A Guy Trip to NYC - phase 2

More on the May 2015 Guy trip to NYC with by buddies Pete and Fiz.
The Saturday started with a trip to the USS Intrepid museum on a large pier on the Hudson River just off the west side of Manhattan island (the Intrepid website).
Some background on the ship-
The USS Intrepid is an American aircraft carrier that was built during WW2, saw heavy action in 1943-1945, and continued to serve after the war. It originally looked like typical (but huge) WW2 aircraft carrier: USS Intrepid original configuration.
After modernization in the 1950's, it looked much different with a second angled flight deck, and could accommodate modern jet aircraft: USS Intrepid modernized config.
So my buddy Fiz and I went first thing Saturday morning to see this big behemoth - Pete "wasn't feeling well" and did not join us.
You've seen the outside in my previous post (NYC Guy Trip phase 1). So the first image is from the extreme front of the bow of the ship looking back along the flight deck:

The photo doesn't do justice to the immense size of this ship. The flight deck is crowded with all types of aircraft- some of which actually flew off the ship when it was in service, and some of which did not. If it were me designing the museum, I'd only allow aircraft that actually flew off the ship. But it's a museum, and they have to keep the locals coming back for more. I get it.
First airplane on the right is an SR-71 Blackbird:

Actually, it's a YF-12A, the "fighter" version, but it's basically the same thing. These definitely did not fly off carriers, but it sure is an impressive sight. These were the fastest airplanes ever built, but they are now retired. Their spying duties bettered by orbiting spy satellites, and their air-frames being old, they were no longer practical to keep flying. A shame, really.
Next in line was an F-16 Falcon (better known as "Vipers") - these never flew off carriers either - they're still in service in the US Air Force, and in other air forces all over the world.

And they are still very formidable fighters that can compete well against any modern fighter jet.
Next in line is an Israeli Kfir jet, also something that never flew off carriers..

These were used by the US Navy as adversarial aircraft for their dissimilar air combat training for their fighter pilots - as in Top Gun.
After that was an interesting US Navy helicopter, the H-19 Chicasaw:

It was a utility/search-and-rescue vehicle.
After that was a Bell H1J Sea Corba:

Sea Cobras were used by the US Marines, and were flown from carriers; not sure if they flew from Intrepid tho. They called the Cobra's main weapons system a "mini-gun" --

Looks pretty menacing to me...
Next in line was the venerable Twin Huey, UH-1, a machine that almost everyone flew - US Army, Air Force, Navy, Marines, and most allies around the world as well.

My dad flew these for the Canadian Army and the air force (when it was the Canadian Armed Forces).
Next in line was an AV-8B Harrier jump jet. These are US Marine jets that are still in use today, but will eventually be replaced by the F-35.

Harriers fly from carriers, but from special amphibious assault ships rather than fleet carriers like the old Intrepid.

That was the lineup on the right side of the forward flight deck (port side, actually).

Now, starting from the bow on the starboard side-

First is maybe the best fighter jet ever, is the F-14 Tomcat. I think I read that the Intrepid was actually too small(!) to fly F-14's... The star of the movie Top Gun, the F-14 is also the coolest jet ever, and gets 3 photos here; from the front:

Excellent view of the F-14's TV and infrared imaging systems, and how far back those variable-geometry wings sweep. You can see the F-14's lines better in the image below. This is actually a souped-up F-14, close the the standards of what was to become the "Super Tomcat" that never came about. This is evidenced by the larger than normal number of hard points - places to hang bombs.

The final image shows the business end of the F-14's big-ass engines. Not sure if this had those GE-F110-129 engines in there - probably not.

It was really cool seeing one of these bad boys up close!!

I think next in line was the A-6 Intruder, but for some reason I can't seem to find any photos. Oh well- you can see a bit of it beside the F-14, but not much of it- this ship definitely had A-6's aboard while at sea. After that was an F-11F Tiger:

The F-11 was a carrier fighter, and almost certainly flew off the Intrepid at one time (in the 1950's). Next in line was the F9F Cougar, which was pretty much an F-9F Panther with swept wings. The Panther was a beautiful airplane; the Cougar seemed like an after thought to me. However, the Cougar definitely flew off carriers, and probably off the Intrepid at some point (again, in the 1950's). Next to the Cougar was a Grumman E-1 Tracer-- it was the predecessor of the E-2C Hawkeye which still flies today. The E-1 is basically the same airplane, but with 1950's / 60's technology radar. 

The Intrepid definitely had one of these flying off her decks in the 50's and 60's - these were the eyes are ears of the fleet - they flew high, and spread their radar coverage for 100's of miles, allowing the fleet to react quickly to approaching enemy aircraft.

Beside the Tracer was the formidable F-4 Phantom fighter jet. This was the Navy's air-superiority fighter jet in the 60's and 70's. In it's day, it was the most powerful and feared fighter jet in the world. 

F-4 Phantoms flew from the decks of USS Intrepid until her last operational days...

Beside the F-4 was the F-3H Demon. This was a fighter plane that flew sometime before the F-4 did - in the early 1960's. I had no idea there were this big!

Don't know too much about the Demon, but the later F-4 Phantom does bears some minor resemblance - similar tail and slightly similar wings. I'm quite certain that Demons flew from the decks of Intrepid.

Next in line was an Italian trainer jet that didn't interest me.

I think that's all for now; I'll have more images soon from the decks of the mighty USS Intrepid; stay tuned!