Grumman S2F-1 Tracker Anti-Submarine Aircraft (Bureau # 136502) leaving the angled deck of USS Intrepid (CVS-11) in July 1962. Note vapor trails made by its propellers. This plane belongs to squadron VS-27.

Official U.S. Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center (photo # NH 82271).

USS Intrepid (CVS-11) steaming in the South China Sea, with her attack air group parked on the flight deck, 13 September 1966. Photographed by V.O. McColley.

Official U.S. Navy Photograph (# K-33170).

USS Intrepid (CVS-11) underway in the second half of the 1960s.

USS Intrepid refuels USS Agerholm (DD-826), July 1967.

All of these images were taken in the summer of 1967 in either the Gulf of Tonkin or Hong Kong.

I served aboard the USS Bausell (DD-845), a Gearing-class FRAM I destroyer attached to DesRon Five.

Larry Backus

E-1B Tracers of VAW-121 "Griffins" and A-1 Skyraiders of VA-145 "Swordsmen."

"Willy Fudd" (E-1B Tracer, BuNo 147226(?), modex AK-701) and "Spad" (A-1J Skyraider, BuNo 142033, modex AK-501.)

UNREP from Intrepid. Plane closest to camera is RF-8G Crusader BuNo 145637, modex AK-401.

Intrepid's band.

Intrepid's island.

USS Intrepid during UNREP. Plane forward of the island is an A-4B Skyhawk assigned to VSF-3 "Chessmen." Helicopter is an UH-2 Seasprite of HC-2 "Fleet Angels."

Breakaway from USS Intrepid (CVS-11).

A Sea King lands during UNREP.

All of these images were taken in the summer of 1967 in either the Gulf of Tonkin or Hong Kong.

I served aboard the USS Bausell (DD-845), a Gearing-class FRAM I destroyer attached to DesRon Five.

Larry Backus

UNREP with USS Castor (AKS-1). Planes of Carrier Air Wing 10 (CVW-10) are parked forward on the flight deck of USS Intrepid.

Breakaway from USS Castor (AKS-1) and USS Intrepid (CVS-11).

Flight ops with USS Intrepid (CVS-11).

Left to right: USS Intrepid (CVS-11); USS Agerholm (DD-826) and USS Porterfield (DD-682) (in the background), and USS Mount McKinley (AGC-7).

USS Intrepid (CVS-11) in Hong Kong.

Douglas A-4F Skyhawk attack plane is brought to the launching position on a steam catapult aboard USS Intrepid (CVS-11), during flight operations in the Gulf of Tonkin, September 1968. Note nosewheel steering bar in use.

Official U.S. Navy Photograph (# USN 1135374).

USS Intrepid (CVS-11) underway in the Western Pacific, October 1968.

Operating in the Gulf of Tonkin, 9 November 1968. U.S. Navy photo.

USS Intrepid (CVS-11) underway in the South China Sea, 15 November 1968, while serving as a "special attack carrier". Photographed by PHCS K. Shrader.

Official U.S. Navy Photograph (# USN 1136993).

USS Intrepid (CVS-11) underway off the coast of Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, October 30, 1969.

Official US Navy Photograph (# 1149147) by PH3 Preslar. From the Naval Photographic Center, Naval Station, Washington DC.

USS Intrepid (CVS-11) underway off the coast of Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, October 30, 1969.

Official US Navy Photograph (# CVS-11-8880) by PH2 Toedtman. From the ship's photo lab.

Aerial view of the Carrier Pier at NAS Quonset Point, Rhode Island, 23 September 1970. It shows USS Intrepid (CVS-11), left and USS Wasp (CVS-18), right.

Official US Navy Photograph (# USN-1151462) by PH3 James Phillips.

Soviet Bear with US plane on tail; North Atlantic.

Decommissioning Booklet and Commemorative Coin, March 15, 1974.

"In commemoration of the officers and crew who served aboard the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Intrepid (CVS-11) during her over thirty years of faithful service to her country on the occasion of her decommissioning, 15 March 1974, at Quonset Point, Rhode Island"

Official Decommissioning Invitation for USS Intrepid (CVS-11), held at the Carrier Pier of Naval Air Station, Quonset Point, RI on 15 March 1974.

