USS Kitty Hawk at the Battle of Midway: How Some Modified Merchant Ships Were The Key To Victory What's Going on With Shipping? June 4, 2022 In this episode, Sal Mercogliano - former merchant mariner and maritime historian at Campbell University - discusses the role of the merchant marine at the Battle of Midway on June 4, 1942, in particular the role of the former SS Seatrain New York as USS Kitty Hawk (APV-1).