USS Enterprise (CVN-65)

Bow view of the USS Enterprise (CVN 65) (1998)
Overview
Keel laying	04th February 1958
Launch	September 24, 1960
1. Period of service
Commissioning	November 25, 1961
Decommissioning	3rd February 2017
home port	Norfolk , Virginia
Technical specifications
displacement	75,704 ts standard 93,284 tn. l. maximum
length	342.3 m (overall) 317.2 m (construction waterline)
width	38.5 m (construction waterline) 78.3 m (flight deck)
Draft	10.8 m standard 11.3 m maximum
crew	5230 (ship crew, pilots and marines)
drive	8 A2W reactors , 4 turbines, 4 screws, 280,000 hp
speed	33.6 knots (62 km / h) 36 knots (67 km / h) top speed
Range	theoretically unlimited
Armament	3 Sea Sparrow starters 3 20 mm Phalanx CIWS
Planes	85 (standard) 110 (maximum)
motto	Ready on arrival
Callsign	November India Quebec Mike
Tactical designation	CLIMAX
Nickname	Big E

The USS Enterprise (CVN-65) (until 1975 CVAN-65 ) was an aircraft carrier of the United States Navy . Commissioned in 1961, the ship was the first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier and for many years the largest warship in the world. Even after being replaced by the USS Nimitz in 1975 as the largest warship, she was still the longest warship in the world at 342.3 meters. The Enterprise was the eighth ship, and after the World War II Enterprise, the second aircraft carrier with that name in the US Navy. It was the first and only one of a class of aircraft carriers originally planned for six ships that were not built for cost reasons. The Enterprise was in service for more than 50 years and took part in all major operations of the US Navy, including the naval blockade of Cuba , the Vietnam and the First Gulf War. More recently she has also participated in the war on international terrorism and the war in Iraq . On December 1, 2012, the Enterprise was deactivated and finally decommissioned on February 3, 2017. It was replaced by the USS Gerald R. Ford, which entered service on July 22, 2017 .

technology

hull

In the construction waterline, the length of the hull is 317.2 meters, the width 39.6 meters. The flight deck measures 342.3 meters in length, the length over the catapult boom is 343.3 meters. The maximum width is 78.3 meters. The height from the keel to the mast is 76.2 meters. With a standard displacement of 75,704 ts and 93,284 tn.l. ( Displacement ) the load capacity is 17,580 tn.l. , the draft between 10.8 and 11.3 meters. At the bow there are two patent anchors, each weighing 30 tons .

Glance into the hangar

Flight deck and hangar

The flight deck is about 340 meters long and 78 meters wide, with an area of ​​1.81 hectares, it is about 10 percent larger than that of the Kitty Hawk class, which was built at the same time, and 25 percent larger than that of the Forrestal class . The entire arrangement of the flight deck systems was taken from the Kitty Hawk class. The runway is angled at an angle of 10 ° from the longitudinal axis to port and has four safety cable systems for braking the landing aircraft.

The Enterprise was the commissioning of a optical landing system on the basis of Fresnel lenses provided, which takes over the introduction of the approaching aircraft on the correct glide slope.

Four steam catapults (C-13 Mod 1) are available for launching the aircraft , two at the bow and two in the extension of the angled runway on the port side. The catapults can accelerate the aircraft on board a distance of 76 meters to 257 km / h. To protect the aircraft set up on deck and the crews working on deck, the catapults were equipped with hydraulically erectable jet deflectors . The operating consoles for the catapults are located on the side of the circumferential "catwalk"; only the carriers of the Nimitz class were given protected command posts for operating the catapults ( "bubbles" ).

