USS Intrepid (CV-11) (New York City, New York)
| aircraft carrier, NRHP - National Register of Historic Places, historic landmark, United States Navy, museum ship, aviation museum
USA /
New Jersey /
Weehawken /
New York City, New York
World
/ USA
/ New Jersey
/ Weehawken
World / United States / New York
aircraft carrier, NRHP - National Register of Historic Places, historic landmark, United States Navy, museum ship, aviation museum
The USS Intrepid, the 3rd member of the Essex Class of Aircraft carriers, was laid down at Newport News Shipbuilding on December 1st, 1941 and commissioned into US Navy service on August 16th, 1943. Shortly after her commissioning she departed to join the US Pacific Fleet in the fight against Japanese forces in World War Two, a theatre in which she would earn her reputation along with 5 Battle Stars.
During her operations as a member of the US Pacific Fleet, the Intrepid was involved with some of the most historic campaigns of WWII; The Marshall Islands, The Neutralization of Truk, The Western Caroline Islands Operation, Leyte Gulf/Philippine Liberation Campaign, The Battle of Surigao Strait and the Okinawa Gunto Campaign. During this time the Intrepid earned the nickname 'The Fighting I' for the seemingly constant state of battle she was in during the 1943-1945 period. Her WWII service was not without its dangers though, as the Intrepid also earned the nickname 'The Evil I' for the repeated ill luck she suffered in combat: During her two years in service, she was the victim of 4 Kamikaze attacks and was torpedoed once, attacks which killed 68 of her crew. The Intrepid survived these attacks and survived the war, being placed into reserve in 1948 along with many of her sisterships.
Her time in the mothball fleets was relatively short however, as the US Navy selected the Intrepid for modernization in 1952 which included the remodeling of her 'Island' structure and the addition of the first steam catapults used by a US Navy Carrier, designed for the operation of heavier jet aircraft. Recommissioning on October 15th, 1954 the USS Intrepid joined the US Atlantic Fleet based out of Norfolk. She was overhauled and modernized at the Brooklyn Navy yard from 1956 to 1957, during which time she received her enclosed "Hurricane" bow and most notably, her angled flight deck allowing her to conduct simultaneous takeoffs and landings. During the next eight years she worked with the US Navy & Allies in the Atlantic and Mediterranean basins during the Cold War and was redesignated as the anti-submarine warfare carrier CVS-1 and took part in the recovery of the Aurora 7 and Gemini 3 space capsules in the Atlantic Ocean.
The Intrepid returned to New York for another overhaul at the Brooklyn Navy Yard in 1965, after which she was called on again by the US Navy to go to war, this time in Vietnam. By August 1966 the 23 year old Intrepid found herself off the Coast of Vietnam launching combat missions, and despite the larger aircraft on her decks she and her crew were able to launch aircraft at 27 then 26 second intervals from her forward catapults, a feat which earned her commanding officer the Legion of Merit. Returning to Vietnam in 1967 for a second tour of duty, the Intrepid and her crew earned 3 separate Vietnam Service Medals.
Returning to the States in 1968 the Intrepid shifted her homeport in 1969 from Norfolk to Quonset Point, Rhode Island, where she assumed Flagship duties from her sistership USS Yorktown (CVS-10) and would serve out her career. During the next 5 years the Intrepid took part in numerous maritime wargames and exercises and hosted several Midshipmen cruises before the Veteran Carrier became more technologically outdated, limited by her comparatively small size when compared to modern carriers and increasingly expensive to maintain and operate. The Intrepid formally decommissioned on March 15th, 1974 at Quonset Point, the last of the original 'short-hull' Essex-Class Carriers to leave operational service.
Following her decommissioning, the Intrepid entered the reserve fleet at Philadelphia and was placed in inactive reserve, awaiting sale for scrapping. During this period, real estate developer Zachary Fisher and the Intrepid Museum Foundation were able to come forward with funding and saved the carrier from the scrap heap, and after she was towed from Philadelphia to New York established the Intrepid as a museum ship. Following extensive refurbishment, the Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum formally opened in August 1982, 39 years after the Intrepid's keel was laid at Newport News.
Today the Intrepid continues to serve as a museum ship and monument to veterans from all wars. Each year she serves as the Host Ship for New York City's Fleet Week celebrations among numerous other private events and functions. In 2006 'The Fighting I' showed off her spirit when an attempt to tow her away from her home of 24 years was foiled by the Intrepid's propellers digging into the mud of the Hudson River and foiling the best efforts of a fleet of tugboats combining over 20,000 horsepower.
