USS Enterprise (CVN-65)
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The USS Enterprise (CVN-65) was the world's first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier and the eighth U.S. Naval vessel to bear the name. As of 2006, the ship is homeported at Norfolk, Virginia, and scheduled for retirement in 2013. Her intended replacement is the as-yet-to-be-named CVN-21 class supercarrier CVN-78.
Enterprise was originally designated as CVA(N)-65 - the 'N' standing for nuclear, but later was changed to its current designation.
Like her predecessor of World War II fame, she is nicknamed the "Big E" and her name is well known throughout the world. At 1,123 feet (342 m), she remains the world's longest aircraft carrier, though her 89,600 tons are surpassed by the Nimitz class. She is also the only aircraft carrier to house more than two nuclear reactors. Enterprise
Enterprise was intended to be the first of a class of six, but construction costs ballooned and the remaining vessels were never laid down resulting in her being the only ship of her class. CV-66 was ordered as a conventional Kitty Hawk-class aircraft carrier. CVN-67, with a new reactor design, was reordered during construction as the conventionally-powered John F. Kennedy. Series production of nuclear carriers finally commenced with USS Nimitz (CVN-68), the first of 10 Nimitz supercarriers. Because of her expense, Enterprise was launched without weapon systems (she was originally intended to receive two twin Terrier missile launchers); she was later refit with three Vulcan mounts and two NATO Sea Sparrow Missile (NSSM) launchers. In the 2000s her armament was refit again, giving up one Vulcan mount and gaining two RIM-116 Rolling Airframe Missile launchers.
Contents
History
- 1958 Enterprise's keel was laid at Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Company.
- 24 September 1960: She was launched, sponsored by Mrs. W. B. Franke, wife of the former Secretary of the Navy.
- 25 November 1961: She was commissioned, with Captain Vincent P. DePoix in command.
1960 to 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.
- 30 October 1961: Three TF Traders of VR-40 took off from her deck to transport VIPs to the mainland after observing sea trials.
- January 1962: The first air operations were conducted by Enterprise as Commander George Talley made an arrested landing and catapult launch in an F8U Crusader.
- 20 February 1962: Enterprise played a role in the space age she' 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.
- August 1962: Enterprise joined the Sixth Fleet in the Mediterranean sea.
- October 1962: She returned to Norfolk, Virginia.
Soon after, Enterprise was dispatched to its first international crisis. For some months, the United States had been flying U-2 reconnaissance planes over Cuba, a small island nation 90 miles (145 km) off 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.
- 22 October 1962: In a televised address to the nation, President John F. Kennedy announced 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.
- 24 October 1962: Enterprise and other ships in the Second Fleet began a "strict quarantine of all offensive military equipment under shipment to Cuba".
- 25 October 1962: The first Soviet ship was stopped.
- 28 October 1962: Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev agreed to remove the missiles and dismantle the missile bases in Cuba.
- 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.
- 1963: Enterprise's second deployment to the Mediterranean.
- 1964: Enterprise's third deployment to the Mediterranean.
- 13 May 1964: The world's first nuclear-powered task force was formed when USS Long Beach and USS Bainbridge joined Enterprise. This was during the third Mediterranean deployment.
- 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. The ports the Enterprise visited during this trip were Karachi, Pakistan, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and Sydney, Australia. In October, Enterprise returned to Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company for its first refueling and overhaul.
- in November 1965: The Big E was transferred to the Pacific's Seventh Fleet.
- 2 December 1965: She 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. Enterprise launched 125 sorties on the first day, unleashing 167 tons of bombs and rockets on the enemy's supply lines.
- 3 December 1965: She set a record of 165 strike sorties in a single day.
- 23 January 1968: 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 near South Korea for almost a month.
Sailors aboard Enterprise battle a massive ordnance fire triggered by a Zuni rocket.
- 14 January 1969: At approximately 8:19 am, 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 brought 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.
- early March 1969: Repairs to the ship were completed at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.
- 14 April 1969: 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 responded by activating Task Force 71 to protect such flights over those international waters in the future. Initially, the Task Force consisted of the carriers Enterprise, Ticonderoga, Ranger and Hornet with a screen of cruisers and destroyers.
1970 to 1979
- 1970: Enterprise returned to Newport News Shipbuilding for an overhaul and her second refueling.
- 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 July were disrupted when the carriers on station evaded three 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.
- 1 to 8 August 1971: Dual-carrier operations.
- 9 to 31 August 1971: Enterprise was alone on station
- This resulted 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.
- 1 to 4 September 1971: Enterprise was in operations on Yankee Station.
- 4 to 26 September 1971: Oriskany was in operations on Yankee Station.
- 27 to 30 September 1971: Midway was in operations on Yankee Station.
- One day in September 1971 was a two-carrier day. This month produced 1,243 strike sorties.
- 1 to 10 October 1971: On Yankee Station, Midway was on single-carrier operation.