Four pentagonal elevators, each weighing 105 tons, connect the deck with the hangar deck, which is about three decks high. Three of them are on starboard (two in front of the island, one aft), and an elevator is on port aft, at the far end of the angled runway. The hangar deck extends over the middle half of the ship and is designed so large that it can accommodate a large part of the carrier's air group in a storm-proof and sea-proof manner. The deck is equipped with anchoring eyes to secure aircraft and other equipment remaining on the deck (mobile crane, aircraft tug, helicopter for transport, search and rescue and submarine hunting ).

island

Island of the "Big E" after the renovation

The most distinctive feature of the USS Enterprise is its island. Due to the nuclear power drive, there was no need for an exhaust system, which means that the island has a square footprint of just 11 by 11 meters. The actual bridge structure with an area of ​​almost 20 by 20 meters sits on the seven meter high base. This structure was characterized by the large area antennas of the SPS-32/33 -radar until the end of the 1970s . This also resulted in the great height of the bridge structure of over 15 meters. On the roof of the command bridge there was still a 17 meter high, cone-shaped mast construction on which the antennas for electronic countermeasures were located.

During the shipyard stay from 1979 to 1982, the entire island was redesigned; By removing the SPS 32/33 radar antennas, the height of the superstructure could be reduced by one meter, and a new 25 meter mast was installed instead of the conical mast and new radar systems were installed.

At the top of the island is the command bridge from which the girder is led. Underneath is the Admiral Bridge . The box-shaped structure houses the navigation department, the Combat Direction Center and the Carrier Air Traffic Control Center , from which flight movements around the carrier and on deck are monitored and coordinated.

drive

The Enterprise was the first aircraft carrier to have a nuclear power drive. The eight A2W - pressurized water reactors of the Westinghouse Electric Corporation delivered over 32 heat exchanger the steam for four transmission turbines that each casting their power to a respective shaft of a five-petal screw. The total output of the drive system was 280,000 shaft horsepower . The maximum speed was about 36  knots , the range with a "reactor filling" was 800,000 nautical miles or 13 years of operation since 1981. Originally, the reactors had to be refilled every 200,000 nautical miles or three to four years, which each time meant several months in the shipyard. However, this was not seen as a disadvantage, as the advantages, especially the almost unlimited range, of the new drive concept outweighed the advantages. The carrier's auxiliary machines had a total output of 30,000 hp. Since the nuclear reactors did not need any fuel tanks, the Enterprise was able to carry far more aircraft fuel for its air group (8500 tons, sufficient for twelve days of flight operations), but also heavy fuel oil for other ships in the combat unit.

It was steered by four oars, each weighing 35 tons, which gave the ship better maneuverability than the two-rudder systems previously used.

Armament

Originally, like the ships of the Kitty Hawk class , two double-arm starters for RIM-2 Terriers were planned for the carrier, but these were not installed for reasons of cost. A Sea Sparrow starter was not installed until 1967 , later two more starters came on board. The modernization from 1979 to 1982, the carrier also received three Mk.-15 Phalanx - short-range defense systems , two of which were but now through RAM starter replaced.

electronics

Air surveillance center on board the carrier

Until the shipyard stay 1979-82, the Enterprise was equipped with the SPS-32/33 - Phased-array - radar , which was otherwise only used on the nuclear cruiser USS Long Beach . The rectangular, 12.2 by 6.1 meters-in antennas of the PLC 32 - search radar and the 7.6 by 6.1 meters-in antennas of the SPS-33 -Verfolgungsradars coined to retrofit the early eighties, the image of the island of "Big E". The total weight of the radar systems was 173.5 tons, the output 1.5 megawatts. Targets could be recorded and tracked up to a distance of 400 nautical miles.

Since the conversion, the carrier has been equipped with a SPS-48 - 3D radar from ITT-Gilfillan with 2.2 megawatts of power and a detection range of 230 nautical miles. The characteristic square antenna is now on top of the island. It is supplemented by a SPS-49 air reconnaissance radar with a reconnaissance range of 250 nautical miles.

As a surface search radar , the Enterprise has been using a SPS-67 radar from Norden Systems since 1982 , the bar antenna of which is located on the new electronic mast. The fire control of the Sea Sparrow starter is three Mk.-91 - fire control radars ensured, which are mounted on the island and below the top edge. The close spatial arrangement of the radar systems on the small island of the carrier leads to interference and worsens the locating properties.

