building my *boat* ;) -ts-(talk)
| All-nuclear formation: Enterprise, Long Beach (CGN-9), and Bainbridge (CGN-25). Enterprise, Long Beach and Bainbridge in formation in the Mediterranean, 18 June 1964. Enterprise crewmembers are spelling out Einstein's equation on the flight deck. This was the first all-nuclear battle formation. | |
| Career | USN Jack |
|---|---|
| Laid down: | 4 February 1958 |
| Launched: | 24 September 1960 |
| Commissioned: | 25 November 1961 |
| Status: | Template:Active in service |
| General Characteristics | |
| Displacement: | 85,600 t |
| Length: | 1,101 ft (336 m) |
| Beam: | 133 ft (40 m) |
| Extreme width: | 252 ft (76 m) |
| Draft: | 35 ft |
| Propulsion and power: | 8 x A2W reactor, 4 x steam turbine, 4 shafts, 280,000 shp (210 MW) |
| Speed: | 33.6 knots (62 km/h) |
| Complement: | 4,600 officers and men |
| Armament: | 2 Sea Sparrow launchers, 2 × 20 mm Phalanx CIWS mounts, 2 RAM launchers |
| Aircraft: | 85: (One squadron of F-14 Tomcats; Three of F/A-18 Hornets; Four EA-6B Prowlers; Four E-2C Hawkeyes; Six S-3 Vikings; Two Shadows; Eight SH-3 Sea Kings or SH-60 Seahawks) |
| Nickname: | Big E / Mobile Chernobyl / Three-Quarter Mile Island |
| Motto(s): | Ready on Arrival; The First, the Finest; Eight Reactors, None Faster |
The eighth USS Enterprise (CVN-65) was the world's first nuclear supercarrier, powered by eight A2W reactors. Like her predecessor, she is nicknamed the "Big E". She remains the longest aircraft carrier in the world today, though in tonnage she is surpassed by the Nimitz class. Enterprise's propulsion design was rather conservative, with the A2W reactors taking the place of boilers on a one to one basis. Only six of the eight reactors are online at any time, because six out of eight reactors generate as much steam as the turbines can handle.
Her keel was laid in 1958 and she was launched on 24 September 1960 by Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Company sponsored by Mrs. W. B. Franke, wife of the former Secretary of the Navy. She was commissioned on 25 November 1961 with Captain Vincent P. DePoix in command.
History[]
1960-1969[]
After commissioning, Enterprise began a lengthy series of tests and training exercises designed to determine the full capabilities of the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier. Immediately her superlative characteristics and performance became obvious. The first air operations were conducted by Enterprise as Comander George Talley made an arrested landing and catapult launch in an F8U Crusader. Although three TF Traders of VR-40 had taken off from her deck on 30 October 1961 to transport VIPs to the mainland after observing sea trials, Comander Talley's flights marked the start of Enterprise fleet operations. One month later, on 20 February 1962, the nuclear-powered carrier played a role in the space age when Enterprise acted as a tracking and measuring station for the epochal flight of Friendship 7, the Project Mercury space capsule in which Lt. Col. John H. Glenn, Jr., USMC, made the United States' first orbital space flight.
In August, Enterprise joined the Sixth Fleet in the Mediterranean sea. Soon after her return to Norfolk, Va., in October 1962, Enterprise was dispatched to its first international crisis. For some months, the United States had been flying reconaissance planes over Cuba, a small island nation 90 miles of the coast of Florida. During one such flight over Cuba pictures obtained from the spy planes revealed what appeared to be Soviet missile silos under construction. Fearing the worst, the United States began to prepare for military action against Cuba, moving several Army units to Florida and supporting these units with a strong naval force. In a televised address to the nation 22 October 1962, President John F. Kennedy annouced that U.S. reconnaissance flights had revealed a Soviet buildup of offensive missiles on the island of Cuba. The President ordered a naval and air quarantine on shipment of offensive military equipment to Cuba and demanded the Soviets dismantle the missile sites there.
