“Intrepid” means “fearless, undaunted, adventurous,” and all those words could certainly describe the World War II aircraft carrier that is now a floating museum on New York City’s West Side. Commissioned in August 1943 the USS Intrepid (CV-11) was the fourth ship to bear the name, but perhaps the one to earn it most.
The keel for the Essex-class USS Intrepid was laid down just six days before the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, and upon completion, she immediately headed to the Pacific where she was greeted by a baptism of fire when she took part in the invasion of the Marshall Islands in January 1944. Heavily damaged during the fighting, the ship returned to Pearl Harbor for repairs and then as quickly headed back into action. In October 1944 “The Fighting I” took part in the Battle of Leyte Gulf, the largest naval battle in history. Planes that sortied from the carrier helped sink the Japanese battleship Musashi.