The beehive-like ECM mast with its hammer-shaped antennas was replaced by a conventional tubular mast, which now carries the antennas for the electronic countermeasures and the antennas for the TACAN system . Behind the aft starboard elevator, there has also been a mast since 1982, which houses the precision approach radar .

Airborne squadron

F-14 Tomcat and F / A-18 Hornet on the flight deck, 1985

The board squadron of Enterprise could consist of up to 110 aircraft. Usually there were around 80 to 90 machines of various types on board. At the beginning of the service, F-8 Crusader and F-4 Phantom were used as fighters, A-3 Skywarrior converted to KA-3B for air refueling, and A-4 Skyhawk , A-1 Skyraider and A-5 Vigilante as attack aircraft. From 1965 the Skyraider was retired and the A-5 Vigilante was only used as a reconnaissance aircraft. The F-8 Crusader was retired at the end of the 1960s. In 1971 the A-4 Skyhawk was replaced on board by the A-7 Corsair , from 1975 the Phantoms by F-14 Tomcat . With the reclassification in 1975, S-3 U-fighters and SH-3 Sea-King helicopters came on board for the first time ; electronic warfare has been taken over by EA-6B Prowler since 1978 , replacing the outdated EA-3 . In the mid-1980s, the F / A-18 Hornet was introduced on board the Enterprise , replacing the Corsairs and, in 2005, the Tomcat. The SH-3 Sea-King helicopters were replaced by SH-60 Seahawks in the mid-1980s , and the S-3B Viking were decommissioned in 2008.

Carrier Air Wing One (CVW-1) was last stationed on the Enterprise . It was divided into three Strike Fighter Squadrons (VFA) and one Marine Strike Fighter Squadron (VFMA) with F / A-18C Hornet and F / A-18E / F Super Hornet , which took on the air defense and flew attack missions. An Electronic Attack Squadron (VAQ) with EA-6B Prowler for electronic warfare and a Carrier Airborne Early Warning Squadron (VAW) with E-2C Hawkeye 2000 NP for air reconnaissance were carried out by a Helicopter Anti-Submarine Squadron with SH-60F and HH -60H Seahawk helicopters and a division of a Fleet Logistics Support Squadron supplemented with C-2B Greyhound transport aircraft.

crew

Big E's galley

Chapel on board

The crew of the Enterprise consisted of about 3,000 men and 300 officers , plus about 2,500 men from the Carrier Air Wing . The crew was divided into several departments, which took on the various tasks on board.

The Air Department was responsible for the flight deck and the execution of the flight operations, the supporting Aircraft Intermediate Maintenance Department took over the maintenance and repair of the aircraft . The Weapons Department was responsible for storing and transporting the armaments of the aircraft.

The airspace surveillance was carried out by the Operations Department , as was reconnaissance and management of combat operations. Navigation and command of the ship was carried out by the Navigation Department , which was responsible for the bridge. The Combat Systems Department was responsible for the maintenance and repair of the ship's weapons and electronics, while the Maintenance Department took care of the maintenance of the other systems . The Reactor Department was responsible for the control and monitoring of the eight nuclear reactors .

These departments were supported by the Deck Department , which was responsible for cleanliness and hygiene on board, and the Executive Department , which was responsible for administration and supply. He was responsible for the ship's three shops and the galley , in which around 12,000 meals were prepared every day. The laundry, in which around 500 tons of laundry were cleaned every year, was also managed from there. Three on-board newspapers appeared daily, informing the crew about events on the ship and current world events. There were also two fully equipped fitness rooms with modern training equipment on board.

The Medical / Dental Department had a fully equipped on-board clinic with an operating theater and the most modern diagnostic technology at the time. Preventive health programs were carried out for the crew. A medical laboratory was also on board the carrier.

