USS Enterprise

Not to be confused with USS Enterprise CV-6 or USS Enterprise CVN-80

## USS Enterprise (CVN-65)

USS Enterprise underway

**USS *Enterprise* (CVN-65)**, formerly **CVA(N)-65**, is a decommissioned United States Navy aircraft carrier. In 1958, she was the first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier and the eighth United States naval vessel to bear the name. Like her predecessor of World War II fame, she is nicknamed "Big E". At 1,123 feet (342 m), she is the longest naval vessel ever built and the only ship of a class that was originally planned to have five other ships. Her 93,284-long-ton (94,781 t) displacement ranks her class as the third-heaviest carrier class, after the *Nimitz* class and the *Gerald R. Ford* class. *Enterprise* had a crew of some 4,600 service members.

*Enterprise* was, at the time of inactivation, the third-oldest commissioned vessel in the United States Navy after the wooden-hulled USS *Constitution* and USS *Pueblo*. She was inactivated on 1 December 2012, and officially decommissioned on 3 February 2017, after over 55 years of service. She was stricken from the *Naval Vessel Register* the same day.

The name has been adopted by the future *Gerald R. Ford*-class aircraft carrier USS *Enterprise* (CVN-80).

### History

On February 4, 1958, *Enterprise*'s keel was laid at Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Company in Shipway 11. On 24 September 1960, the ship was launched, sponsored by Mrs. W. B. Franke, wife of the former Secretary of the Navy. On 25 November 1961, *Enterprise* was commissioned, with Captain Vincent P. de Poix, formerly of Fighting Squadron 6 on her predecessor, in command. On 12 January 1962, the ship made her maiden voyage starting an extensive shakedown cruise and a lengthy series of tests and training exercises designed to determine the full capabilities of the nuclear powered super carrier. A full-speed run with her escort, USS *Laffey* (DD-724), demonstrated the sheer power and speed of *Enterprise'*s novel nuclear propulsion plant; afterwards, *Laffey* radioed, "You win the race. Fuel gone, topside salted, crew wet, and engines tired." On 20 February 1962, *Enterprise* was a tracking and measuring station for the flight of *Friendship 7*, the Project Mercury space capsule in which Lieutenant Colonel John H. Glenn, Jr. made the first American orbital spaceflight. *Enterprise* completed shakedown activities at Naval Station Norfolk on 5 April 1962.

On 25 June 1962, *Enterprise* joined the 2nd Fleet on her initial operational deployment, carrying out training off the US East Coast, and took part in Exercise *LantFlex 2-62*, a nuclear strike exercise, in conjunction with the carrier *Forrestal* from 6–12 July. In August, the carrier joined the 6th Fleet in the Mediterranean Sea, returning to Norfolk, Virginia on 11 October 1962.

In October 1962, *Enterprise* was dispatched to her first international crisis. Following revelations that the Soviet Union was constructing nuclear missile launch sites on Cuba, President John F. Kennedy ordered the United States Department of Defense to conduct a large-scale buildup. Among the preparations, the U.S. Atlantic Fleet readied large numbers of its ships. On 22 October, President Kennedy ordered a naval and air "quarantine" (blockade) on shipment of offensive military equipment to Cuba and demanded the Soviets dismantle the missile sites there. Five Second Fleet carriers participated in the blockade – *Enterprise* (as part of Task Force 135), *Independence*, *Essex*, *Lake Champlain*, and *Randolph*, backed by shore-based aircraft. By 28 October, the crisis was averted, after the United States secretly agreed to remove nuclear missiles from Italy and Turkey.

On 19 December 1962, a Grumman E-2 Hawkeye was catapulted off *Enterprise* in the first shipboard test of a nose-wheel launch bar designed to replace the catapult bridle. Minutes later, a second launch with a launch bar was made by a Grumman A-6 Intruder, demonstrating one of the primary design goals of reducing launch intervals.

In 1963–1964, now under command of Captain Frederick H. Michaelis, *Enterprise* made her second and third deployments to the Mediterranean. During her third deployment, the carrier was part of Operation Sea Orbit, the world's first nuclear-powered task force with the cruisers *Long Beach* and *Bainbridge*, together forming a convoy to sail around the world. On 25 February 1964, a crewman of the Finnish merchant ship *Verna Paulin* was injured in a fall while the ship was in the vicinity of Souda Bay, Greece. *Enterprise* answered her call for assistance. A surgeon was transferred to *Verna Paulin* by helicopter. In October 1964, *Enterprise* returned to Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company for her first Refueling and Overhaul. During this refit, her eight nuclear reactors, which had powered *Enterprise* as she steamed over 200,000 nmi (230,000 mi; 370,000 km), were refueled, two of her propeller shafts were replaced, and the ship's electronics were updated. *Enterprise* emerged from her refit on 22 June 1965.