- 11 to 30 October 1971: On Yankee Station, Enterprise was on single-carrier operation.
- 20 October 1971: The air warfare posture in North Vietnam was altered through deployment of six MiG aircraft south of 20º latitude north — two each at Vinh, Quan Lang and Bai Thuong.
- November 1971: Alternating on Yankee Station, Oriskany, Constellation and Enterprise provided 22 two-carrier days on the line, delivering 1,766 ordnance-bearing strike sorties, 12 into North Vietnam and 9 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.
- 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 army.
- 23 October through 17 December 1972: The bombing halt. Enterprise alternated with other carriers on Yankee Station during the bombing halt, and remained on station. 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.
- December 1972: The Paris peace talks stalemated.
- 18 December 1972: The United States resumed bombing campaigns above the 20th parallel under the name Linebacker II. 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.
- 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.
- 29 December 1972: The North Vietnamese returned to the peace table. Linebacker II ended.
- 23 January 1973: The Vietnam cease fire was announced.
- 27 January 1973: The Vietnam cease-fire came into effect and Oriskany, America, Enterprise and Ranger cancelled all combat sorties into North and South Vietnam.
- 28 January 1973: 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.
- After 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.
- 18 March 1974: The first operational F-14 aircraft made its maiden landings and take-offs from Enterprise.
- September 1974: Enterprise became the first carrier to deploy with the new fighter plane when she made her seventh western Pacific (WESTPAC) deployment.
- 6 February 1975: Typhoon Cervaise struck the island nation of Mauritius.
- 9 February 1975: Enterprise responded to calls for disaster relief from Mauritius.
- 12 February 1975: She arrived at Port Louis.
- 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 drinkable water support to the stricken area.
- 19 April 1975: Enterprise, Midway, Coral Sea, Hancock, and Okinawa deployed to waters off Vietnam 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.
- 29 April: In 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.
- 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.
- 1975: Enterprise began its eighth WESTPAC deployment. During this:-
- 27 February 1977: The President of Uganda made public derogatory remarks against the USA and ordered all Americans in Uganda to meet with him. Enterprise and her escort ships were directed to operate off the east African coast
1980 to 1989
- 1978: Enterprise's ninth WESTPAC deployment.
- January 1979: Enterprise sailed to Puget Sound Naval Shipyard for a 30-month comprehensive overhaul. During this overhaul, the ship's superstructure is modified, removing the SCANFAR radars and the inverted cone-shaped top section which was 3 stories high, comprising the 013, 014 and 015 levels.
- 1982: Enterprise's 10th WESTPAC deployment.
- 1984: Enterprise's 11th WESTPAC deployment.
- November 2, 1985: Struck Bishops Rock on the Cortes Bank during exercises damaging outer hull and propeller. Continued operations and later went to dry dock for repairs.
- 1986: Enterprise's 12th WESTPAC deployment.
- April 28, 1986: Enterprise was the first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier to transit the Suez Canal. She went 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.
- April 1988: Enterprise, on its 13th deployment, was assigned to Operation Earnest Will, escorting reflagged Kuwaiti oil tankers in the Persian Gulf while stationed in the North Arabian Sea.
- 14 April 1988: Samuel B. Roberts struck an Iranian mine in international waters.
- 18 April 1988: The USE launched Operation Praying Mantis, retaliating against Iranian targets. 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.
- September 1989: Enterprise began her 14th overseas deployment.
- early December 1989: Enterprise and 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 to 1999
- March 1990: Enterprise completed its highly successful around-the-world deployment by arriving in Norfolk, Virginia. Enterprise had safely steamed more than 43,000 miles (69,000 km) from its long-time homeport of Alameda, California.
- October 1990: Enterprise moved to Newport News Shipbuilding for refueling and the Navy's largest complex overhaul ever attempted.
- 27 September 1994: Enterprise returned to sea for sea trials, during which she performed an extended full power run as fast as when she was new.
- 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.
- 20 December 1996 Enterprise completed its deployment.
- February 1997: Enterprise entered Newport News Shipbuilding for an extended selective restrictive availability lasting four-and-a-half months.
- 6 November 1998: Following workups, Enterprise departed on its 16th overseas deployment, this time with Carrier Air Wing Three (CVW-3).
- 8 November 1998 night: Shortly after the start of the deployment, 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 members 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 (340 km²) on the water and 700 nautical miles (1300 km) in the air.
- 23 November 1998: Following a high-speed Atlantic transit, Big E relieved Dwight D. Eisenhower in the Persian Gulf.
- 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.
- 16 to 20 December 1998: Just days after the stop in Jebel Ali, the Enterprise battlegroup spearheaded Operation Desert Fox, smashing Iraqi military targets with more than 300 Tomahawk land attack missiles and 691,000 pounds (313 tonnes) of ordnance. The 70-hour assault was carried out by Enterprise, Gettysburg, Stout, Nicholson and ''Miami. The operation was intended to disrupt the construction of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction, but instead captured world attention as a controversial act of war.