The Training Department was responsible for training the crew, the Safety Department for safety on board, especially for accident prevention. The Legal Department offered the crew support in legal matters, the Religious Ministries Department operated its own chapel on board and was responsible for the pastoral care of the crew.

Name and insignia

coat of arms

The name Enterprise has a tradition in the Navy of the United States until 1775, in the British Royal Navy until 1705. In the US Navy, the ships with the name were involved in almost all important battles in naval history. The Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships defines Enterprise as “ boldness, energy, and invention in practical affairs ”. Its direct predecessor was the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise (CV-6) , used in World War II , the most highly decorated ship in the US Navy.

The insignia of the USS Enterprise shows on a round white shield, surrounded by the traditional colors of the Navy, gold and blue, the silhouette of a capital E, representing the nickname of the ship, which it took over from its predecessor from the Second World War. In the upper left section of the picture, the E is covered by a stylized globe showing the western hemisphere with the two Americas. It symbolizes the home waters of the US Navy and the Enterprise .

In the lower right section of the image, partially covered by the E, a globe with a stylized, eastern hemisphere can be seen. It symbolizes that the aircraft carrier and its planes can reach the whole world.

In the center of the picture emerges from the E a stylized aircraft carrier, the island and the superstructures surrounded by a stylized atom that symbolizes the capacities and possibilities of nuclear propulsion.

On the blue edge of the emblem, the name and are available in large white letters Hullnumber (hull number) of the ship. In 1975, as part of the reclassification, the A was removed from the identifier CVAN (Cruiser Volplane Attack Nuclear) in order to illustrate the versatility.

Enterprise Strike Group

The Enterprise was accompanied on its mission trips by an aircraft carrier combat group , which protected the carrier against dangers, but also provided offensive capacities. The combat group was mostly composed of several ships, including guided missile cruisers , destroyers , frigates and submarines as well as supply ships . The last Enterprise Strike Group , also known as Carrier Strike Group 12 , consisted of the cruiser USS Leyte Gulf , the guided missile destroyers Bulkeley , Barry and Mason, and the utility Arctic .

history

Construction and testing

Keel laid on February 4, 1958

The construction contract for the first nuclear powered aircraft carrier in the US Navy was issued on November 15, 1957 to Newport News Shipbuilding in Newport News , Virginia , who had developed nuclear propulsion for aircraft carriers three years earlier with the Navy and Westinghouse Electric Corporation. The keel of the Enterprise was laid on February 4, 1958 in dry dock # 11, the shipyard's largest dock. After 19 months of construction, the girder, baptized by Bertha Franke, the wife of Secretary of the Navy William B. Franke, was floated out of the dock on September 24, 1960. After the installation of the first of eight nuclear reactors , it reached criticality for the first time on December 2, 1960 . After further equipment work, the carrier was delivered to the US Navy on October 29, 1961 for first test drives.

The Enterprise under construction

During the test drives, the efficiency of the nuclear power drive was demonstrated when the Enterprise was able to drive away from its escorts despite its size . During the test drives, the first carrier launch took place from board, a C-1A Trader flew high officers of the Navy from board.

On November 25, the aircraft carrier was ceremoniously commissioned in front of 13,000 invited guests, including the 3,000-man crew of the carrier, under the command of Captain Vincent P. de Poix as the new flagship of the US Atlantic fleet. The acting Secretary of the Navy, John Connally , called the ship during the ceremony " a worthy successor " (German: "a worthy successor") for the famous enterprise of the Second World War. The high construction costs of 451.3 million US dollars were nevertheless the reason that the originally planned five more ships of the class were no longer built. The next two aircraft carriers in the US Navy, America and John F. Kennedy , were completed as conventional oil-powered ships.

John F. Kennedy on the bridge of the Enterprise

Cuba to Vietnam

On January 12, 1962, the Enterprise set out on her maiden voyage in the Atlantic and the Caribbean . At the end of January, she was part of the salvage fleet for the planned launch of Mercury-Atlas 6 , which was postponed due to bad weather and technical problems. When the launch took place on February 20, the Big E acted as a radio relay and observation station in the Caribbean. The maiden voyage and trials were completed on April 8th when the carrier returned to Norfolk Harbor .