As part of the Presidentially imposed blockade of Cuba, Enterprise and other ships from the Second Fleet had been mobilized and the ships of the blockading force were in position at sea when the quarantine officially began. Enterprise, supported by the carriers Independence, Essex, and Randolph, and backed by shore based aircraft commenced with the blockade. On the same day the service tours of all officers and enlisted men were extended indefinitely.
Enterprise and other ships in the Second Fleet set up a "strict quarantine of all offensive military equipment under shipment to Cuba." The blockade was put in place on 24 October, and the first Soviet ship was stopped the next day. On 28 October Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev agreed to remove the missiles and dismantle the missile bases in Cuba. On 19 December 1962, an E-2 Hawkeye piloted by Lt. Commander Lee M. Ramsey was catapulted off Enterprise in the first shipboard test of nose-tow gear designed to replace the catapult bridle and reduce launching intervals. Minutes later the second nose-tow launch was made by an A-6A.
Enterprise made its second and third deployments to the Mediterranean in 1963 and 1964. During the latter deployment, on 13 May 1964, the world's first nuclear-powered task force was formed when USS Long Beach and USS Bainbridge joined Enterprise. On 31 July 1964, the ships were designated Task Force One and, leaving Gibraltar, sailed on Operation Sea Orbit, an historic 65-day, 30,216-mile (49,190 km) voyage around the world, accomplished without a single refueling or replenishment. In October, Enterprise returned to Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company for its first refueling and overhaul.
The Big E was transferred to the Pacific's Seventh Fleet in November 1965 and became the first nuclear-powered ship to engage in combat when it launched bomb-laden aircraft in a projection of power against the Viet Cong near Bien Hoa on 2 December 1965. Enterprise launched 125 sorties on the first day, unleashing 167 tons of bombs and rockets on the enemy's supply lines. The next day it set a record of 165 strike sorties in a single day.
On 23 January 1968, when word was received of the capture of USS Pueblo by a North Korean patrol boat, a Task Group, composed of Enterprise and screen, was ordered to reverse course in the East China Sea and to run northward to the Sea of Japan where it operated in the vicinity of South Korea for almost a month.
Sailors aboard Enterprise battle a massive ordnance fire triggered by a Zuni missile.
At approximately 8:19 am on 14 January 1969, a MK-32 Zuni rocket warhead attached to an F-4 Phantom was overheated by exhaust from an aircraft starting unit and detonated, setting off fires and additional explosions across the carrier. By the time the fire was finally broght under control 27 lives had been lost, and an additional 314 people had been injured. The fire had destroyed 15 aircraft, and the resulting damage forced Enterprise to put in for repairs. Repairs to the ship were completed at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, in early March. On 14 April, North Korean aircraft shot down an unarmed EC-121 Constellation which was on a routine reconnaissance patrol over the Sea of Japan from its base at Atsugi, Japan. The entire 31-man crew was killed. The United States responsed by activating Task Force 71 to protect such flights over those international waters in the future. Initially, the TF consisted of the carriers Enterprise, Ticonderoga, Ranger and Hornet with a screen of cruisers and destroyers.
In all, Enterprise made six combat deployments to Southeast Asia from 1965 to 1972.
1970-1979[]
Enterprise returned to Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Company in 1970 for an overhaul and her second refueling. On 19 January 1971 she completed sea trials with her newly-designed nuclear reactor cores which contained enough energy to power her for the next 10 years. Enterprise then set sail for Vietnam to provide air support for U.S. and South Vietnamese units.
In Vietnam Enterprise, Oriskany, and Midway spent a total of 22 two-carrier days and nine single-carrier days on station, resulting in a strike sortie count of 2,001 on 30 July 1971. Strike operations during the month of July were disrupted when the carriers on station evaded three different typhoons — Harriet, Kim and Jean. A slight increase in South Vietnam strike sorties occurred during the month. These were mainly visual strikes against enemy troop positions and in support of U.S. helicopter operations.
During August 1971, dual carrier operations were conducted only during the first week— and, as of 16 August, Enterprise filled in the remainder of the month alone on station, resulting in a total of eight two-carrier days and 23 single-carrier days which produced a strike sortie count of 1,915 for the month.
Single carrier operations on Yankee Station were conducted throughout September 1971, except for one two-carrier day. The schedule had Enterprise flying the first four days, Oriskany the middle of the month and Midway completing the last four days. The single carrier posture, combined with the low intended sortie rate, produced 1,243 strike sorties during the month.
On Yankee Station during October 1971, single carrier operations were conducted except for the last day. Midway completed her final line period 10 October, with Enterprise taking over the next day for the remainder of the month. The air warfare posture in North Vietnam was altered 20 October through the deployment of six MiG aircraft south of 20º north — two each at Vinh, Quan Lang and Bai Thuong.
Alternating on Yankee Station, Oriskany, Constellation and Enterprise provided 22 two-carrier days on the line during November 1971, delivering 1,766 ordnance-bearing strike sorties, twelve into North Vietnam and nine into South Vietnam. Two reconnaissance missions were flown during the month, with the airfield at Vinh the mission assignment. Escort aircraft on both missions expended ordnance in a protective reaction role against firing anti-aircraft artillery sites near the field. Other protective reaction strikes were executed.
On 23 October 1972, the U.S., ended all tactical air sorties into North Vietnam above the 20th parallel and brought Linebacker I operations to a close. This goodwill gesture of terminating the bombing in North Vietnam above the 20th parallel was designed to help promote the peace negotiations being held in Paris, France. Enterprise and the other carriers had flown a total of 23,652 tactical air attack sorties into North Vietnam from May to October, and U.S. tactical air sorties during Linebacker I operations helped to stem the flow of supplies into North Vietnam, thereby limiting the operating capabilities of North Vietnam's invading army.
Enterprise alternated with other carriers on Yankee Station during the bombing halt, and remained on station 23 October through 17 December 1972. As a result of the bombing halt above the 20th parallel in North Vietnam, no MiG kills or U.S. losses were recorded during this time.
When the Paris peace talks stalemated in December 1972 the United States resumed bombing campaigns above the 20th parallel under the name Linebacker II. These operations were initiated on 18 December 1972 and ended on 29 December when the North Vietnamese returned to the peace table. During Linebacker II operations Enterprise and other carriers on station reseeded the mine fields in Haiphong harbor and conducted concentrated strikes against surface-to-air missile and antiaircraft artillery sites, enemy army barracks, petroleum storage areas, Haiphong naval and shipyard areas, and railroad and truck stations. Navy tactical air attack sorties under Linebacker II were centered in the coastal areas around Hanoi and Haiphong. There were 705 Navy sorties in this area during Linebacker II.
Between 18 and 22 December the Navy conducted 119 Linebacker II strikes in North Vietnam, with the main limiting factor on airstrikes being bad weather. On 28 December 1972, an F-4J Phantom II from VF-142 on board Enterprise downed a MiG-21, the 24th downed by Navy and Marine Corps pilots during the Vietnam War.
Although unable to support them at first, Enterprise was eventually refitted to handle the newer F-14 Tomcats, and would operate with these fighters until their retirement in 2001.
On 27 January 1973, the Vietnam cease-fire, announced four days earlier, came into effect and Oriskany, America, Enterprise and Ranger cancelled all combat sorties into North and South Vietnam; However, on 28 January, aircraft from Enterprise and Ranger flew 81 combat sorties against lines-of-communication targets in Laos. The corridor for overflights was between Hue and Da Nang in South Vietnam. These combat support sorties were flown in support of the Laotian government which had requested this assistance. Laos had no relationship with the cease-fire in Vietnam.
