Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum

Time to head back towards mid-town so off to the subway. Next stop, Port Authority Bus Transfer Station, 42^nd street. Once here we strike out on foot heading towards the Hudson River and the pier where the aircraft carrier, Intrepid (CV-11), is docked. The Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum.

Built in 1943, the Intrepid is an “Essex Class” carrier, the largest aircraft carriers built at that time. (Only active naval vessels may use the designation, “USS”) She was commissioned August 16, 1943 and was assigned to duty in the Pacific during WW2. In 1944, the USS Intrepid took part in the largest naval battle in history, the Battle of Leyte Gulf. Intrepid assisted in the sinking of both of Japan’s super-battleships, the Yamato and Musashi. Intrepid survived five kamikaze attacks and one torpedo strike. The ship was extensively updated in the 1950s to become a modern attack carrier supporting jet aircraft.

Today the Intrepid is a museum operated by the National Parks Service, permanently docked in Manhattan, New York. The museum has a good static display of aircraft, the guided missile submarine “Growler”, and the space shuttle, “Enterprise” all included in the entry price.

We first wanted to explore Intrepid. Having never been on an aircraft carrier, except Collette during her Navy Seal deployments, we wanted to get a feel for how life was aboard one of these huge ships. Funny thing, really big on the outside, kinda small n the inside. No luxury digs here!

Next, on to the submarine, Growler. The Growler, a Grayback class submarine, was an early attempt at fielding a cruise missile submarine. Launched in 1958, the Growler was the US answer to delivering nuclear strike capability during the Cold War. In the event of war with Russia, her target would be the shipyards at Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. The weapon of choice for the Growler would be the Regulus I cruise missile, looks something like a small MIG-17. The Regulus I was a turbo-jet powered cruise missile equipped with a 40-kT nuclear warhead that traveled at 600 mph. The five Grayback class submarines were removed from service in 1964 with the implementation of the Polaris nuclear missile submarines.

 

Last on our list was a viewing of the space shuttle “Enterprise”. Although the Enterprise never went into orbit, it was used extensively in Mated Vertical Ground Vibration Test (MGVT), flight, and approach and landing testing (ALT). Enterprise was the first space shuttle built by the Rockwell Company in 1976 (OV-101).

Done for the day. Time to hit up one of the restaurants on 46^th Avenue, Restaurant Row.

Dinner pics and the local weed wagon tour van