The next day, preparations began on board for a maneuver that was to take place on April 14 under the supervision of President Kennedy . The President came in the morning of the 14th with the majority of his cabinet, many members of Congress, 30 ambassadors and the Joint Chiefs of Staff on board the Enterprise , from where they maneuver with about 20 participating ships, including the aircraft carrier Forrestal , before Virginia and North Carolina coasts observed. After completing the maneuver, the carrier went back to the dock in Newport News on April 23, where a few improvements were made by June 19.

On August 3, the carrier ran out for its first mission in the Mediterranean , where it was supposed to replace the Shangri-La . During the mission, which lasted until October, the carrier took part in several NATO exercises with neighboring countries around the Mediterranean. With a visit to Cannes at the beginning of August, the Big E completed her first stay in a foreign port.

On October 17, the entire US Atlantic fleet was placed in increased operational readiness due to the discovery of the Soviet missile bases in Cuba . On October 19, the Enterprise left for Cuba. Together with Independence , it was part of the naval blockade around Cuba, which President Kennedy ordered on October 20 as a reaction to the Soviet missile stationing in Cuba.

Enterprise , Long Beach and Bainbridge in the Mediterranean

From July to October 1963 she took part with the cruiser Long Beach and the frigate Bainbridge in the circumnavigation of Operation Sea Orbit , during which various ports around the globe were called. With this operation, the US Navy wanted to illustrate the advantages of nuclear power propulsion. The ships did not have to be refueled during the entire voyage and were always fully operational. During a stay at the shipyard between November 1964 and July 1965, the reactors were refilled for the first time; after the test drives were completed, the carrier was assigned to the US Pacific Fleet and used for the first time in the Vietnam War, where its carrier aircraft flew air strikes against North Vietnamese targets. The ship's new home port became Alameda , California . Between 1966 and 1968 the carrier was used several times at Yankee Station off the coast of Vietnam , from where the aircraft on board flew attacks against targets in North Vietnam .

The burning USS Enterprise on January 14, 1969 off Hawaii

The Rogers supports the extinguishing work

Fire on board

On January 14, 1969, there was a serious incident during a maneuver off Oahu . Heated up by the hot exhaust gases of an aircraft waiting for take-off, the warhead of a Zuni missile exploded at 8:19 a.m. and tore a hole in the tank of the fully fueled aircraft. The fire caused by the leaking fuel spread across the entire aft flight deck, where several aircraft were fully fueled and armed for the planned maneuver. In the next 15 minutes there were several heavy explosions by Mark 82-500 pounds. - bombs that detonated in the heat of the fire. This tore several holes in the flight deck, through which the fire spread to the decks below. Around nine o'clock the fire was finally brought under control on the flight deck , also with the help of the destroyers Rogers and Benjamin Stoddert , and below deck some time later. There were 28 dead on board the Enterprise . 371 crew members were injured, 62 of them had to be hospitalized in Hawaii because their burns could not be adequately treated on board. 15 aircraft were destroyed, 17 damaged. The damage totaled 56 million US dollars and the carrier had to be repaired for a month and a half in the Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard .

Between August 1969 and December 1970 a longer docking period followed, during which the reactors were refilled and new navigation systems were installed on board.

1970s

In 1970 and 1971 further missions followed off the Vietnamese coast. The carrier spent mostly maneuvers off the US west coast in 1972, followed by another deployment off Vietnam in October. After the initial failure of the Paris peace talks, the aircraft on board the "Big E" were involved in the air strikes of Operation Linebacker II , which also attacked heavily defended targets in the Hanoi region . With the end of the American intervention in Vietnam in May 1973, the ship returned to the US west coast. During a dock stay in the autumn, the first preparations for the reclassification of the carrier, which should take place on July 1, 1975. In 1974 the Enterprise operated in western Pacific waters around the Philippines and in the Indian Ocean, in June F-14 Tomcat fighter aircraft became part of the airborne squadron. These had their first combat mission during the evacuation of Saigon in April 1975 when they secured the airspace for transport helicopters.

