I'm AJ Orlikoff, educator for the Hampton Roads Naval Museum, and I'm out here at Ocean
View next to one of Norfolk's tangible connections to the Navy in the form of the screw from
the USS Intrepid.
The USS Intrepid, CV 11, is one of the most storied warships in American history.
Known as "The Fighting I," USS Intrepid was one of 24 Essex-class carriers built during
and immediately after World War II.
With its keel laid down in Newport News Shipyard only 6 days before the Japanese surprise attack
on Pearl Harbor, USS Intrepid was almost destined to be a fighting ship. USS Intrepid was commissioned
on August 16, 1943 and, after a Caribbean shakedown, deployed to Pearl Harbor and the
Pacific Theater in January 1944.
USS Intrepid arrived just in time to participate in the U.S. Navy’s Gilbert and Marshall
Island Campaigns, with air groups from the ship striking Japanese targets on Kwajalein
Island and Truk Atoll.
Retaliatory strikes by Japanese torpedo bombers damaged Intrepid’s rudder on the night of
February 17.
After lengthy repairs at Pearl Harbor and San Francisco, air groups from Intrepid provided
air support for Marine landings on Peleliu and helped sink several Japanese ships during
the Battle of Leyte Gulf, including one of the largest battleships ever built, the IJN
Musashi. On October 29, 1944, Intrepid was struck by a disturbing yet effective Japanese
weapon, the kamikaze, suffering 10 killed and 6 wounded.
About a month later, on November 25, Intrepid was hit by two more kamikazes and the damage
was much more serious.
66 men died and a massive shipboard fire was extinguished only with great effort from the crew.
After repairs in San Francisco yet again, the battle tested crew of the Fighting I deployed
in February 1945 to help the American landing forces at Iwo Jima and later at Okinawa, where
it was yet again struck by an enemy kamikaze.
After the surrender of the Japanese and the end of World War Two, Intrepid was decommissioned
and placed into the Naval Reserve.
Intrepid was recommissioned in June 1954 after undergoing extensive modernization at
the Norfolk Naval Shipyard. These improvements, designed to accommodate jet aircraft, included
an angled flight deck and steam catapults.
Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, The Fighting I continued to serve as an integral component
of the Atlantic Fleet, serving as an anti-submarine warfare carrier.
Intrepid was called upon once again for combat operations during the Vietnam War, making
three combat deployments to the Gulf of Tonkin from April 1966 to February 1969. Squadrons
of attack and fighter craft provided critical air support to American and allied troops
while striking enemy targets such as transportation links, oil reserves, industrial facilities,
and enemy supply convoys.
Carrier Air Wing 10, embarked on Intrepid, was particularly efficient, capable of launching
planes consecutively with only a 26 second interval.
Twenty-one men of the Intrepid lost their lives in combat or by accident, a testament to the
ever present dangers service members face on a daily basis.
After three deployments to Vietnam, USS Intrepid returned to its anti-submarine role until
it was decommissioned on March 15, 1974.
The memory of the Intrepid lives on in the annals of American history and as a museum
ship at Pier 86 in New York City.
The distinguished service of the Fighting I forever connects this ship to the people
of Hampton Roads and the United States of America.
I'm AJ Orlikoff, educator for the Hampton Roads Naval Museum.
Thank you very much for watching.