In November 1965, the Enterprise was transferred to the Seventh Fleet, home-ported at NAS Alameda, California. The following month, on 2 December, she became the first nuclear-powered ship to engage in combat when she launched aircraft against the Viet Cong near Biên Hòa City. The ship led Carrier Division Three, with *Enterprise* (redesignated **CVA(N)-65**), which had Carrier Air Wing Nine (CVW-9) aboard, *Bainbridge*; *Barry*; and *Samuel B. Roberts*. *Enterprise* launched 125 sorties on the first day, unleashing 167 short tons (151 t) of bombs and rockets on the enemy's supply lines. On 3 December, she set a record of 165 strike sorties in a single day.

In January 1966, the aircraft carrier was continuing operations as a unit of Task Force 77 in the Gulf of Tonkin, as the flagship of Rear Admiral Henry L. Miller, Commander Carrier Division Three. Under the command of Captain James L. Holloway III, she was carrying a complement of approximately 350 officers and 4,800 men. Four West coast squadrons of CVW-9, commanded by Commander F. T. Brown, were embarked; VF-92, under Commander E. A. Rawsthorne, and VF-96, under Commander R. D. Norman, flying F-4B Phantom IIs; VA-93 under Commander A. J. Monger, and VA-94, under Commander O. E. Krueger, flying A-4C Skyhawks. With these squadrons were three others based on the East Coast; VA-36, under Commander J. E. Marshall, VA-76, under Commander J. B. Linder, flying A-4C Skyhawks; and RVAH-7, under Commander K. Enny, flying RA-5C Vigilantes. Rear Admiral Miller was relieved as Commander Carrier Division Three by Rear Admiral T. J. Walker on 16 February 1966. During the change of command ceremony on the flight deck, Rear Admiral Miller praised the ship's performance in his farewell remarks and presented air medals to more than 100 pilots and flight officers.

During the morning of 14 January 1969, while being escorted by the destroyers *Benjamin Stoddert* and *Rogers*, a MK-32 Zuni rocket loaded on a parked F-4 Phantom exploded when ordnance cooked off after being overheated by an aircraft start unit. The explosion set off fires and additional explosions across the flight deck.

The fires were brought under control relatively quickly (when compared with previous carrier flight deck fires), but 27 sailors were killed, and an additional 314 sailors were injured. The fire destroyed 15 aircraft, and the resulting damage forced *Enterprise* to put in for repairs at Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard, Hawaii, primarily to repair the flight deck's armored plating. On 1 March 1969, repairs to the ship were completed and the ship proceeded on her scheduled western Pacific (WESTPAC) deployment to Vietnam and the Tonkin Gulf. These destinations would be delayed by events in the eastern Sea of Japan.

The ship tied up at Leyte Pier, U.S. Naval Base Subic Bay, on the evening of 8 December 1966. Loading of supplies for the first line period was started immediately. Rear Admiral Walter L Curtis, Jr, Commander Carrier Division Nine, brought his flag aboard. In company with *Manley*, *Gridley* and *Bainbridge*, *Enterprise* sailed for Yankee Station on 15 December, and took up her position there three days later.

When *Enterprise* departed the Gulf of Tonkin on 20 June 1967, her pilots had flown more than 13,400 battle missions during 132 combat days of operations. (Enterprise Command History 1967, 29) As Vice Admiral Hyland stated in his congratulatory statement, "the entire Air Wing Nine has earned a resounding 'Well Done'." The carrier had steamed 67,630 miles in operations with the Seventh Fleet. She arrived in Subic Bay on 22 June and departed on 25 June for return to Alameda on 6 July 1967.

At Alameda, *Enterprise* began an overhaul. Captain Kent Lee relieved Captain James L. Holloway as commanding officer in ceremonies on 11 July 1967. Shipyard work was completed on 5 September 1967, and after completing sea trials on 7 September, *Enterprise* steamed south from San Francisco Bay to San Diego to reembark CVW-9 and get underway for refresher training off the California coast.
*Enterprise* was visiting Sasebo, Japan in January 1968 when the US intelligence ship USS *Pueblo* was seized by North Korea, and she served as flagship of TF 71 (Rear Admiral Epes), which had been formed in response and they operated near South Korean waters for almost a month, during Operation Formation Star. When diplomatic negotiations had defused tensions, *Enterprise* and her escorts were released to head south to Yankee Station on 16 February 1968. *Enterprise* returned to NAS Alameda on 18 July 1968, having completed 12,839 catapult launches, with 12,246 sorties – 9,182 of them combat. After a short overhaul in Puget Sound Naval Shipyard from 29 July to 26 September, she returned to Alameda to prepare for another deployment to Vietnam.