Following the cease-fire in Vietnam, Enterprise proceeded to the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton, Washington, where the Big E was altered and refitted to support the Navy's newest fighter aircraft—the F-14 Tomcat. The first operational aircraft made its maiden landings and take-offs from Enterprise on 18 March 1974. Enterprise became the first carrier to deploy with the new fighter plane when she made her seventh western Pacific (WESTPAC) deployment in September 1974.
On 9 February 1975, Enterprise responded to calls for disaster relief from the island nation of Mauritius which was struck on 6 February by Typhoon Cervaise. Arriving at Port Louis on the 12th, carrier personnel spent more than 10,000 man-hours rendering such assistance as restoring water, power and telephone systems, clearing roads and debris, and providing helicopter, medical, food and potable water support to the stricken area.
Enterprise, along with Midway, Coral Sea, Hancock, and Okinawa deployed to waters off Vietnam on 19 April 1975 for possible evacuation contingencies as North Vietnam overran two-thirds of South Vietnam and pronounced the carriers' presence a brazen challenge and a violation of the 1973 Paris Peace Accords. Ten days later, on 29 April, in a period of three hours, Operation Frequent Wind was carried out by U.S. Navy and Marine Corps helicopters from the Seventh Fleet. Frequent Wind involved the evacuation of American citizens from the capital of South Vietnam under heavy attack from the invading forces of North Vietnam. The military situation around Saigon and its Tan Son Nhut airport made evacuation by helicopter the only way out.
U.S. and South Vietnamese citizens scramble to board U.S. Helicopters at the American Embassy in Siagon.
President Gerald Ford ordered the evacuation when Viet Cong shelling forced the suspension of normal transport aircraft use at Tan Son Nhut airport. With fighter cover provided by carrier aircraft, the helicopters landed on Saigon rooftops and at Tan Son Nhut to evacuate the Americans. The airport became the main helicopter landing Zone: it was defended by Marines from the 9th Amphibious Brigade flown in for that purpose. All but a handful of the 900 Americans in Saigon were evacuated. The last helicopter lifted off the roof of the United States Embassy at 7:52 p.m. carrying Marine security guards. During Operation Frequent Wind, Enterprise aircraft flew 95 sorties.
The ship made its eighth WESTPAC in 1976, during which, on 27 February 1977, Enterprise and her escort ships were directed to operate off the east African coast in response to public derogatory remarks against the U.S. by the President of Uganda and his order that all Americans in Uganda meet with him.
1980-1989[]
Following her ninth WESTPAC deployment in 1978, Enterprise sailed to Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in January 1979 for a 30-month comprehensive overhaul. Enterprise made its 10th, 11th and 12th WESTPAC deployments in 1982, 1984 and 1986, respectively. When Enterprise deployed in 1986, it became the first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier to transit the Suez Canal. On 28 April, Enterprise transited the canal enroute from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean to relieve Coral Sea, on station with America off the coast of Libya. The transit began at 0300 and lasted 12 hours. It was the first time in over 22 years that Enterprise was in the Mediterranean Sea.
In April 1988, Enterprise, on its 13th deployment, was assigned to Operation Earnest Will, escorting reflagged Kuwaiti oil tankers in the Arabian Gulf while stationed in the North Arabian Sea. On 18 April, the United States launched Operation Praying Mantis, retaliating against Iranian targets following the 14 April incident in which Samuel B. Roberts struck an Iranian mine in international waters. The retaliation involved both surface and air units. Carrier Air Wing 11 squadrons from Enterprise were the major aviation participants. The initial American strikes centered around a surface group action against two Iranian oil platforms that had been identified as support bases for Iranian attacks on merchant shipping. Elements of CVW-11 provided air support for the surface groups in the form of surface combat air patrols, flying A-6 Intruders and A-7 Corsair IIs, and combat air patrols with F-14 Tomcats.
Enterprise began her 14th overseas deployment in September 1989. In early December, Enterprise, along with Midway, participated in Operation Classic Resolve, President George H.W. Bush's response to Philippine President Corazon Aquino's request for air support during the rebel coup attempt. Enterprise remained on station conducting flight operations in the waters outside Manila Bay until the situation subsided, and then proceeded to her scheduled deployment to the Indian Ocean.
