The History of Intrepid - continued
The second INTREPID was an experimental, torpedo ram built by the Boston Navy Yard and launched on 5 March 1874. She was an iron hulled screw steamer 170 ft long, with a beam of 35ft, displaced 438 tons and was armed with four 24-pound howitzers.
In August 1882, conversionto a light- draft gunboat began. Still unfinished, work on the conversion was suspended in 1889. A survey in 1892 found the INTREPID unserviceable so she was stricken from the Navy Vessels List and sold on 9 May 1892.
The third INTREPID, built by the Mare Island NavyYard was launched on 8 October 1904. She was a bark-rigged sail training ship with a length of 211 ft, a beam of 45ft, displacement of 1,800 tons.
After the ship was commissioned on 16 August 1907, the steel hill bark was assigned to the Yerba Buena Training Station at San Francisco until 1912 and then became a receiving ship for that station. In 1914, the INTREPID was moved back to her birthplace a Mare Island to serve as that station’s receiving ship for about a year and a half. She then became the barracks ship for submarines F-1 through F-4 of the Pacific Fleet. In 1920, she again became the receiving ship for Mare Island until her decomissioning on 30 August 1921. The INTREPID was sold to M. Parker of San Francisco on 20 December 1921.
On 23 August 1941, the Navy acquired the hull of the ex-INTREPID from her owner at that time, the Hawaiian Dredging Company. She was placed in service as the unnamed YF 331, a non-self-propelled lighter and assigned to the 14th Naval District at Pearl Harbor. Her designation was changed to YR 42 on 7 August 1945 and she served as a sludge removal barge until placed out of service on 20 November 1945. The YSR 42, ex-INTREPID, was finally struck from the Navy List on 8 May 1946.
The fourth INTREPID (CV-11), commissioned in August 1943 was also known as The Fighting “I”. She was one of 24 Essex-class aircraft carriers built during WWII for the United States Navy.
She was authorized by the Congressional Act of 14 June 1940.
INTREPID and was built by the Newport News Ship-building & Dry Dock Company of Newport News, VA. Constructed in No.10 Graving Dock, she was launched on 26 April 1943. On 16 August she was commissioned with Captain thomas L. Sprague in command. The “Fighting I” served the Navy during three wars and was finally decommissioned on 30 March 1974 at Philadelphia and placed in the reserve fleet. She was acquired by the Intrepid Museum Foundation on 23 February 1982 and is now berthed in the Hudson River in Manhattan where she is currently serving as the Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum.