The ''Intrepid'' Sea, Air & Space Museum is an American

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

and

maritime Maritime may refer to: Geography * Maritime Alps, a mountain range in the southwestern part of the Alps * Maritime Region, a region in Togo * Maritime Southeast Asia * The Maritimes, the Canadian provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prin ...

history History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make thes ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

with a collection of museum ships. It is located at Pier 86 at 46th Street, along the

Hudson River The Hudson River is a river that flows from north to south primarily through eastern New York. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York and flows southward through the Hudson Valley to the New York Harbor between N ...

, in the

Hell's Kitchen Hell's Kitchen, also known as Clinton, is a neighborhood on the West Side of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is considered to be bordered by 34th Street (or 41st Street) to the south, 59th Street to the north, Eighth Avenue to the ea ...

neighborhood on the West Side of

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

. The museum showcases the aircraft carrier , the

cruise missile submarine A cruise missile submarine is a submarine that carries and launches cruise missiles ( SLCMs and anti-ship missiles) as its primary armament. Missiles greatly enhance a vessel's ability to attack surface combatants and strike land targets, and al ...

, a

Concorde The Aérospatiale/BAC Concorde () is a retired Franco-British supersonic airliner jointly developed and manufactured by Sud Aviation (later Aérospatiale) and the British Aircraft Corporation (BAC). Studies started in 1954, and France an ...

SST, a

Lockheed A-12 The Lockheed A-12 is a high-altitude, Mach 3+ reconnaissance aircraft built for the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) by Lockheed's Skunk Works, based on the designs of Clarence "Kelly" Johnson. The aircraft was designat ...

supersonic reconnaissance plane, and the Space Shuttle ''Enterprise''. On the lower deck there is also a reproduction of a

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

biplane. Founded in 1982, the museum closed in 2006 for a 1.5-year renovation of ''Intrepid'' and facilities. Those included new exhibits. The museum reopened to the public on November 8, 2008.

History

Early years

The museum opened in 1982 at Pier 86 after Michael D. Piccola, president of Odysseys in Flight saved from scrapping in 1978. On August 8, 1988, the museum was awarded , a , which carried nuclear

Regulus missile The SSM-N-8A Regulus or the Regulus I was a United States Navy-developed ship-and-submarine-launched, nuclear-capable turbojet-powered second generation cruise missile, deployed from 1955 to 1964. Its development was an outgrowth of U.S. Navy ...

s, by the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...

from the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

. The submarine is on display after extensive renovations were performed in 2009. , a was displayed at the ''Intrepid'' museum from 1989 to 2004. The ''Edson'' was returned to the United States Navy, and is now on display at the

Saginaw Valley Naval Ship Museum The Saginaw Valley Naval Ship Museum is dedicated to documenting the history of the United States Navy. The museum is permanently housed in the USS ''Edson'', a retired United States Navy destroyer that has recently been converted to a museum. Th ...

in Bay City,

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

. In 2001, ''Intrepid'' served as temporary field headquarters for the

Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, ...

as it began its investigation of the

September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commer ...

2006–2009 renovation

On October 5, 2006, the museum closed for repairs and renovations to the ship and the pier. ''Intrepid'' was moved down the

tugboat A tugboat or tug is a marine vessel that manoeuvres other vessels by pushing or pulling them, with direct contact or a tow line. These boats typically tug ships in circumstances where they cannot or should not move under their own power, su ...

to The Peninsula at Bayonne Harbor,

(previously the Military Ocean Terminal) to undergo restoration. The scheduled move was delayed on June 3, 2006, when the ship's propellers stuck in the thick Hudson River mud, preventing the tugboats from moving the ship out of her berth. A second successful attempt was made on July 4, 2006, after extensive dredging operations. The aircraft carrier was later floated to Yankee Island where her museum facilities were upgraded and expanded before returning to her renovated pier in

. The carrier was towed back to Pier 86 on October 31, 2008, and reopened to the public on November 23. Additional aircraft are displayed on the flight and hangar decks and the

British Airways British Airways (BA) is the flag carrier airline of the United Kingdom. It is headquartered in London, England, near its main hub at Heathrow Airport. The airline is the second largest UK-based carrier, based on fleet size and passengers ...

was moved from a

barge Barge nowadays generally refers to a flat-bottomed inland waterway vessel which does not have its own means of mechanical propulsion. The first modern barges were pulled by tugs, but nowadays most are pushed by pusher boats, or other vessels ...

into an exhibit space on the pier.

