See inside the historic World War II-era aircraft carrier that was hit by 4 Japanese kamikazes and a torpedo and served in the Vietnam War

• The USS Intrepid is one of the US Navy's most historic vessels, having participated in tons of important missions over its 30 year history.
• The ship has resided in New York City since the 1980s and is now the Intrepid Sea, Air, and Space Museum.
• The ship survived four kamikaze attacks and a torpedo attack during World War II and even served as a lead recovery ship for NASA.

The USS Intrepid is kind of like the US Navy's Forrest Gump — it's been everywhere.

Commissioned in 1943, the Intrepid was one of 24 Essex-class aircraft carriers built during World War II.

Known as "the Fighting I" for its extensive combat history, the ship participated in numerous campaigns in the Pacific Theater during World War II. Its most famous battle was the Battle of Leyte Gulf, considered to be the largest naval battle of the war, and possibly the largest naval battle in history. 

In the 1960s, the Intrepid became the principal ship in the recovery efforts for the Mercury and Gemini space missions, before returning to its fighting mission during the Vietnam War. It was decommissioned for the final time in 1974.

Over the course of its service, the ship was hit by four Japanese kamikaze planes — suicidal planes loaded with fuel and explosives — and even torpedoed once. None were able to stop the ship.

Today, the Intrepid rests in the harbor in New York City after real estate developers Zachary and Larry Fisher campaigned to save the ship. In 1982, it became the Intrepid Sea, Air, and Space Museum.

We recently got a chance to tour the behemoth. Climb aboard for a closer look:

Launched in 1943 and decommissioned in 1974, the Intrepid now rests at Pier 86 in New York City. At 872 feet long, it's an imposing ship.

While it was in service, the Intrepid typically had 3,000 personnel on board. That pales in comparison to today's carriers which typically have double that.

The man founder of the muse

You enter the ship through the hangar deck. The Intrepid Museum was established by real estate developers Zachary and Larry Fisher. Zachary had wanted to serve in World War II, but was unable due to an injury. He spent the rest of his life giving back to the military in various ways, Jessica Williams, Intrepid's curator of history, told Business Insider.