http://www.wcbs880.com/Intrepid-Back-Home-in-Manhattan---VIDEO/3069242=0A= =0AU.S.S. Intrepid Returning to Manhattan=0A=0A =0ANEW YORK=A0(AP)=A0 -- Th= e World War II aircraft carrier Intrepid, powered by tugs and accompanied b= y a festive Hudson River traffic jam, was returned Thursday to the Manhatta= n pier where it has served for 24 years as a military and space museum.=0A= =0ALINK: Intrepid LIVE Camera=0A=0ASEE PHOTOS:=0AIntrepid Returns to Manhat= tan =0AIntrepid=A0Leaves Manhattan=A0- Take 1 =0AIntrepid=A0Leaves Manhatta= n=A0- Take 2 =0A=0AOnlookers gathered along the riverbanks and in passing p= leasure craft as the huge vessel was ceremoniously escorted Thursday on its= 5-mile journey from Staten Island.=0A=A0=A0=A0 =0AThe Intrepid Sea Air & S= pace Museum had occupied the Manhattan space until late 2006, when it was m= oved for extensive repairs and improvements costing nearly $120 million.=0A= =A0=A0=A0 =0A``She looks good, brand new, but I admit to a little bias,'' = said retired Adm. James ``Doc'' Abbot Jr., 82, who commanded the carrier in= the early 1960s and was back on board as honorary skipper.=0A=A0=A0=A0 =0A= About 400 guests and former crew members also rode along, mingling on the f= light deck in 60-degree weather. Jeff McAllister, commanding a tugboat flee= t generating about 18,000 horsepower, said a stiff westerly wind helped gui= de the estimated 38,900-ton carrier into its newly rebuilt pier.=0A=A0=A0= =A0 =0AThe Intrepid arrived home following brief stops to salute the Statue= of Liberty and unfurl a large American flag near ground zero, honoring vic= tims of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.=0A=A0=A0=A0 =0AWhen it lef= t the Manhattan pier, problems plagued the ship. Its propellers got stuck i= n the mud, and the Army Corps of Engineers has since dredged the pierside c= hannel to 35 feet, giving the Intrepid 11 feet of bottom clearance at high = tide. It also was widened to 110 feet to accommodate the hull, which is 103= feet wide at the water line.=0A=A0=A0=A0 =0ALaunched in 1943 as one of the= Navy's then-new Essex-class attack carriers, the USS Intrepid figured in s= ix major Pacific theater campaigns including Leyte Gulf, the war's greatest= naval battle, surviving five Japanese kamikaze suicide planes.=0A=A0=A0=A0= =0AIt later saw service in the Korean and Vietnam wars and was twice a rec= overy ship for NASA astronauts before it was decommissioned and mothballed = in a Philadelphia shipyard, slated for demolition until rescued by New York= real estate developer and philanthropist Zachary Fisher.=0A=A0=A0=A0 =0ASi= nce 1982 it has become one of Gotham's most popular tourist sites, drawing = some 750,000 visitors yearly over the past decade.=0A=A0=A0=A0 =0A The 22-m= onth renovation at a New Jersey dry dock included repair and refurbishment = of the ship's 65-year-old hull, followed by interior work at Staten Island'= s Stapleton naval dock, with the opening of formerly sealed spaces and expa= nded interactive museum exhibits, and the addition of five new aircraft to = its flight deck collection. =0A=0A=A9 MMVIII The Associated Press. All Rig= hts Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or r= edistributed. Audio Content and Graphic Content =A9 MMVIII WCBS-AM 880. Fil= e photograph by Evan Bindelglass =0APrint Page Email This Page =0A= =A0 =0A=A0 =0AMore Top Stories =0ABloomberg Officially Seeks 3rd Term= =0A =0AIntrepid Back Home in Manhattan - VIDEO=0A =0ABroadway Will Dim Ligh= ts to Honor Newman=0A =0AWCBS-AM Now Available on FM Band=0A =0AOmar Minaya= Given New Contract with Mets=0A =0ACop in Brooklyn Taser Death Commits Sui= cide=0A =0ARaritan May Enact Sidewalk Biking Ban=0A =0AMetro-North Making T= rains Bike-Friendly=0A =0AOriginal Mr. Clean Houe Peters, Jr. Dies=0A =0AVP= Candidates Debate Tonight=0A =0A=A0 =0A=A0 =0A =0ALive Traffic =0AT= raffic:=A0=A0 34 Incidents =0ALive Camera View =0ARail Alerts (CLICK ONE)= =0A =0AALSO: Sign Up for Mobile Rail Alerts =0A=A0 =0A=A0 =0AWeather = =0A =0A58=B0F Go =0ADetailed Forecast =0AChopper 880 =0A Crane vs.= Bridge=0APhotographs of the a crane barge and the bridge it struck - the B= rooklyn Bridge - taken by Tom Kaminski in Chopper 880. <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> If you wish to unsubscribe from the AIRLINE List, please send an E-mail to: "listserv@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx". Within the body of the text, only write the following:"SIGNOFF AIRLINE".