Space Shuttle ''Enterprise''

On December 12, 2011, ownership of the Space Shuttle ''Enterprise'' was transferred to the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum. In preparation for the relocation, engineers evaluated the vehicle in early 2010 and determined that it was safe to fly on the

Shuttle Carrier Aircraft The Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA) are two extensively modified Boeing 747 airliners that NASA used to transport Space Shuttle orbiters. One (N905NA) is a 747-100 model, while the other (N911NA) is a short range 747-100SR. The SCAs were used ...

once again. On April 27, 2012, ''Enterprise'' was flown to

JFK International Airport John F. Kennedy International Airport (colloquially referred to as JFK Airport, Kennedy Airport, New York-JFK, or simply JFK) is the main international airport serving New York City. The airport is the busiest of the seven airports in the New ...

and then moved by barge to the Intrepid Museum on June 3, 2012. To make room for the ''Enterprise'' display, three aircraft were transferred to the Empire State Aerosciences Museum near

Schenectady, New York Schenectady () is a city in Schenectady County, New York, United States, of which it is the county seat. As of the 2020 census, the city's population of 67,047 made it the state's ninth-largest city by population. The city is in eastern New Y ...

. These aircraft are a

Douglas F3D Skyknight The Douglas F3D Skyknight (later designated F-10 Skyknight) is an American twin-engined, mid-wing jet fighter aircraft manufactured by the Douglas Aircraft Company in El Segundo, California. The F3D was designed as a carrier-based all-weath ...

, a

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...

Supermarine Scimitar The Supermarine Scimitar was a single-seat naval strike aircraft designed and produced by the British aircraft manufacturer Supermarine. Operated exclusively by the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm, it was the final aircraft to be entirely designed a ...

, and a

MiG-15 The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 (russian: Микоя́н и Гуре́вич МиГ-15; USAF/DoD designation: Type 14; NATO reporting name: Fagot) is a jet fighter aircraft developed by Mikoyan-Gurevich for the Soviet Union. The MiG-15 was one of ...

The ''Enterprise'' went on public display July 19, 2012, at the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum's new Space Shuttle Pavilion. The exhibit was closed in October 2012 due to damage from

Hurricane Sandy Hurricane Sandy (unofficially referred to as ''Superstorm Sandy'') was an extremely destructive and strong Atlantic hurricane, as well as the largest Atlantic hurricane on record as measured by diameter, with tropical-storm-force winds spann ...

. The pavilion and exhibit reopened on July 10, 2013.

Selected exhibits

US Air Force: * General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon that was flown in

Operation Desert Storm Operation or Operations may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity * Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory * ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Ma ...

US Navy: *

USS Intrepid (CV-11) USS ''Intrepid'' (CV/CVA/CVS-11), also known as The Fighting "I", is one of 24 s built during World War II for the United States Navy. She is the fourth US Navy ship to bear the name. Commissioned in August 1943, ''Intrepid'' participated in se ...

used in the

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

and in the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...

* (1989), a

diesel electric Diesel may refer to: * Diesel engine, an internal combustion engine where ignition is caused by compression * Diesel fuel, a liquid fuel used in diesel engines * Diesel locomotive, a railway locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engin ...

submarine which carried out

nuclear deterrent Nuclear strategy involves the development of doctrines and strategies for the production and use of nuclear weapons. As a sub-branch of military strategy, nuclear strategy attempts to match nuclear weapons as means to political ends. In addit ...

patrols armed with

s. *

Beechcraft T-34 Mentor The Beechcraft T-34 Mentor is an American propeller-driven, single-engined, military trainer aircraft derived from the Beechcraft Model 35 Bonanza. The earlier versions of the T-34, dating from around the late 1940s to the 1950s, were piston ...

trainer *

Douglas A-1 Skyraider The Douglas A-1 Skyraider (formerly known as the AD Skyraider) is an American single-seat attack aircraft in service from 1946 to the early 1980s. The Skyraider had an unusually long career, remaining in front-line service well into the Jet Age ...

