The aircraft carrier USS Intrepid was first commissioned in 1943 and has seen several modernisations since. Besides fighting action in various wars, the Intrepid also played role as a capsule recovery ship for space missions. Today the carrier serves as a museum ship on the Hudson River and is docked at Pier 86 in Manhattan.

The flight deck today exhibits various types of aircraft and helicopters. Furthermore, currently part of the flight deck holds a pavilion with the original Space Shuttle “Enterprise” and a Soyuz TMA-6 space capsule. Next to the former carrier one can find a Concorde plane and the USS Growler (SSG-577), one of the first cruise missile nuclear attack submarines.

When I had a “day off” during this year’s visit to New York, I took the chance to visit Pier 86. You can easily spend half a day there if you are interested in living history and war technology.

More images from Manhattan can be found here: Manhattan and New York City 2013