- 23 December 1998: Secretary of Defense William Cohen flew out to the carrier , 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.
- early March 1999: On a short recall tether, Enterprise and CVW-3 pulled into port at Trieste, Italy for their last Mediterranean port visit before returning to the Persian Gulf. They relieved Carl Vinson 14 March 1999 and took over the helm of Southern Watch.
- 6 May 1999: Enterprise returned home.
2000 to present
- 25 April 2001: Enterprise began its 17th overseas deployment, with Carrier Air Wing Eight (CVW-8).
- 18 to 28 June 2001: The carrier and four escorts participated in the Joint Maritime Course 01-2 (JMC 01-2), a British Royal Navy joint and combined warfare training exercise in the North Sea near the Hebrides Islands, as well as land and airspace around Scotland.
- 11 September 2001: Enterprise was beginning her voyage home from the Persian 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. Enterprise turned around and headed back to the waters off Southwest Asia.
- 7 October 2001: the U.S. launched air attacks against al Qaeda terrorist training camps and Taliban military installations in Afghanistan. The 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. Over three weeks, aircraft from Enterprise flew nearly 700 missions and dropped hundreds of thousands of pounds of ordnance over Afghanistan.
- Late October 2001: Enterprise left Southwest Asia.
- 10 November 2001: Enterprise arrived at its homeport of Norfolk, Virginia, about two weeks later than originally planned. During its last day at sea, the ship hosted a live two-hour broadcast of ABC's's Good Morning America.
- 7 January 2002: Enterprise entered the Norfolk Naval Shipyard for a scheduled one-year Extended Docking Selected Restricted Availability (EDSRA).
- Summer 2004: The ship participated in Summer Surge 2004 and several multinational exercises.
Miscellaneous
- Partially due to her association with her famous World War II forebear and partially due to the association of her name with the television series Star Trek, Enterprise is quite possibly the most famous vessel in the entire United States Navy.
- Because of the huge cost of her construction, Enterprise was launched and commissioned without the planned four Terrier missile launchers; these were never installed and the ship's self-defense suite instead consisted of four RIM-7 Sea Sparrow launchers and four Vulcan Phalanx Mk. 71 gun mounts; two of the Mk. 71 mounts were later replaced with RIM-116 Rolling Airframe Missile launchers.
- 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. Enterprise also has a more hydrodynamic hull than later Nimitz class carriers; these later carriers were designed to maximize fuel spaces at the expense of absolute top speed. Enterprise was the first nuclear powered aircraft carrier and the rumors from her crew in the 80s was that they underestimated the power from the two reactors per screw giving her a higher speed than later carriers. Bow waves making it up to the flight deck were reported and ability to distance themselves from any support ships added to the rumors about her capabilities. Given the tactical advantage with knowing her speed and range, the published top speeds are most definitely misinformation. - 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. - Enterprise was supposed to appear in the film , but she was at sea at the time of filming. Instead, the carrier USS Ranger CV-61 played the part of the Enterprise. This is most visible in a background shot with Nichelle Nichols in the foreground; while the actress's hair mostly blocks out the older carrier's conventional rectangular island, the producers are unable to completely mask the ship's structural differences from the newer vessel (shot from the starboard side, the two elevators abaft the island are easily visible, vs. two elevators ahead of the island on Enterprise) Since her engineering spaces were deeply classified at the time, it is unlikely that the producers would have been given access even had she been in port.
- Parts of the movie Top Gun were set aboard the Enterprise; as in Star Trek IV, these were in fact filmed aboard Ranger (which between the two movies had a busy film career in 1984–1985)
- However, Enterprise was used in the filming of the movie version of Tom Clancy's novel Hunt for Red October. Interestingly, the novel makes no mention of Enterprise; rather, the U.S. carrier Kennedy had control over all Atlantic air operations. Despite the fact that in the original novel it was supposed to be the Enterprise[[Citing sources citation needed]]
- Enterprise had a small role in the Tom Clancy novel Debt of Honor; at the end of a joint US-JMSDF exercise Enterprise was intentionally damaged by Japanese anti-submarine torpedoes. Enterprise was towed back to Pearl Harbor, where she remained for the remander of the novel.
See also
- List of aircraft carriers
- List of aircraft carriers of the United States Navy
- Carrier battle group
- Modern naval tactics
- Aerial warfare
- Air superiority
- Air supremacy
References
- United States Naval Aviation, 1910-1995, published by the Naval Historical Center
- USS Enterprise (CVN 65) public affairs office
- This article includes text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships''.
External links
- [USS Enterprise official website]
- [AO3 Smitty's USS Enterprise (CVN-65) Page]
- [USS Enterprise webpage]
- [The Big E Reactor & Engineering Department Alumni]
- [CNN.com/US: USS Enterprise arrives home]
- [Lawrence Journal-World: Returning air wing gets hero's welcome]
- [Maritimequest USS Enterprise CVN-65 Photo Gallery]
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