Patriots Point Naval & Maritime Museum, Mt Pleasant, South Carolina, USA

Home of the USS YORKTOWN aircraft carrier, Patriots Point Naval & Maritime Museum is South Carolina’s largest museum.

Patriots Point Naval & Maritime Museum: 40 Patriots Point Rd, Mt Pleasant, South Carolina, USA

The museum gives visitors the chance to tour the aircraft carrier, USS Yorktown, along with a destroyer ship and a submarine. Visitors can also visit the Vietnam Experience Exhibit and the Medal of Honor Museum.

The highlight of the museum is the aircraft in front.

The USS Yorktown was the tenth aircraft carrier to serve in the United States Navy. The carrier was commissioned in 1943 and participated significantly in the Pacific offensive, which began in late 1943 and ended with the defeat of Japan in 1945. Yorktown received the Presidential Unit Citation, and earned 11 battle stars for service in World War II. The carrier was later used off Vietnam and recovered the Apollo 8 astronauts and capsule before being decommissioned in 1970.

Next to the aircraft carrier is USS Laffey (DD-724), a Sumner-class destroyer.

Inside the aircraft hangar bay is the Medal of Honor museum.

The model of the Yorktown aircraft carrier

The hanger bay is home to a collection of historical carrier aircraft, including the famous plane that participated in the Doolittle Raid. This raid, which involved bombing Tokyo, originated from an aircraft carrier. However, this particular plane was not designed to land on an aircraft carrier, so it ended up landing in China after the mission was completed.

The model of the aircraft carrier used in the Doolittle Raid

The view of the ocean at the front of the aircraft

Aircraft carrier-based planes used in the Korean war and WW II

An airplane that drops a torpedo

The aircraft carrier retrieved Apollo 8 capsure.

This ship participated in the Midway battle.

The area below the hanger bay is for sailors’ life activities and offices.

Go down one more level

More offices

Go up

A barber shop

Go up back to the hangar bay

Go up from the hangar bay to the flight deck

Radar and communication rooms

The flight deck

The control tower and the bridge

To the bridge

Captain’s chair

Walking back down

Smaller aircraft carriers

Back to below the hangar bay

Japanese battleship Yamato

An American battleship

To the engine room below the hangar bay

Hospital