If you've ever seen the movie Midway, you'll know that the Yorktown was part of the Battle of Midway, and was severely damaged. So badly, that after the battle, only a skeleton crew was left on board, and an ocean tug was dispatched from Pearl Harbor to tow it back for repairs. Unfortunately, the Japanese sunk the Yorktown before the tug could reach it. So how is it possible that the Yorktown is now in the Charleston Harbor?? The answer is that this is the second Yorktown. When the original was sunk, there was an aircraft carrier being built in New Jersey. It would have been called the USS Bon Homme Richard, but was quickly renamed as the USS Yorktown. It continued to serve in WWII and after, including Vietnam, and was decommissioned in 1970.
The Yorktown is also home to various aircraft used by the military from World War II to Vietnam on the flight deck, and a few in the hangars. You can walk through the ship, in various self-guided tours, and see what it would have been like to be a member of the crew. I even climbed into the captain's chair.
We didn't go aboard the USS Laffey, but we did board the USS Clagamore. Submarines are very tight quarters. If you don't like small spaces, you'd have a hard time on one of these. Still it was really interesting, and I'm glad I did it.
Walter at Patriots Point. The bridge in the background leads to the peninsular Charleston - right into the historic area.
I think Walter was in his element - all these planes to explore.
Looking at the engine of the Tomcat from the back.
Helicopter from the Vietname era.
In the captain's chair of the USS Yorktown. The bridge much smaller than I thought it would be.
The Yorktown, with the Laffey in the background, and the Clagamore in the foreground.
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