The USS Midway was commissioned on September 10, 1945 and decommissioned on April 11, 1992. This beautiful picture depicts every aircraft that was assigned to the USS Midway from 1945 to the end of 1991.

These naval aircraft are more rugged than the typical land based aircraft. They must be able to launch in a short distance and be sturdy enough to withstand the violent forces of launching from and recovering on the rolling deck of "The Boat". In addition, almost all of their wings have the ability to fold up. Even the helicopters usually fold their tail sections and fold their rotors to ease operations in tight quarters.

Such aircraft and helicopters are designed for many purposes including air-to-air combat, surface attack, anti-submarine warfare, search and rescue, transport, weather observation, reconnaissance and airborne early warning and control duties.