After being successfully removed from her berth in December 2006 for a 2 year multi-million dollar overhaul, the refurbished, repainted and upgraded USS Intrepid returned to a newly-constructed pier and museum space on October 8th, 2008 and formally reopened to the public on November 8th, 2008. Currently, the USS Intrepid is the second-oldest Aircraft Carrier in the world, second only to her sistership USS Yorktown, which shares the same keel laying date but was commissioned 4 months and 1 day before the Intrepid.
www.intrepidmuseum.org/
rwarchitextures.blogspot.com/2012/03/ship-shape.html
www.wa3key.com/intrepid.html
www.navsource.org/archives/02/11.htm
During her operations as a member of the US Pacific Fleet, the Intrepid was involved with some of the most historic campaigns of WWII; The Marshall Islands, The Neutralization of Truk, The Western Caroline Islands Operation, Leyte Gulf/Philippine Liberation Campaign, The Battle of Surigao Strait and the Okinawa Gunto Campaign. During this time the Intrepid earned the nickname 'The Fighting I' for the seemingly constant state of battle she was in during the 1943-1945 period. Her WWII service was not without its dangers though, as the Intrepid also earned the nickname 'The Evil I' for the repeated ill luck she suffered in combat: During her two years in service, she was the victim of 4 Kamikaze attacks and was torpedoed once, attacks which killed 68 of her crew. The Intrepid survived these attacks and survived the war, being placed into reserve in 1948 along with many of her sisterships.
Her time in the mothball fleets was relatively short however, as the US Navy selected the Intrepid for modernization in 1952 which included the remodeling of her 'Island' structure and the addition of the first steam catapults used by a US Navy Carrier, designed for the operation of heavier jet aircraft. Recommissioning on October 15th, 1954 the USS Intrepid joined the US Atlantic Fleet based out of Norfolk. She was overhauled and modernized at the Brooklyn Navy yard from 1956 to 1957, during which time she received her enclosed "Hurricane" bow and most notably, her angled flight deck allowing her to conduct simultaneous takeoffs and landings. During the next eight years she worked with the US Navy & Allies in the Atlantic and Mediterranean basins during the Cold War and was redesignated as the anti-submarine warfare carrier CVS-1 and took part in the recovery of the Aurora 7 and Gemini 3 space capsules in the Atlantic Ocean.
The Intrepid returned to New York for another overhaul at the Brooklyn Navy Yard in 1965, after which she was called on again by the US Navy to go to war, this time in Vietnam. By August 1966 the 23 year old Intrepid found herself off the Coast of Vietnam launching combat missions, and despite the larger aircraft on her decks she and her crew were able to launch aircraft at 27 then 26 second intervals from her forward catapults, a feat which earned her commanding officer the Legion of Merit. Returning to Vietnam in 1967 for a second tour of duty, the Intrepid and her crew earned 3 separate Vietnam Service Medals.
Returning to the States in 1968 the Intrepid shifted her homeport in 1969 from Norfolk to Quonset Point, Rhode Island, where she assumed Flagship duties from her sistership USS Yorktown (CVS-10) and would serve out her career. During the next 5 years the Intrepid took part in numerous maritime wargames and exercises and hosted several Midshipmen cruises before the Veteran Carrier became more technologically outdated, limited by her comparatively small size when compared to modern carriers and increasingly expensive to maintain and operate. The Intrepid formally decommissioned on March 15th, 1974 at Quonset Point, the last of the original 'short-hull' Essex-Class Carriers to leave operational service.
Following her decommissioning, the Intrepid entered the reserve fleet at Philadelphia and was placed in inactive reserve, awaiting sale for scrapping. During this period, real estate developer Zachary Fisher and the Intrepid Museum Foundation were able to come forward with funding and saved the carrier from the scrap heap, and after she was towed from Philadelphia to New York established the Intrepid as a museum ship. Following extensive refurbishment, the Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum formally opened in August 1982, 39 years after the Intrepid's keel was laid at Newport News.
Today the Intrepid continues to serve as a museum ship and monument to veterans from all wars. Each year she serves as the Host Ship for New York City's Fleet Week celebrations among numerous other private events and functions. In 2006 'The Fighting I' showed off her spirit when an attempt to tow her away from her home of 24 years was foiled by the Intrepid's propellers digging into the mud of the Hudson River and foiling the best efforts of a fleet of tugboats combining over 20,000 horsepower.
After being successfully removed from her berth in December 2006 for a 2 year multi-million dollar overhaul, the refurbished, repainted and upgraded USS Intrepid returned to a newly-constructed pier and museum space on October 8th, 2008 and formally reopened to the public on November 8th, 2008. Currently, the USS Intrepid is the second-oldest Aircraft Carrier in the world, second only to her sistership USS Yorktown, which shares the same keel laying date but was commissioned 4 months and 1 day before the Intrepid.
www.intrepidmuseum.org/
rwarchitextures.blogspot.com/2012/03/ship-shape.html
www.wa3key.com/intrepid.html
www.navsource.org/archives/02/11.htm
Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intrepid_Sea-Air-Space_Museum
Nearby cities:
Coordinates: 40°45'53"N 74°0'3"W
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- Wreck of HIJMS Shōhō (祥鳳) 14345 km
- Wreck of USS Lexington (CV-2) 14501 km
- Hell's Kitchen (Clinton) 0.6 km
- Far West Side 0.7 km
- Midtown (North Central) 1.7 km
- Chelsea 2 km
- Midtown (Manhattan, NY) 2.1 km
- Manhattan 3.1 km
- North Bergen, New Jersey 3.5 km
- Hudson County, New Jersey 7.1 km
- Queens 17 km
- The Palisades 22 km
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