Douglas A-4 Skyhawk The Douglas A-4 Skyhawk is a single-seat subsonic carrier-capable light attack aircraft developed for the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps in the early 1950s. The delta-winged, single turbojet engined Skyhawk was designed a ...

that served on Intrepid with VA-34 (1943-1969) from May to November 1967. *

Douglas F4D Skyray The Douglas F4D Skyray (later redesignated F-6 Skyray) is an American carrier-based fighter/ interceptor built by the Douglas Aircraft Company. Although it was in service for a relatively short time (1956–1964) and never entered combat, it w ...

that served on Intrepid with VF-162 from August 1961 to March 1962. *

Grumman A-6 Intruder The Grumman A-6 Intruder is an American twinjet all-weather attack aircraft developed and manufactured by American aircraft company Grumman Aerospace and operated by the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps. It was designed in response to a 1957 r ...

that was used as a testbed for new radar and avionics in 1988 *

Grumman E-1 Tracer The Grumman E-1 Tracer was the first purpose-built airborne early warning aircraft used by the United States Navy. It was a derivative of the Grumman C-1 Trader and entered service in 1958. It was replaced by the more modern Grumman E-2 Hawke ...

Grumman F-9 Cougar The Grumman F9F/F-9 Cougar is a carrier-based fighter aircraft for the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps. Based on Grumman's earlier F9F Panther, the Cougar replaced the Panther's straight wing with a more modern swept wing. Th ...

Grumman F-11 Tiger The Grumman F11F/F-11 Tiger is a supersonic, single-seat carrier-based United States Navy fighter aircraft in operation during the 1950s and 1960s. Originally designated the F11F Tiger in April 1955 under the pre-1962 Navy designation system, i ...

that was once the number 5 jet on the

Blue Angels The Blue Angels is a flight demonstration squadron of the United States Navy.

Grumman F-14 Tomcat The Grumman F-14 Tomcat is an American carrier-capable supersonic, twin-engine, two-seat, twin-tail, variable-sweep wing fighter aircraft. The Tomcat was developed for the United States Navy's Naval Fighter Experimental (VFX) program after the ...

used in 1973 as a Super Tomcat prototype *

Grumman TBM Avenger The Grumman TBF Avenger (designated TBM for aircraft manufactured by General Motors) is an American World War II-era torpedo bomber developed initially for the United States Navy and Marine Corps, and eventually used by several air and naval a ...

McDonnell F3H Demon The McDonnell F3H Demon is a subsonic swept-wing United States Navy carrier-based jet fighter aircraft. The successor to the F2H Banshee, the Demon was originally designed to use the Westinghouse J40 engine, but had to be redesigned to acc ...

North American FJ-2/-3 Fury The North American FJ-2 and FJ-3 Fury are a series of swept-wing carrier-capable fighters for the United States Navy and Marine Corps. The FJ-2 resulted from an effort to navalize the North American F-86 Sabre operated by the United States ...

Piasecki H-25 The Piasecki HUP Retriever/H-25 Army Mule is a compact single radial engine, twin overlapping Tandem rotors, tandem rotor utility helicopter developed by the Piasecki Helicopter, Piasecki Helicopter Corporation of Morton, Pennsylvania. Designed to ...

Vought F-8 Crusader The Vought F-8 Crusader (originally F8U) is a single-engine, supersonic, carrier-based air superiority jet aircraft built by Vought for the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps (replacing the Vought F7U Cutlass), and for the Fren ...

US Marine Corps: *

McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II The McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II is an American tandem two-seat, twin-engine, all-weather, long-range supersonic jet interceptor and fighter-bomber originally developed by McDonnell Aircraft for the United States Navy.Swanborough and B ...

* Hawker Siddeley AV-8C Harrier V/STOL attack aircraft * Bell AH-1J Sea Cobra gunship US Army: * A

-era Bell UH-1 Iroquois US Coast Guard: *

Sikorsky H-19 The Sikorsky H-19 Chickasaw (company model number S-55) was a multi-purpose helicopter used by the United States Army and United States Air Force. It was also license-built by Westland Aircraft as the Westland Whirlwind in the United Kingdom ...

