THE 4TH U.S. NAVY WARSHIP TO CARRY THE NAME USS INTREPID WAS A FLEET CARRIER (CV-11) OF THE SHORT-HULLED ESSEX CLASS RUSHED INTO SERVICE IN WORLD WAR II. ONLY THE THIRD ESSEX COMPLETED, SHE COMMISSIONED AT NEWPORT NEWS, 16 AUGUST 1943– SOME 80 YEARS AGO THIS WEEK.

USS Intrepid (CV-11) off Newport News, Virginia, on 16 August 1943, the day she went into commission. U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command Photograph. NH 53254

Just five months to the day later, her shakedown completed, Intrepid sortied from Pearl Harbor with the carriers USS Cabot (CVL-29) and USS Essex (CV-9) on 16 January 1944 to raid islands at the northeastern corner of Kwajalein Atoll, her baptism of fire.

And she would reap the Divine Wind.

USS Intrepid (CV 11) on fire after being hit by two Japanese suicide planes, on 25 November 1944. 80-G-270835

Ultimately, in a career that spanned almost 31 years, Intrepid (CV/CVA/CVS-11) earned five battle stars and the Presidential Unit Citation during WWII, and a further three battle stars for her Vietnam service. She was also active in the space program and was the primary recovery ship for Mercury-Atlas 7 (MA-7, Scott Carpenter) and Gemini-Titan 3 (GT-3, Gus Grissom, and John Young).

March 1965. USS Intrepid (CVS-11) pulls up alongside the Gemini-3 spacecraft during recovery operations following the successful Gemini-Titan 3 flight. Navy swimmers stand on the spacecraft’s flotation collar waiting to hook a hoist line to the Gemini-3. Courtesy of the NASA Photograph Collection. S65-18528

After eight years in mothballs, in 1982 Intrepid became the foundation of the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum in New York City where she remains lovingly cared for today– and still stands ready as a local Homeland Security role in times of crisis.

Happy birthday, Intrepid!

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