USS Enterprise (CVN-65)

USS Enterprise

(CVN-65)

 The world's first nuclear - powered aircraft carrier

USS Enterprise (CVN-65), formerly CVA(N)-65, is the world's first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier and the eighth US naval vessel to bear the name. Like her predecessor of World War II fame, she is nicknamed the "Big E". At 1,123 ft (342 m), she is the longest naval vessel in the world. Her 93,284 long tons (94,781 t) displacement ranks her as the 11th-heaviest supercarrier, after the 10 carriers of the Nimitz class. The only ship of her class, Enterprise is the second-oldest vessel in commission in the United States Navy, after the wooden-hulled, three-masted frigate, USS Constitution. She was originally scheduled for decommissioning in 2014 or 2015, depending on the life of her reactors and completion of her replacement, USS Gerald R. Ford. But the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010 slated the ship's retirement for 2013, when she will have served for 51 consecutive years, the most of any U.S. aircraft carrier. As of September 2010, Enterprise's home port is at Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia. She has one more deployment before her decommissioning. The 22nd and current commanding officer of Enterprise is Capt. Dee Mewbourne.

ATLANTIC OCEAN (Jan. 17, 2011) The aircraft carrier USS Enterprise (CVN 65) leads the ships of the Enterprise Carrier Strike Group, the guided-missile cruiser USS Leyte Gulf (CG 55), the guided-missile destroyers USS Bulkeley (DDG 84), USS Barry (DDG 52) and USS Mason (DDG 87) underway in the Atlantic Ocean. Embarked aboard Enterprise are the eight squadrons of Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 1. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Anna Wade/Released)

The USS Enterprise's home port is Naval Station Norfolk, in Norfolk, Virginia, it is a base of the United States Navy, supporting naval forces in the United States Fleet Forces Command, those operating in the Atlantic Ocean, Mediterranean Sea, and Indian Ocean. NS Norfolk, also known as the Norfolk Navy Base, occupies about four miles (6 km) of waterfront space and seven miles (11 km) of pier and wharf space of the Hampton Roads peninsula known as Sewell's Point. It is the world's largest Naval Station, supporting 75 ships and 134 aircraft alongside 14 piers and 11 aircraft hangars, and houses the largest concentration of U.S. Navy forces. Port Services controls more than 3,100 ships' movements annually as they arrive and depart their berths.

History:

Commissioning and trials

 
In 1958, Enterprise's keel was laid at Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Company. On 24 September 1960, the ship was launched, sponsored by Mrs. W. B. Franke, wife of the former Secretary of the Navy. On 25 November 1961, Enterprise was commissioned, with Captain Vincent P. De Poix, formerly of Fighting Squadron 6 on USS Enterprise (CV-6), in command. On 12 January 1962, the ship made her maiden voyage conducting a three-month shakedown cruise and a lengthy series of tests and training exercises designed to determine the full capabilities of the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier.

1962 Cuban Missile Crisis

In October, 1962, Enterprise was dispatched to her first international crisis. Following revelations that the Soviet Union was constructing nuclear missile launch sites on Cuba, President John F. Kennedy began to prepare for action, moving several military units to Florida and adjacent waters. On 24 October, President Kennedy ordered a naval and air "quarantine" (blockade) on shipment of offensive military equipment to Cuba, and demanded the Soviets dismantle the missile sites there. Enterprise, supported by the carriers Independence, Essex, and Randolph and backed by shore-based aircraft, participated in the blockade as part of the 2nd Fleet. By 28 October, the crisis was averted.

In the 1970s, Enterprise was refitted to handle F-14 Tomcats, which operated from the ship from 1974 to 2001. The USS Enterprise has also appeared in major Hollywood films in cameo roles in the movies The Hunt for Red October and Top Gun. Shots of the aircraft carrier sequences were filmed aboard the USS Enterprise (CVN-65), showing aircraft from F-14 squadrons VF-114 Aardvarks and VF-213 Black Lions

The USS Enterprise will be the first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier to be decommissioned by the United States Navy. In August 2009, an Internet-based petition began circulating to convert Enterprise into a museum ship after she is decommissioned. The costs of doing so regarding her nuclear reactors has yet to be calculated by the United States Department of Defense. A petition has also been set up for the CVN-79 to be named as the ninth USS Enterprise. Northrop Grumman's facility at Newport News, Virginia will deactivate and de-fuel the ship after its decommissioning. Using the fates of previous U.S. Navy aircraft carriers as a guide, once the ship's nuclear fuel and reactor machinery has been removed and disposed of, petitioners and naval enthusiasts want the ship to become a museum, however that may not be possible. Once the Navy dismantles and recycles the ships' reactors, there will be nothing left to turn into a museum; virtually everything two decks below the hangar bay would have to be cut apart. Enterprise may also enter the Ship-Submarine Recycling Program. Afterward the ship's island could be removed and used as a memorial.

She is a fine ship and has served her country well. NavyDads salutes the USS Enterprise and all who have served aboard her! We'll miss you "Big E!"

USS Enterprise Specifications