Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum
New York, New York
visited May, 2002
USS Intrepid (CV-11) DANFS
Page One of Three
My visit to the Intrepid Museum complex took place on a blustery day in May (air temperature in the low 40s, wind gusting to 35mph, and rain). As such it was not a pleasant day to walk the decks of this Essex class carrier, but the Intrepid has a huge inventory of aircraft, and most of them are on the flight deck. It wasn't hard to "sit on the wind" and imagine being at sea preparing to launch planes.
The Intrepid is more of a museum than a museum ship; none of her compartments below the hangar deck were open that day. It is possible that the continuing use of the Intrepid as a command post (I visited eight months after 9-11) had something to do with this, but the hangar deck made a most impressive museum, including a very moving memorial to 9-11 forward on the starboard side. The number of aircraft on display both in the hangar and on the flight deck rival some land-based aircraft museums. Additionally, the hangar deck also contains displays and artifacts from the exploration of space and the figurehead from the prow of USS New York, an armored cruiser built in 1893. Together with the island, CIC, the array of defensive guns and a restored 5" handling room, the Intrepid's mission as a museum is served very well.
The Photos
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