*UNSEEN/UNRELEASED DAMAGE ASSESSMENT PHOTOGRAPH OF THE USS INTREPID CV-11 FOLLOWING THE JAPANESE KAMIKAZE ATTACK IN NOVEMBER 1944.
These extremely rare and museum-grade 1944 dated World War II Type 1 military intelligence combat damage photographs were taken aboard the USS Intrepid (CV-11) Essex-class aircraft carrier after taking severe damage from multiple Japanese kamikaze aircraft while operating off the of Philippines in the Pacific Theater. On November 25, 1944, the USS Intrepid was engaged in operations off the coast of the Philippines as part of the U.S. Navy's campaign to liberate the archipelago from Japanese control. This period marked the intense and desperate final phase of the war, where Japan increasingly relied on kamikaze tactics—suicidal attacks by aircraft deliberately crashing into Allied ships. On that fateful day, the Intrepid was struck by two Japanese kamikaze aircraft in rapid succession. The first plane hit the carrier near the ship’s starboard side, close to the island superstructure, causing a massive explosion and fire. Just minutes later, a second kamikaze crashed into the ship, adding to the devastation. The attacks killed 69 crew members and wounded over 100 others, making it one of the deadliest days for the Intrepid during the war.
