USS Intrepid (CV-11) was an American aircraft carrier the keel of which was laid in December 1941, launched in April 1943, and commissioned with the US Navy in August 1943. The length of the ship - at the time of launching - was 250 m, width 33 m, and full displacement - 36,000 tons. The maximum speed of the USS Intrepid aircraft carrier was up to 33 knots, and its main armament was from 80 to 100 airplanes.
USS Intrepid was the third Essex-class aircraft carrier. Ships of this type were the main American aircraft carriers during the Pacific War of 1943-1945. This type included as many as 24 aircraft carriers that entered the line until Japan signed the surrender in September 1945! Their construction was based on the experience gained from the operation of Lexington and Yorktown units, as well as not having to comply with any tonnage restrictions. The emphasis was primarily on the number of planes taken and the maximum speed at the expense of the armor of the landing deck. Interestingly, the Essex-class aircraft carriers were built in such a way that the hangar was not an integral part of the fuselage, but a structure suspended under the flight deck. Such a solution made the ships of this type relatively easy to damage, but much more difficult to sink as a result of an air attack. In the course of the war in the Pacific, anti-aircraft weapons were systematically strengthened on ships of this type. The USS Intrepid (CV-11) aircraft carrier began its service in World War II as part of Task Force 58. In January 1944, it supported American operations in the Marshall Islands area, but in February of the same year it was damaged by a torpedo attack, which forced the to the US for repair. The ship returned to the line in June 1944, and in September of the same year, her on-board planes attacked Japanese positions on Palau. In October 1944, he took an active part in the Battle of Leyte Bay, and his air force was instrumental in the sinking of the battleship Musashi. Despite the subsequent damage, the USS Intrepid managed to take part in the fighting for Okinawa in 1945. . After the end of World War II, the carrier was placed in reserve, but was returned to service in 1952. In the same year, its extensive reconstruction began, which led to a complete change of the starting deck and superstructure. The reconstruction lasted until 1954. In 1974, she was decommissioned, and in 1982, she became a museum ship based in the New York area.