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A carrier in the Pacific
USS Intrepid was laid down at Newport News, Virginia, on 1 December 1941, launched on 26 April 1943 and commissioned on 16 August 1943. In the Pacific, her aircraft took part in the Battle of the Sibuyan Sea in October 1944. She was hit by four kamikaze aircraft during the war; the attacks of 25 November 1944 and 16 April 1945 killed 69 and eight of her crew.
Astronauts and the Vietnam War
On 24 May 1962 Intrepid recovered the astronaut Scott Carpenter after his Aurora 7 flight, and on 23 March 1965 she recovered John Young and Gus Grissom after Gemini 3. She made three deployments during the Vietnam War between 1966 and 1969 and was finally decommissioned on 15 March 1974.
A museum at Pier 86
The ship opened as a museum at Pier 86 on 3 August 1982 and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1986. The submarine Growler joined the museum in 1988, and the Space Shuttle Enterprise, the first orbiter, built for atmospheric test flights, was lifted onto the carrier in June 2012. Its permanent pavilion opened in July 2013.
