In August 1950 the chief of naval
operations admiral Forest Sherman
requested a feasibility study for
nuclear-powered aircraft carriers. A shore-based nuclear reactor was built
as a test and based on the success of
the so-called A1W reactor authorization
and funds for a nuclear carrier was
approved in 1958.
USS Enterprise was commissioned in
november 1961. It was
1123 feet long, the longest aircraft
carrier ever built and displaced 93 284
tons fully loaded. Its eight A2W reactors a development of
the A1W could together generate an
amazing 280.000 shaft horsepower driving
enterprise's four propellers to a speed
of more than 35 knots. The ship was manned by a crew of 5500
including the air wing and could carry
85 aircraft.
Enterprise followed the same design as
its conventionally powered predecessor's
kitty hawk and constellation. It had four catapults two on the bow and
two on the port waist and four aircraft
elevators. Its uniquely shaped
superstructure was nicknamed the beehive
and housed electronic countermeasures
gear and scanfer the world's first
shipboard phased array radar consisting
of the the SPS-32 and SPS-33 search
radars.
A ship of many firsts uss enterprise may
also have been the first aircraft
carrier commissioned totally unarmed
since the navy's first carrier uss
langley. Originally designed to carry the terrier
surface-to-air missile. These were
deleted from the ship's final form to
control costs. It was only in 1967 that two MK 25 basic
point defense missile systems launchers
were installed each with eight sea
sparrow missiles. These were replaced with MK-29 launchers
later and during the 1980s three MK 15
phalanx close-in weapon systems were
added to the ship's defenses.
Enterprise was home to many types of
famous carrier-borne aircraft during its
career including F-4 Phantoms, F-14
tomcats, A-1 Skyraiders, a three-sky
warrior bombers, a four Skyhawks A5A Vigilantes and a seven Crusaders. Originally designed as a carrier attack
nuclear or CVAN, it was eventually
redesignated as a multi-purpose CVN. The last air wing to fly from the
enterprise was carrier air wing one
which had four squadrons of F A-18e F-Super Hornets.
Enterprise's operational history began
in 1962 when the ship participated in
the blockade of Cuba during the cuban
missile crisis. In 1964 enterprise participated in
operation C orbit. Enterprise the
nuclear-powered guided missile cruiser
uss long beach and the nuclear-powered
guided missile destroyer uss bainbridge, collectively known as task force one, circumnavigated the globe in 65 days, steaming 30
565 miles on nuclear power.
The operation proved that a
nuclear-powered fleet could be fast and
responsive capable of moving quickly to
crisis spots around the globe. In 1965 enterprise began air operations
off vietnam delivering airstrikes
against Viet Cong and north vietnamese
targets.
In 1968 it was flagship for task 471 the
response to the north korean seizure of
the spy ship USS Pueblo. Later that year it again flew airstrikes
in southeast asia, the big e would
conduct a total of six cruises off Vietnam the last in 1975.
In 1969 while conducting readiness
inspections off hawaii an aircraft
rocket exploded on the flight deck
causing a fire. Nine bombs cooked off in the fire
killing 28 crewmen and injuring 343
others, 15 aircraft were destroyed including
several brand new A7 Corsairs. Despite the terrible damage and
casualties suffered enterprise could
have enacted emergency repairs and
resumed air operations within hours but
instead was sent to Drydock in Hawaii.
The post-vietnam era was relatively
quiet for enterprise until 1988 when its
air wing sank an iranian Psalm-Class
frigate as part of operation praying
mantis the u.s response to iran's mining
of the persian gulf. During the 1990s it enforced no-fly
zones over Bosnia and Iraq. In october 2001 it flew some of the
first air missions over Afghanistan
conducting airstrikes against the
taliban and Al Qaeda forces.
Enterprise was deactivated on december 1
2012. For the last five years it has
been gradually prepared for disposal
stripped of military equipment and its
reactors powered down, down the ship will be formally
decommissioned on february 3 2017. In a
private ceremony at the newport news
shipyard in Virginia.
Enterprise proved the viability of
nuclear power for aircraft carriers but
in hindsight that was the most
forgettable of its achievements. It circled the globe three times
conducted 25 overseas cruises and
completed an astonishing 400.000
aircraft landings in its lifetime. It flew combat missions from Vietnam to Afghanistan and over its lifetime tens
of thousands, if not hundreds of
thousands of sailors served as part of
its crew.
The navy has taken steps to ensure that
the storied name of enterprise lives on. In 2012 then secretary of the navy Ray Mabus announced the third of the gerald
r ford class carriers CVN 80 will carry
the enterprise name well into the second
half of the 21st Century. The navy estimates that more than 100.000 sailors served aboard the uss
enterprise during the aircraft carrier's
five decades of service.
The world's first nuclear-powered
flattop the big e was commissioned in
1961 at newport news shipbuilding and
was the eighth Navy Vessel to bear the
name enterprise. Its service life included nearly every
u.s conflict from the cold war through
the global war on terror. It responded to the cuban missile crisis
in 1962 and was the first to launch
strikes in Afghanistan during operation
enduring freedom in 2001.
For nearly three years the carrier now
called xuss enterprise after its
decommissioning in february 2017 has
waited out its final days where its life
began as the navy determines the best
way to dismantle what's left of it. About 25 workers spend their days
maintaining and inspecting the carrier
defending the Vessel from water
intrusion flaking paint leaks and other
threats and working to prepare it for a
move to its final destination
said mike smith who manages newport news
shipbuilding's ex-enterprise program.
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