The Intrepid, an Essex-class aircraft carrier launched during World War II, is now moored in New York City harbor as a floating museum.  The photographs in this gallery are a sampling of what we observed there during our visit on June 20, 2004.

June 20, 2004: The Lockheed A-12 Blackbird.  Nose to nose with the world's fastest jet.

June 20, 2004: Recently retired from British Airways, this Concorde suns itself on a barge.

June 20, 2004: F-16: the United States Air Force's current air-superiority jet fighter.

June 20, 2004: Introduced in the late 1960's, the F-4 Phantom is considered one of the best fighter aircraft ever constructed.  Fast and reliable, the F-4 served the United States from 1967 until 1996.

June 20, 2004: The USS Intrepid is an Essex class aircraft carrier launched in 1943.  During World War II, it was known to the Japanese as "The Ghost Ship" owing to its survival of seven bomb attacks, five kamikaze attacks, and a direct hit from a torpedo.  After World War II, the carrier was modernized via addition of an angled flight deck and continued to serve the US military until 1974.  It opened as a museum in 1982.

June 20, 2004: When viewed from near the waterline, the Intrepid appears as a massive metal island seemingly balanced on a knife-edge.

June 20, 2004: Serving as both wheelhouse and control tower, the Intrepid's island was the control center for the carrier while it was operational.