Enterprise , 1978

In 1976 the carrier took part in several maneuvers with fleets of the Pacific countries, including the "Kangaroo II" maneuver with Australia and New Zealand . In February and March 1977, the Enterprise was stationed off the East African coast after the political situation in Uganda had deteriorated. Together with the two atomic cruisers that had accompanied the carrier during “Operation Sea Orbit”, the “Big E” then returned to Alameda at top speed. At the end of 1977 and 1978, the ship took part again in several maneuvers in the Pacific, such as the RIMPAC -78 maneuver in late summer.

On January 11, 1979, the Enterprise ran into Bremerton , where she went to the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard for a major overhaul in dock.

1980s

During the two years of renovation work, the external, hitherto unique appearance of the Enterprise also changed . The removal of the AN / SPS-32 / 33-3D radar and the ECM mast changed the appearance of the island massively. The new design of the superstructures was based on that of the Kitty Hawk class . In addition, the reactors were overhauled, after which fresh nuclear fuel was only required every 13 years. The entire stay at the shipyard cost about $ 276 million.

After the first training runs off the California coast in the spring, the porter left for the first mission since the overhaul at the beginning of September. The Enterprise took part in several maneuvers with ships of friendly nations around the Pacific, at the end of November 1985 the carrier went into dry dock for a month because of a collision damage to the bow. After further exercises and missions in the Pacific, on April 29, 1986, the "Big E" was the first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier to pass the Suez Canal .

In February 1988, the ship first took part in escort missions during Operation Earnest Will . On April 18, 1988, the Enterprise then deployed several aircraft in the combat mission Operation Praying Mantis against naval units of Iran , with the A-6 Intruder sunk two ships and damaged a frigate .

After several months in the shipyard, the “Big E” switched from the Pacific to the Atlantic fleet in autumn 1989. The new, old home port was Norfolk in Virginia.

1990s

Enterprise (top left) with the French porter Charles de Gaulle

From October 12, 1990 to September 23, 1994, the Enterprise went through a Regular Complete Overhaul (RCOH), during which the radar systems and electronics were modernized. In 1995 further stays at Newport News Shipbuilding in Norfolk (Virginia) were necessary, during which the reactors were filled for the fourth time. This work was finished in September and the ship left for the first exercises.

In the summer of 1996, the carrier was deployed in the Mediterranean, where its aircraft monitored the no-fly zone over Bosnia-Herzegovina . In mid-September 1996 the Enterprise was relocated from the Adriatic Sea to the Persian Gulf, where Operation Desert Strike had just started. In 1997 and 1998 she spent in the Atlantic and the Mediterranean, where several exercises with the navies of friendly countries took place and several port visits were completed. In late 1998, their planes were deployed over Iraq in Operation Desert Fox's four-day airstrike . At the beginning of 1999 the carrier supported the NATO peacekeeping forces in ex-Yugoslavia, and at the end of June it went to dock in Norfolk for six months.

2000s

The new millennium began for the Enterprise with exercises in the North Atlantic; In 2001 it was relocated to the Gulf region.

In October 2001 , the Enterprise was involved in combat operations against targets in Afghanistan as part of the United States ' fight against terrorism . From December, the ship was overhauled for a year and a half in the Norfolk Naval Shipyard , in May 2003 it was operational again. In 2003/2004 it was used in the Iraq war , followed by another in 2006, and then two in 2007 as part of the fight against terrorism. The last six-month mission in the Gulf region was completed in December 2007; on April 11, 2008, the USS Enterprise went into dock for overhaul in Newport News, the plan was 16 months and costs around 480 million dollars. During the overhaul, however, additional work was necessary, so the undocking was postponed from summer to December 2009. The cost rose to over $ 660 million.