Sikorsky HH-52 Seaguard The Sikorsky HH-52 Seaguard (company designation S-62) was an early amphibious helicopter designed and produced by the American helicopter manufacturer Sikorsky Aircraft. It was the first of the company's amphibious rotorcraft to fly. The S- ...

US Central Intelligence Agency: *

(predecessor of the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird and first production example) NASA: * ''

Aurora 7 Mercury-Atlas 7, launched May 24, 1962, was the fourth crewed flight of Project Mercury. The spacecraft, named ''Aurora 7'', was piloted by astronaut Scott Carpenter. He was the sixth human to fly in space. The mission used Mercury spacecraft No ...

'' Mercury capsule replica * Space Shuttle ''Enterprise'' (within a pavilion on the flight deck) Other aircraft: *

G-BOAD (2004). This airplane set a world's speed record for passenger airliners on February 7, 1996, when it flew from New York to London in 2 hours, 52 minutes and 59 seconds. This airplane logged the most flying hours (23,397) of the 20 Concordes built. * An Italian

Aermacchi MB-339 The Aermacchi MB-339 is a military jet trainer and light attack aircraft designed and manufactured by Italian aviation company Aermacchi. The MB-339 was developed during the 1970s in response to an Italian Air Force requirement that sought a re ...

, painted in the colors of the

Frecce Tricolori The ''Frecce Tricolori'' (; literally "Tricolour Arrows"), officially known as the ''313° Gruppo Addestramento Acrobatico, Pattuglia Acrobatica Nazionale (PAN) Frecce Tricolori'' ("313th Acrobatic Training Group, National Aerobatic Team (PAN) Frec ...

* An Israeli

IAI Kfir , abbreviated , is a Japanese martial art that emphasizes being aware and capable of quickly drawing the sword and responding to sudden attacks.Christensen, Karen and Allen Guttmann et.al (2001) ''International Encyclopedia of Women and Sport ...

* A Polish built PZL-Mielec Lim-5 (MiG-17) * A Polish Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 Other spacecraft: * A Russian

Soyuz Soyuz is a transliteration of the Cyrillic text Союз ( Russian and Ukrainian, 'Union'). It can refer to any union, such as a trade union (''profsoyuz'') or the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (Сою́з Сове́тских Социалис ...

descent module, which had docked with the

International Space Station The International Space Station (ISS) is the largest modular space station currently in low Earth orbit. It is a multinational collaborative project involving five participating space agencies: NASA (United States), Roscosmos (Russia), JAXA ( ...

during the

Soyuz TMA-6 Soyuz TMA-6 was a human spaceflight to the International Space Station (ISS). It carried three crew members of Expedition 11 to the International Space Station. It was the 26th crewed flight to the ISS. It was launched by a Soyuz FG and return ...

mission Other attractions: * Exploreum, an interactive hall designed to educate children and adolescents about life on an aircraft carrier. * An Olympus 593 jet engine from a Concorde sits on display next to the G-BOAD Concorde. Educational programming: * The ''Intrepid'' Museum hosts educational programs and events focused on STEM education.

Events

The museum serves as an event space for community and national events. For instance, it held concerts during the 2013 MLB All-Star Weekend, and 2014's

Super Bowl XLVIII Super Bowl XLVIII was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Denver Broncos and National Football Conference (NFC) champion Seattle Seahawks to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for th ...

, where the museum docked cruise ship ''

Norwegian Getaway ''Norwegian Getaway'' is a cruise ship of the Norwegian Cruise Line. It was built by Meyer Werft in Papenburg, Germany, and was delivered to its owner on 10 January 2014. At the time of its christening it was the world's ninth-largest cruise ship ...

'', turned into the " Bud Light Hotel". The museum serves as a hub for the annual Fleet Week events. Visiting warships dock at the cruise ship terminals to the north, and events are held on the museum grounds and the deck of ''Intrepid''.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum Aerospace museums in New York (state) Maritime museums in New York (state) Military and war museums in New York (state) Naval museums in the United States Museums in Manhattan Space Shuttle tourist attractions Hudson River Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan Transportation museums in New York City Museums established in 1982 1982 establishments in New York City West Side Highway