USS INTREPID (CV-11) Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum Photograph, Dec 2006 Class: Essex (short hull group) Aircraft Carrier Length: 898 feet, as converted Address: USS Intrepid temporarily closed for renovation of her pier, repair of her hull, and update of exhibits in Nov 2006. She is expected to reopen in Nov 2008. USS Intrepid won fame in the Pacific in World War II as the "Fighting I." She survived numerous kamikaze and bomb hits. The carrier fought in the Battle for Leyte Gulf in October 1944. Her combat record includes the sinking of two Japanese battleships and numerous other vessels, as well as the destruction of more than 600 enemy aircraft. Intrepid served three combat tours off Vietnam and twice as NASA Prime Recovery Ship for the manned space program. She was decommissioned in 1974, but was assigned by Congress as the Bicentennial Exposition Ship at the Philadelphia Navy Yard in 1975-76. USS Intrepid embarked on her second career as a sea air space museum in New York City in 1982. On her flight deck are more than 30 aircraft representing all of the U.S. armed services as well as British, French and Soviet jet fighters. This collection features an A-12 blackbird flown by the CIA throughout the Cold War. Permanent and rotating exhibits on Intrepid's hangar deck depict the past, present and future of military technology. Other displays honor all who have served this nation in uniform. USS Intrepid is a National Historic Landmark.  Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum Photograph |
