A brilliant day on the flight deck of the USS Intrepid.
This Bell UH-1 Iroquois helicopter is the iconic symbol of the war in Vietnam. This one is on display aboard the USS Intrepid in NYC. I usually don't get to take a profile shot, but aircraft were being moved around this day to accommodate painting of the flight deck.
Alongside our Growler, we get a Veteran's Day visit from an Amphibious Assault Carrier.
Part of the Island of the USS Intrepid, CV-11 seen from the flight deck
An icon of the Vietnam War, flown by Senator John McCain before he was shot down over North Vietnam and captured. This one stands on the deck of the USS Intrepid one misty night with NJ in the background.
Shot this from the Flag Bridge with my iPhone at dusk
I was finally able to get a look inside while the Kfir was in the restoration hangar
Some of the controls and plumbing for the former USS Growler's ballast tanks.
This relatively small fighter of the Vietnam Era didn’t require foldable wings to operate from Intrepid. I took this shot of the sleeping warplane at night after the guests were gone and some of the lighting had been turned off.
On August 8, 2018, I had the pleasure of meeting Jeff McVey, son of W.J. McVey, the 24th Captain of the Intrepid. He told me terrific stories about his Dad who began his career at the end of WWII as an F4U Corsair fighter pilot. He later flew Crusaders like the one on our flight deck. As a boy, Jeff once spent the night in the Captain’s Sea Cabin which is behind where I’m standing. And he learned scuba diving from two of the ship’s divers. He also got to meet Mr & Mrs John Glenn.
In 2017 the Museum opened the escape hatch used by most of the crew to enter and exit the sub. Both the top and bottom hatch covers were opened so guests in the sub could look up and examine the opening. A lucite cover was put over the opening to keep the weather out. I took this right after a rain storm as the clouds above were parting.
The sun was low and the shadows were intense and long.
Some guests at the Intrepid one day told me that they had seen the new British carrier in NY harbor that day. So when I left Intrepid at 5 pm, I took the subway down to South Ferry and boarded the Staten Island Ferry to take a look for myself. Majestic!