In October 2010, the Enterprise successfully completed test drives with its combat group consisting of Leyte Gulf , Bulkeley , Barry , Mason and the utility Arctic , thus gaining certification for the next relocation. Following this, the carrier was to be decommissioned in 2012. Since the US Navy aircraft carrier fleet would have shrunk to ten units by the time the USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) was commissioned , the United States Congress had to approve this plan.

The Commander of the Enterprise , WC Hamilton, made the last landing of an aircraft on the "Big E" on November 2, 2012

On October 27, 2010, Northrop Grumman was finally commissioned to prepare for scrapping from 2013 after the completion of the last two trips.

present

On January 4, 2011, Captain Owen Honors was removed from command of the Enterprise over a scandal involving sexist and homophobic videos . He was succeeded by Captain Dee Mewbourne, who had previously commanded the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower .

As part of Operation Enduring Freedom to fight piracy off the coast of Somalia , the Enterprise and its combat group, consisting of the guided missile cruiser Leyte Gulf and the destroyers Barry , Bulkeley and Mason , left Norfolk on January 13, 2011 and set course for the Mediterranean Sea the Persian Gulf. Carrier Air Wing One was on board . The ship returned to Norfolk on July 15, 2011. On March 11, 2012, it began its last mission, which took it to the Persian Gulf from August; In mid-October 2012 the Enterprise left the Middle East through the Suez Canal. On November 4, 2012, she entered her home port of Norfolk for the last time.

After deactivation on December 1, 2012, the nuclear material was removed from the ship at Newport News Shipbuilding by the end of 2016 . The official decommissioning took place on February 3, 2017.

At this point it had not yet been decided how the Enterprise would be scrapped . In addition to the dismantling of the entire ship by a private company, the prior removal of the nuclear components by the government-owned Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility (PSNS & IMF) in Bremerton as well as the storage of the ship for several years for later dismantling were discussed.

As of August 2018, the ship is moored at a pier in Newport News, Virginia at Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Company (NNS). The nuclear materials have already been removed from the ship. According to offers and estimates, scrapping can take 5–10 years and cost up to 1.3 billion euros. The scrapping could be done at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard (PSNS & IMF), a naval shipyard in Bremerton, Washington State, or it could be outsourced to a private party.

Others

According to a report published in 2007 by the Hamburger Abendblatt , the German submarine U 24 ( class 206A ) managed to get to the Enterprise unnoticed by the security vehicles during a joint maneuver in the Caribbean , successfully fired a simulated torpedo fan at the carrier and through it photograph the periscope.

The third Gerald R. Ford- class aircraft carrier is slated to be named USS Enterprise in 2025 , Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus announced during the retirement ceremony.

In the media

Gene Roddenberry , the creator of Star Trek , had named the spaceship from the original series after the then new carrier.

The Enterprise is mentioned in various films. For example in Star Trek IV: Back to the Present , in which several scenes should take place on the aircraft carrier. Since the Enterprise was not available for the shooting because it was in the Mediterranean, the corresponding scenes were filmed on the older USS Ranger .

In the film Top Gun, the USS Enterprise is mentioned again, but this time it is represented by the USS Ranger . Only a few archive shots were shown in this film, which show the ship in a long shot. Only in the film adaptation of Tom Clancy's novel Hunt for Red October does the Enterprise finally make it onto the screen with individual scenes. Paradoxically, it does not appear in the book version - there is talk of the USS John F. Kennedy .

In the film Flatfoot cleans up , the USS Enterprise can also be seen briefly when Inspector Flatfoot aka Bud Spencer is flown by helicopter from Hong Kong to Macau .

