A 60 foot sport fishing boat sailed into the aspect of the decommissioned USS Halfway on Jul. 18, 2025, with the operator apparently inebriated. No accidents and no main harm to both vessel have been reported.
Footage of the incident was captured each by San Diego Internet Cam, in addition to guests on board the USS Halfway on the time.
Video of the impression from Harbor Island. boat vs USS Halfway 11:48AM pic.twitter.com/ZHY3kTjOwP
— San Diego Internet Cam (@SanDiegoWebCam) July 18, 2025
An nameless viewer despatched us this video of the M/V Offshore impacting the USS Halfway yesterday.
The remainder of our footage is posted right here: pic.twitter.com/V41GQDcdGW
— San Diego Internet Cam (@SanDiegoWebCam) July 19, 2025
With neither vessel taking important harm, the civilian craft subsequently tried to go away the scene earlier than quickly being intercepted by a police boat. Native police later confirmed to The San Diego Union-Tribune that one particular person had been arrested on suspicion of sailing whereas underneath the affect.
The USS Halfway is berthed throughout San Diego Bay from Naval Base Coronado, which is the homeport of three present U.S. Navy nuclear-powered plane carriers and a lot of U.S. Navy plane squadrons. Halfway was decommissioned in 1992 and subsequently left the Naval Register in 1997. After being towed from Bremerton, Washington, and present process restoration work in Oakland, California, the ship opened because the USS Halfway Museum at its present location in 2004.
To additional make clear – the USS Halfway is a museum ship and NOT a part of the lively fleet. There doesn’t look like any harm as mirrored in these photos taken on the time as proven. pic.twitter.com/d3Ew3ABxPJ
— WarshipCam (@WarshipCam) July 19, 2025
Commissioned in September 1945, simply weeks after the top of the Second World Struggle, the USS Halfway’s service profession encompassed the whole thing of the Chilly Struggle and noticed the ship participate in lots of notable occasions. For the primary ten years of its service, the Halfway featured a WW2-style rectangular flight deck. Throughout modernisation work in 1955, the ship was retrofitted with a flight deck extension that allowed the usage of a extra trendy angled flight deck. The ship was additionally kitted out with a brand new elevator in addition to steam powered catapults.
After participating within the Vietnam Struggle within the Sixties, the Halfway as soon as once more underwent modernisation works, extending the flight deck even additional, bettering the elevators, and changing the catapults with extra highly effective fashions to higher help ever-growing service primarily based plane.
USS Halfway CV-41 after her 1970 SCB-110.66 refit, within the second picture you possibly can see how the flight deck and elevator format modifications in addition to look again to her preliminary format in 1945. #ussmidway #cv41 #flynavy #navalaviation #aviationsafari #aviationpreservation #boneyardsafari pic.twitter.com/a3AD3flzCp
— Boneyard Safari (@Boneyardsafari) Could 28, 2023
Following extra Vietnam missions within the early Nineteen Seventies, the Halfway led the primary U.S. service group to be ahead deployed to Yokosuka, Japan. Remarkably, plane from the Halfway had been answerable for each the primary air to air kill of a MiG fighter through the Vietnam Struggle, in addition to the final air to air kill of the whole battle.
In 1986, the service had the honour of performing the ultimate deck launch of an F-4 Phantom II in U.S. Navy service. They’d get replaced by F/A-18 Hornets – a exceptional reality, provided that the ship was designed with the intention to function piston-driven fighters just like the F4U Corsair. F-14 Tomcats by no means featured as a part of the Halfway’s air wing because of the plane’s measurement, although at the very least two operated from the ship’s deck after diverting in poor climate.
Shortly earlier than retirement, the Halfway took half in Operation Desert Storm. Its A-6 Intruder strike plane had been the primary service primarily based plane over Iraqi territory, finishing up the primary carrier-launched strikes of the battle. No plane from the Halfway was misplaced through the battle.
The Halfway Museum at present exhibits off each the ship in addition to a group of over thirty plane organized on the deck and within the ship’s hangar, starting from late WW2 and early jet designs just like the Corsair, Skyraider, and Cutlass, by way of to comparatively trendy plane just like the F/A-18 Hornet, EA-6B Prowler, SH-60 Seahawk, and S-3 Viking.
