USS Enterprise

This article covers real ships at sea. For the fictional spaceships from Star Trek with the name USS Enterprise or Enterprise see Enterprise (spaceship) .

The name USS Enterprise ( United States Ship , "ship of the United States"; Enterprise , "project, undertaking") carried or carry seven different US ships and one is planned:

• A sloop during the American Revolutionary War, burned in 1777 to avoid capture, see USS Enterprise (1775) .

  In 1776 a schooner was in service that took part in the Battle of Chesapeake Bay in the American Revolutionary War, it was not called USS because the older Enterprise was still in service; see Enterprise (1776) .

• A schooner built by Henry Spencer in Baltimore in 1799 , see Enterprise (ship, 1799) .
• For a schooner that entered service in 1831, see USS Enterprise (1831) .
• A propeller-driven sloop that entered service in 1877, see USS Enterprise (1877) .
• A motor boat that was used as a patrol boat in World War I, see USS Enterprise (SP-790) .
• For an aircraft carrier used in World War II, see USS Enterprise (CV-6) .
• An aircraft carrier entered service as the first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier in 1961, see USS Enterprise (CVN-65) .
• A planned Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carrier to enter service in 2025, see USS Enterprise (CVN-80) .

The ship's name "Enterprise" has an outstanding tradition and symbolic power in American military history - and in general patriotic sentiment. The name has been present since the birth of the American nation. Here is what Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus says when announcing the construction of the third aircraft carrier of the name in 2012:

“The USS Enterprise was the first of its kind, and for 51 years its name has been synonymous with boldness, readiness and an adventurous spirit. Rarely has our fleet been without a ship bearing the name. I chose to maintain this tradition not solely because of the legacy it invokes, but because the remarkable work of the name Enterprise is not done. "

“The USS Enterprise was the first of its kind [note: an aircraft carrier], and for 51 years [note: since CVN 65 entered service in 1961] the name has been synonymous with strength, commitment and a spirit of adventure. Our fleet has seldom been without a ship of that name. I have chosen to keep this tradition alive, not just because of the legacy he invokes, but because the enterprise of the Enterprise name is not yet complete. "

It was in this spirit that Gene Roddenberry chose the name for his Star Trek series in 1966 , and its particular fame certainly contributes to the desire to carry the name into the space age.

See also

• HMS Enterprise , British ships

Individual evidence

1. ^ Navy's Next Ford-Class Aircraft Carrier to be Named Enterprise . US Department of Defense, Release No: 937-12, December 1, 2012 (on defense.gov, translation Wikipedia).