Web links

Commons : USS Enterprise (CVN-65)  - album containing pictures, videos and audio files

• Archived official website of the USS Enterprise (English)
• NavSource USS ENTERPRISE (CVN-65) (English)
• Chapter 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 in the Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (English)
• L'USS Enterprise officiellement désactivé
• Kabel eins documentation on Youtube

Individual evidence

1. ↑ spiegel.de
2. ↑ Silke Hasselmann: Farewell to the "USS Enterprise". After 51 years of service. In: tagesschau.de. December 1, 2012, archived from the original on December 26, 2012 ; Retrieved December 1, 2012 . 
3. ↑ Jürg Kürsener: Lead ship "Gerald R. Ford": The USA launch a new generation of aircraft carriers. In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung . July 21, 2017.
4. ↑ This aircraft carrier controls itself . Welt Online , July 19, 2017.
5. ↑ ^{a b c} Naval Vessel Register ( Memento from August 18, 2013 in the Internet Archive ), as of August 17, 2007
6. ↑ ^{a b c d e} Terzibaschitsch: aircraft carrier of the US Navy. Bernard & Graefe Verlag, Bonn 2001, ISBN 3-7637-6200-0 . P. 289f.
7. ↑ ^{a b} globalsecurity.org , as of August 19, 2007
8. ↑ Terzibaschitsch: Combat systems of the US Navy. Koehler Verlagsgesellschaft, Hamburg 2001, ISBN 3-7822-0806-4 . P. 124.
9. ↑ Terzibaschitsch: Combat systems of the US Navyl. P. 129f.
10. ↑ A-3 Skywarrior Association - A-3 Skywarrior Assn. - A-3 PRODUCTION. Retrieved April 27, 2019 . 
11. ↑ Histories / Command Operations Report 2001 ( Memento from January 7, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF; 658 kB), as of August 18, 2007
12. ^ USS Enterprise in the Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships , as of December 2, 2008
13. ↑ Enterprise Strike Group on globalsecurity.org, as of August 18, 2007
14. ↑ Carrier Strike Group 12 (CCSG 12) ( Memento from September 24, 2015 in the Internet Archive ), as of May 18, 2014
15. ↑ Histories / Command Operations Report 1958-63 ( Memento from February 22, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF; 126 kB), as of August 19, 2007
16. ↑ Northrop Grumman Receives $ 453.3 Million Contract for Maintenance Work On USS Enterprise (CVN 65) , globalsecurity.org, as of November 28, 2008
17. ↑ navytimes.com: CNO wants faster decommissioning for Enterprise , as of April 5, 2009
18. ↑ Welt online: Sexism scandal: US captain sacked for bizarre gay videos , January 4, 2011
19. ↑ navy.mil: USFF Relieves USS Enterprise Commanding Officer , January 4, 2011
20. ^ Hugh Lessig: Enterprise Carrier Group To Deploy Next Week. Newport News Daily Press, January 8, 2011.
21. ↑ navy.mil: US Navy Disrupts Pirate Attempt In Arabian Sea , March 25, 2011
22. ↑ navy.mil: Enterprise, Navy's First Nuclear-Powered Aircraft Carrier, Inactivated , December 1, 2012
23. ^ CJ Miozzi: Say Goodbye to the USS Enterprise ... Forever. In: The Escapist Magazine. August 15, 2014, accessed August 20, 2014 . 
24. ↑ The last mission of the service provider in 20 minutes on March 13, 2012
25. ↑ MC2 (SW) Kevin F. Johnson, COMNAVAIRLANT Public Affairs: Navy Decommissions "The Big E". In: navy.mil. February 3, 2017, accessed February 4, 2017 . 
26. ↑ Christopher Diamond: Navy puts retired aircraft carrier Enterprise recycling on hold. In: navytimes.com. March 1, 2017, accessed November 1, 2017 . 
27. ↑ The expensive end of the "USS Enterprise": Over 50 years in the service of the US Navy orf.at, August 12, 2018, accessed August 13, 2018.
28. ↑ The target photo that infuriated a US admiral . August 8, 2007. Retrieved March 20, 2013.
29. ↑ US Department of Defense: Navy's Next Ford-Class Aircraft Carrier to be Named Enterprise , December 1, 2012

This version was added to the list of articles worth reading on August 29, 2007 .