USS Midway - EISRA 86

EISRA-86

Extended Incremental Selected Restricted Availability

Major Upkeep Period

March 31 ~ November 28, 1986

All photos in this gallery are courtesy of Eddie Miller, unless noted otherwise.

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Miscellaneous Views

Pacific Stars & Stripes Photos

Entering Dry Dock No. 6 & Overhead Views

Blisters This alteration was to make Midway "rise out of the water," float higher & to increase stability & battle damage survivability. 92 Incremental blister modules were installed from frames 41 to 212 on the port & starboard sides.

Rudders Both rudders were increased in size to compensate for the increased width of the hull after installation of the blisters. Additionally, a third rudder (non-movable) was added between & aft of the ship's two original rudders to assist in steering stability.

Catapults The catapults were upgraded to MK-2 nose tow cats, the most modern in the Navy. Nose tow was installed to accommodate the F/A-18 Hornet aircraft, a change from the bridle launch system used on the F-4 Phantom aircraft.

Jet Blast Deflectors A modified version of six-panel JBD's on the Navy's "Big Deck" carriers (Midway's are four-panel). The old, smaller units were completely removed to allow for prefabrication & installation of wider, higher JBD's. This change was required due to the launch profile & blast of the F/A-18 Hornet vice the F-4 Phantom.

AIMD

An entire complex of shops was built to accommodate maintenance & repair of all the

"black boxes" required by the F/A-18 Hornet, E-2C Hawkeye & A-6 Intruder aircraft.

Removal of 6" Armor & Flooding Dry Dock No. 6

Additional Photos from the 1985 ~ 1987 Cruise Book

USNS General J. Gaffey (T-AP-121)

Berthing ship for Midway's crew during EISRA-86.

Courtesy of Eddie Miller

Some history about the Gaffey. Anyone unfortunate enough to have lived aboard this ship during EISRA-86 will love how this ship ended up:

~ 01 November 1978: Placed in service as a barracks hulk, redesignated Miscellaneous Unclassified (IX-507)

~ Date Unknown: Laid up in the NISMF Pearl Harbor, HI

~ 25 October 1993: Struck from the Naval Register

~ 16 June 2000: Final Disposition: Sunk during RIMPAC 2000 EXERCISE as a missile target.

~ Location: 023° 35' 01.0" North, 159° 50' 00.2" West

~ Depth: 2,730 fathoms

February 21, 1987 Miami Herald article

about Midway's infamous hull blisters.

Courtesy of Roger Oxley

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