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 several campaigns in the Pacific Theater of Operations , most notably the Battle of Leyte Gulf . Decommissioned shortly after the end of the war , she was modernized and recommissioned in the early 1950s as an attack carrier ( CVA ) , and then eventually became an antisubmarine carrier ( CVS ) . In her second career , she served mainly in the Atlantic , but also participated in the Vietnam War . Her notable achievements include being the recovery ship for a Mercury and a Gemini space mission . Because of her prominent role in battle , she was nicknamed " the Fighting I " , while her often ill - luck and the time spent in dry dock for repairs earned her the nickname " the Dry I " . Decommissioned in 1974 , in 1982 " Intrepid " became the foundation of the Intrepid Sea , Air & Space Museum in New York City . Construction & commissioning . " Intrepid " was commissioned on 26 April 1943 by Newport News Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co . , Newport News , Virginia , the fifth to be launched . She was sponsored by the wife of Vice Admiral John H . Hoover . On 16 August 1943 , she was commissioned with Captain Thomas L . Sprague in command before heading to the Caribbean for shakedown and training . " Intrepid " s motto upon setting sail was " In Mare In Caelo " , which means " On the sea , in the sky " , or " In the sea in Heaven " . Service history . World War II . " Intrepid " has one of the most distinguished service records of any Navy ship , seeing active service in the Pacific Theater including the Marshall Islands , Truk , Leyte Gulf , and Okinawa . At war ' s end , she was in Enewetak and soon supported occupation forces providing air support and supply services before heading back to California . Post - war . 1965 – 1974 . This was the final Fleet Rehabilitation and Modernization job performed by the New York Naval Shipyard , Brooklyn , New York , which was scheduled to close . In September 1965 , " Intrepid " , with her work approximately 75 % completed , eased down the East River to moor at the Naval Supply Depot at Bayonne , New Jersey , for the completion of her multi - million dollar overhaul . After builder ' s sea trials and fitting out at Norfolk she sailed to Guantánamo Bay , Cuba on a shakedown cruise . From April 1966 to February 1969 , " Intrepid " made three Vietnam deployments , with Carrier Air Wing 10 embarked . Mid - 1966 found " Intrepid " with the Pacific Fleet off Vietnam . Nine A - 4 Skyhawk s and six A - 1 Skyraider s , loaded with bombs and rockets , were catapulted in seven minutes , with only a 28 - second interval between launches . A few days later planes were launched at 26 - second intervals . After seven months of service with the United States Seventh Fleet off Vietnam , " Intrepid " returned to Norfolk having earned her Commanding Officer , Captain John W . Fair , the Legion of Merit for combat operations in Southeast Asia . On 9 October 1966 Lieutenant , junior grade William T . Patton of VA - 176 from " Intrepid " , flying a propeller driven A - 1H Skyraider , shot down one MiG - 17 . For the action , Lieutenant ( jg ) Patton was awarded the Silver Star . In June 1967 , " Intrepid " returned to the Western Pacific by way of the Suez Canal just prior to its closing during the Israeli - Arab crisis . There she began another tour with the Seventh Fleet . In 1968 , she won the Marjorie Sterrett Battleship Fund Award for the Atlantic Fleet . For Carrier Air Wing 10 ' s final cruise aboard " Intrepid " from 4 June 1968 to 8 February 1969 off Southeast Asia , the wing consisted of VF - 111 Detachment 11 ( F - 8C ) , VA - 106 with the A - 4E , VA - 66 Waldos ( A - 4C ) , VFP - 63 Detachment 11 ( RF - 8G ) , VA - 36 ' Roadrunners ' ( A - 4C ) , VAQ - 33 Detachment 11 ( EA - 1F ) , VAW - 121 Detachment 11 ( E - 1B ) , and HC - 2 Detachment 11 . In 1969 , " Intrepid " was home ported at Naval Air Station Quonset Point , Rhode Island , relieving as the flagship for Commander Carrier Division 16 . In the fall , the ship was run aground by Captain Horus E . Moore , but was freed within two hours . From April – October 1971 , " Intrepid " took part in NATO exercises , and made calls in the North Atlantic and Mediterranean ports of Lisbon , Plymouth , Kiel , Naples , Cannes , Barcelona , Hamburg , Copenhagen , Greenock , Rosyth , Portsmouth , and Bergen . During this cruise , submarine detection operations were conducted in the Baltic and at the edge of the Barents Sea above the Arctic Circle , under close scrutiny of Soviet air and naval forces . She subsequently returned to her homeport to be refitted . Then , beginning in July 1972 , " Intrepid " participated once again in NATO exercises , visiting Copenhagen , Denmark ; Bergen , Norway ; Rotterdam , Holland ; Portsmouth , England ; and Greenock , Scotland . Once again she found herself in the Barents and made round the clock flight operations as Intrepid was once again above the Arctic Circle . She cut her North Atlantic cruise short , returned to Quonset point for a mini - overhaul and was designated as CV - 11 and made her final cruise in the Mediterranean , stopping in Barcelona and Malaga , Spain ; Lisbon , Portugal ; Nice , France ; Genoa , Italy ; Palma , Majorca ; and Athens ( Piraeus ) , Greece . . On 15 March 1974 " Intrepid " was decommissioned for the final time . Preservation as museum ship . In 1976 , " Intrepid " was moored at Philadelphia Naval Shipyard in Philadelphia and hosted exhibits as part of the United States Bicentennial celebrations . Plans originally called for " Intrepid " to be scrapped after decommissioning , but a campaign led by real estate developer Zachary Fisher and the Intrepid Museum Foundation saved the carrier , and established it as a museum ship . In August 1982 , the ship opened in New York City as the " Intrepid " Sea - Air - Space Museum . Four years later , " Intrepid " was officially designated as a National Historic Landmark . Over the years , " Intrepid " has hosted many special events including wrestling events , press conferences , parties and the FBI operations center after the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks . 2006 – 2008 renovation . Throughout the last several years , the " Intrepid " museum has operated a fund for the restoration , raising over $ 60 million to refit " Intrepid " , to improve its exhibits for visitors , and improve Pier 86 . In early July 2006 , it was announced that " Intrepid " would undergo renovations and repairs , along with Pier 86 itself . It closed on 1 October 2006 , in preparation for its towing to Bayonne , New Jersey for repairs , and later Staten Island , New York for renovation and temporary docking . On 6 November 2006 , an attempt to remove the aircraft carrier from the pier for restoration was temporarily put on hold by the Coast Guard . Despite the use of several tugs with a combined , officials said the ship was stuck in 24 years worth of accumulated silt and would not move . On 11 November 2006 , the United States Navy announced that it would spend $ 3 million to dredge the mud and silt from under " Intrepid " . The effort was led by the United States Navy Supervisor of Salvage and Diving with assistance from the United States Army Corps of Engineers , United States Coast Guard , and contractors . The teams operated for three weeks to clear the site of mud and silt . On 5 December 2006 , after the removal of of muck from under the ship and around its four giant screws , " Intrepid " was successfully removed from its pier and was towed to Bayonne . " Intrepid " made a D - Day " landing " on Staten Island , 6 June 2007 , after being towed from a slip at Bayonne Dry Dock & Repair Corp . While in Staten Island , " Intrepid " underwent the next phase of her refurbishment , and received an $ 8 million interior renovation . Never - before - seen areas of the ship including the forecastle ( fo ' c ' sle , commonly known as the anchor chain room ) , general berthing quarters and the ship ' s machine shop were opened to the public for the first time . The hangar deck features a new layout and design including new interactive exhibits . Total cost of the renovation was $ 120 million — $ 55 million for the ship and $ 65 million for Pier 86 . The carrier was towed back into place on the Hudson River on 2 October 2008 and reopened to the public on 8 November . On 12 December 2011 , ownership of the Space Shuttle " Enterprise " was officially transferred to the Intrepid Sea , Air & Space Museum in New York City . In preparation for the anticipated relocation , engineers evaluated the vehicle in early 2010 and determined that it was safe to fly on the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft once again . At approximately 9 : 40 am Eastern Daylight Time on 27 April 2012 " Enterprise " took off from Dulles International Airport en route to a fly - by over the Hudson River , New York ' s JFK International Airport , the Statue of Liberty , the George Washington and Verrazano - Narrows Bridges , and several other landmarks in the city ; in an approximately 45 - minute " final tour " . At 11 : 23 am Eastern Daylight Time " Enterprise " touched down at JFK International Airport . The mobile Mate - Demate Device and cranes were transported from Dulles to the ramp at JFK and the shuttle was removed from the SCA overnight on 12 May 2012 , placed on a specially designed flat bed trailer and returned to Hangar 12 . On 3 June a Weeks Marine barge took Enterprise to Jersey City . The Shuttle sustained cosmetic damage to a wingtip when a gust of wind blew the barge towards a piling . It was hoisted 6 June onto the Intrepid Museum in Manhattan . The " Enterprise " went on public display on 19 July 2012 , at the Intrepid Museum ' s new Space Shuttle Pavilion . Media appearances . The story of the " Intrepid " move was featured on the History Channel ' s " Mega Movers " program . The episode was titled " " Intrepid " : On the Move " and premiered 5 July 2007 . The ship has been featured in blockbuster films , including " " , the 2004 film " National Treasure " and the 2007 film " I Am Legend " , as well as " Bordello : House of the Rising Sun . " The main characters ride their scooter along the Hudson shore , and past it , in the 2005 film " Little Manhattan . The ship can be seen briefly in a shot of New York in the last few seconds of the series finale of " The Suite Life on Deck " , next to the SS " Tipton " being dismantled . On 13 through 16 August 2012 , " The Colbert Report " was broadcast from the " Intrepid " .