval Air Reserve Trainint; witli headquarters at Glenview, Illinois. A native of New York City, Admiral Doyle attended the Curtis High School, Staten Island, and was appointed to the U. S. Naval Academy in 1916 where he was graduated as an Ensign in 1919. Progressing in rank, he was commis- sioned Rear Admiral in September 194.5, to rank from December 19, 1943. Designated a naval aviator in December 1922, Admiral Doyle served aboard such ships as the U.S.S. WRIGHT, U.S.S. LANGLEY, U.S.S. LEXINGTON, U.S.S. IDAHO and the U.S.S. SARATOGA. He also had tours of shore duty in Washington, D. C; Pensacola, Florida, and al the Naval Academy where lie coached the 19.33 baseball team. During World ar II Admiral Doyle was in command of the U.S.S. NASSAU an l the U.S.S. HORNET. For his services in command of the NASSAU, during the operations in the Aleutians, Rear Admiral Doyle was awarded the Legion of Merit. For his services in command of the HORNET, he was awarded the Navy Cross, a Gold Star in lieu of the second Navy Cross, and a Gold Star in lieu of tlie second Legion of Merit. Austin K. Doyle Rear Admiral, USN y ominanaer