1990-1999[]
In March 1990, Enterprise completed its highly successful around-the-world deployment by arriving in Norfolk, Virginia. Enterprise had successfully and safely steamed more than 43,000 miles from its long-time homeport of Alameda, California. In October 1990, Enterprise moved to Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Company for refueling and the Navy's largest complex overhaul ever attempted. She returned to sea 27 September 1994, for sea trials, during which Enterprise performed an extended full power run as fast as when it was new.
On 28 June 1996, Enterprise began its 15th overseas deployment. The Big E enforced no-fly zones in Bosnia as part of Operation Joint Endeavor and over Iraq as part of Operation Southern Watch. The deployment also marked the end of an era when VA-75 retired the A-6 Intruder from the Navy. Enterprise completed its deployment 20 December 1996.
In February 1997, Enterprise entered Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Company for an extended selective restrictive availability lasting four-and-a-half months. Following workups, Enterprise departed on its 16th overseas deployment 6 November 1998, this time with Carrier Air Wing Three (CVW-3).
Enterprise patrols the Persian Gulf in support of Operation Desert Fox.
Shortly after the start of the deployment, on the night of 8 November 1998, Enterprise suffered a major accident when an EA-6B Prowler crashed into an S-3 Viking on the carrier's flight deck. The mishap occurred when the EA-6B was returning to Enterprise following night qualifications and struck the S-3 which was on the flight deck. Both crews were reported to have ejected from their aircraft.
A fire broke out involving both aircraft, but was quickly extinguished by the Enterprise flight deck crew. Three of the four memebers of the Prowler crew were lost at sea. The remains of the fourth were recovered shortly after the crash. The two crew of the Viking were rushed to the Naval Medical Center in Portsmouth, Virginia. No other Enterprise crew members were injured. A search for three EA-6B Prowler crew members was suspended after nearly 24 hours and after covering more than 100 square nautical miles on the water and 700 nautical miles in the air.
Following a high-speed Atlantic transit, Big E relieved Dwight D. Eisenhower in the Arabian Gulf 23 November. During a port call in Jebel Ali, United Arab Emirates, Enterprise hosted former President George H.W. Bush and a live concert by Grammy Award winning rock group Hootie and the Blowfish.
Just days after the stop in Jebel Ali, on 16 December 1998, the Enterprise battlegroup spearheaded Operation Desert Fox, smashing Iraqi military targets with more than 300 Tomahawk land attack missiles and 691,000 pounds of ordnance. The 70-hour assault, which lasted from 16 to 20 December, was carried out by Enterprise, Gettysburg, Stout, Nicholson and Miami. The Operation captured world attention and significantly reducing Saddam Hussein's capacity to build any weapon of mass destruction.
Secretary of Defense William Cohen flew out to the carrier 23 December, bringing along his wife Janet, Senator Daniel Inouye from Hawaii, Representative John Murtha from Pennsylvania, and singers Mary Chapin-Carpenter, Carole King and David Ball. The Secretary enjoyed lunch with Sailors on the mess deck before he kicked off a concert on the flight deck.
Following operations off Sicily, Enterprise returned north, this time for a port visit in Cannes, France. Plans changed slightly, though, as Yugoslavian peace talks in Rambouillet, France, deteriorated and the carrier was ordered back to the Adriatic after only 24 hours in Cannes.
On a short recall tether, Enterprise and CVW-3 pulled into port at Trieste, Italy, in early March 1999 for their last Mediterranean port visit before returning to the Arabian Gulf. They relieved Carl Vinson 14 March 1999 and took over the helm of Southern Watch. Enterprise returned home 6 May. During the 1998-1999 deployment, Enterprise steamed more than 50,000 miles and spent 151 days underway. The aircraft of Carrier Air Wing (CVW) were launched nearly 9,000 times, logging approximately 17,000 hours in the sky. The Enterprise Battle Group was the first to deploy fully IT- 21 capable, affording the team unprecedented internal and external communication channels.