Official Invitation to the Reception held at the Commissioned Officers' Mess after the ceremony.

"Elderly warship decommissioned"

Crewman runs across deck of aircraft carrier Intrepid to lower flag during decommissioning ceremony at Quonset Point Naval Air Station yesterday. Warship, which served nation in three wars, will be towed to Philadelphia Monday [March 18, 1974] to become a member of mothball fleet."

Newport, RI, newspaper clip, March 16, 1974.

Circa 2003. Also a part of the Museum, decommissioned destroyer ex-USS Edson (DD-946) and decommissioned submarine ex-USS Growler (SSG-577) can be seen across the pier.

August 30, 2005. Most planes in the extensive aircraft collection are on display on the flight deck: they span decades of military aviation history and include planes that were still in service when the photo was taken, like the Air Force's F-16 Fighting Falcon (6th from top, port), the Marine Corps AV-8 Harrier (top, starboard), and the Navy's F-14 Tomcat (3rd from top, starboard). Foreign aircraft are also represented: four sternmost planes are, bottom to top, an Israeli Kfir ("lion cub"); a French Étendard IVM; a British F-1 Scimitar; and a Polish, Soviet-designed, MiG-21 (codenamed Fishbed). First (top) plane on the port side is an A-12 Blackbird, a strategic reconnaissance aircraft able to fly at Mach 3+ and above 80,000 feet (24,384+ m).

Across the pier, a Concorde airliner sits on a barge. This particular aircraft made the fastest Atlantic crossing by any Concorde: 2 hours, 52', 59" (February 7, 1996).

Note: Ex-USS Edson (DD-946) is no longer located at the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum (see NS021139).

Detailed view of the bow of an Essex-class carrier after SCB-27C, SCB-125 and FRAM modernizations: enclosed ("hurricane") bow; steam catapults, as indicated by protruding bridle catchers; between them, a row of portholes shows the location of a secondary conn station; stem-mounted anchor to clear the SQS-23 sonar dome in her forefoot, with a secondary anchor retained on the starboard side. Note the prominent knuckle forward, a feature of the ships initially modernized with open bows; Lexington, Bon Homme Richard and Shangri-La, which received SCB-27C and SCB-125 modernizations simultaneously, had smoothly faired bows — see NS023115 for comparison.

New York City, October 31, 2006.

New York City, October 31, 2006.

Six days later (November 6), after 24 years at the same Hudson River Pier 86, Intrepid was to be towed to Bayonne, NJ, for a 2-year, $60 million restoration. Six tugboats tried to take advantage of the yearly high tide to move the carrier, but they were able to move her barely 15 feet before she got stuck in the mud. A seventh tugboat was also unable to wiggle her free.

On November 11 it was announced that the Navy would give support to try to free the ship (see photo NS021193.)

(Thanks to Chester Morris & Robert Hall, who helped compile this information).

New York City, December 5, 2006 (see photo NS021174.)

A second attempt succeeded and Intrepid was towed to Bayonne, where her hull would be sandblasted and repainted. She will be towed again to Staten Island in late spring, to have her exhibition spaces renovated, and is expected to return to Pier 86 in November 2008.

Not only will the Museum be better, but it could be used as an emergency headquarters for various government agencies should an incident occur.

Sixteen Intrepid's former crewmen unfurled a giant American flag in honor of those killed in the 2001 terrorist attacks ("Honor Our Heroes") as the ship passed "ground zero," in what has become a ritual for naval ships.

NS021193a: Ellis Island in the background.

NS021193b: The Statue of Liberty in the background.

(Thanks to Chester Morris, Robert Hall & Michael J. Tricarico, Jr. who helped compile this information.)

Bayonne, NJ, May 28, 2007 — Decommissioned aircraft carrier Intrepid (CV 11) sits at Bayonne Dry Dock and Repair Corp. to have her hull water blasted, primed and repainted. Intrepid is scheduled to return to a brand-new, state-of-the-art Pier 86 on Manhattan's west side in the fall of 2008. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Kenneth R. Hendrix (#070528-N-5758H-068).

After a 58-day stay at Bayonne Dry Dock & Repair, Intrepid was towed to Staten Island on June 6, 2007 to begin the next phase of her refurbishment — and make her interior as gleaming as her freshly painted exterior.