2000-present[]
Enterprise began its 17th overseas deployment on 25 April 2001, with Carrier Air Wing Eight (CVW-8). During the early part of the 2001 deployment, Enterprise and four Enterprise Battle Group ships participated in the Joint Maritime Course 01-2 (JMC 01-2), a British Royal Navy joint and combined warfare training exercise, 18 through 28 June 2001 in the North Sea near the Hebrides Islands, as well as land and airspace around Scotland.
On 11 September 2001, Enterprise was just beginning her voyage home from the Arabian Gulf. Watching a U.S. morning news show live, although locally in the early evening, the crew saw the terrorist attacks by the Al Qaeda terrorist network against New York's World Trade Center and on The Pentagon. Immediately, Enterprise turned around and headed back to the waters off Southwest Asia. On 7 October 2001, the U.S. launched air attacks against al Qaeda terrorist training camps and Taliban military installations in Afghanistan. The carefully-targeted actions were designed to disrupt the use of Afghanistan as a base for terrorist operations and to attack the military capability of the Taliban regime.
For approximately the next three weeks, aircraft from Enterprise flew nearly 700 missions in Afghanistan and dropped hundred of thousands of pounds of ordnance. Departing from Southwest Asia in late October, Enterprise arrived back at its homeport of Norfolk, Virginia, on 10 November 2001, about two weeks later than originally planned. During its last day at sea, the ship played host to the ABC Television Network's Good Morning America for a live two-hour broadcast of the program from the ship.
On 7 January 2002, Enterprise entered the Norfolk Naval Shipyard for a scheduled one-year Extended Docking Selected Restricted Availability (EDSRA). As of 2004, Enterprise is homeported in NS Norfolk, Virginia. Most recently, Enterprise embarked on Summer Surge '04 and participated in several multinational exercises
Currently, plans call for Enterprise to remain in service until the CVNX/CVN-21 program becomes operable, at which time Enterprise will be retired and replaced by the CVN-78, which is expected to occur around 2013. Enterprise will most likely end up in the ship/submarine nuclear recycling program; however that has not been confirmed.
Enterprise is the only ship of her class.
See USS Enterprise for other ships of the same name.
Trivia[]
- A common misconception that began during the 1970s and persisted into the 80s and 90s was that the Enterprise's nuclear reactors gave her an abnormally high top speed, as high as 50 knots (93 km/h) was rumored. The truth was somewhat more prosaic: Since the ship carried eight nuclear reactors, she could get up full steam almost immediately, allowing her to accelerate far more quickly than any other ship until the introduction of the naval gas turbine in the early 70s. By the 1990s, gas turbine ships which could keep up with or even exceed the nuclear ships' acceleration were common in the fleet, but the rumors persisted and continue to persist.
- Another incorrect rumor is that Enterprise's reactors leak enough to be a danger on-shore from a typical harbor anchorage; this is needless to say false, as such a high level of leakage would make the ship immediately hazardous to the lives of those who serve aboard.
- Original plans called for the construction of six Enterprise-class carriers, but due to the costs involved with construction only one was completed.
- The Enterprise was supposed to appear in the film Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, but it was out to sea at the time of filming. Instead, the carrier USS Ranger CV-61 played the part of the Enterprise.
General Characteristics[]
- Builder: Newport News Shipbuilding Company, Newport News, Virginia
- Power Plant: Eight A2W reactors, four shafts
- Cost: annual running costs estimated at $220 m
- Crew: Ship's Company: 3,320 - Air Wing: 2,600
- Armament:
- Two Sea Sparrow launchers
- Two × 20 mm Phalanx CIWS mounts
- Two RAM launchers
Crew Members[]
Crew Members
References[]
- United States Naval Aviation, 1910-1995, published by the Naval Historical Center
- USS Enterprise (CVN 65) public affairs office
Template:DANFS