In 1969–1970, *Enterprise* returned to Newport News Shipbuilding and went through an overhaul and her second refitting. In January 1971, she completed sea trials with newly designed nuclear reactor cores that contained enough energy for 10 years. On 11 June 1971 *Enterprise*, with Captain Forrest S. Petersen now in command and Carrier Air Wing Fourteen (CVW-14) onboard, then departed for Vietnam again.

In 1982, the carrier made her 10th WESTPAC deployment. In April 1983, *Enterprise* ran aground on a sandbar in San Francisco Bay while returning from deployment and remained stuck there for several hours. Coincidentally, George Takei, who played Mr. Sulu, helmsman of the fictional starship *Enterprise*, was aboard at the time as a guest of the navy. Even though groundings and collisions are usually career-ending events for U.S. warship captains, the captain at the time, Robert J. Kelly, who had already been selected for promotion to commodore, eventually became a four-star admiral and Commander-in-Chief of the U.S. Pacific Fleet.

In 1985, the Enterprise began training for her 11th WESTPAC deployment. Late at night on 2 November 1985 with Captain Robert L. Leuschner, Jr. on the bridge, she struck Bishop Rock on the Cortes Bank during flight exercises, damaging the outer hull with a gash more than 100 feet in length and knocking out of one screw, a chip whose size was illustrated with a photograph of a Navy diver stretched out and reclining inside the notch. The cost of repairing the damage was $17 million, and Leuschner was relieved of command on 27 January 1986 as a result of the incident, by Captain Robert J. Spane.

In 1986, the carrier made her 12th WESTPAC deployment, leaving on 15 January 1986. She led Battle Group FOXTROT, including *Truxtun*, *Arkansas*, *O'Brien*, *Reasoner*, *Lewis B. Puller*, *McClusky*, *David R. Ray* and ''Wabash''. The Battle Group sailed directly for the Indian Ocean, with stops in Hawaii, Subic Bay, and Singapore. On 28 April 1986, *Enterprise* became 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. *Enterprise* entered the Mediterranean to support "Operation El Dorado Canyon", the US bombing of Libya. It was the ship's first visit to the Mediterranean in more than 22 years. During the deployment, Rear Admiral J.T. Howe was relieved as Commander Cruiser-Destroyer Group 3 by Rear Admiral Paul David Miller.

In February 1988, *Enterprise* underwent her 13th deployment and was assigned to Operation Earnest Will, escorting reflagged Kuwaiti oil tankers in the Persian Gulf. On 14 April, another Earnest Will ship, *Samuel B. Roberts*, struck an Iranian mine in international waters. In response, the U.S. launched Operation Praying Mantis against Iranian targets, starting with two Iranian oil platforms that were being used as support bases for Iranian attacks on merchant shipping. Aircraft from *Enterprise*'s CVW-11 bombed two Iranian frigates, helping to sink one and damaged the other, and provided other air support for the strike.

In September 1989, *Enterprise* left Alameda and began her 14th overseas deployment, an around-the-world cruise that would end at the ship's new homeport of Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia. In 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.

In April 1990, *Enterprise* completed her around-the-world deployment, arriving in Norfolk, Virginia, after having steamed more than 43,000 mi (69,000 km) (nautical). In October, the carrier moved to Newport News Shipbuilding for refueling and the Navy's largest complex overhaul refit ever attempted. On 27 September 1994, *Enterprise* returned to sea for sea trials, now with Captain Richard J. Naughton in command, during which she performed an extended full power run as fast as when she was new.

On 28 June 1996, *Enterprise* began her 15th overseas deployment. The carrier enforced no-fly zones in Bosnia as part of Operation Joint Endeavor and over Iraq as part of Operation Southern Watch. The deployment ended in December 1996, which also marked the end of active service for the Grumman A-6 Intruder from the Navy. February 1997, *Enterprise* entered Newport News Shipbuilding for an extended selective restrictive availability lasting four-and-a-half months.
In November 1998, following workups, *Enterprise* departed on her 16th overseas deployment, with CVW-3 embarked. On the night of 8 November, shortly after the start of the deployment, a Northrop Grumman EA-6 Prowler crashed into a Lockheed S-3 Viking on the carrier's flight deck. The mishap occurred as the EA-6B was landing during night carrier qualifications, striking the folded wings of the S-3, which had not yet cleared the landing area of the flight deck.

The four-man crew of the EA-6B perished when the aircraft hit the water, but the two crew members of the S-3 ejected. A fire broke out on the flight deck but was quickly extinguished by the flight deck crew. Three of the four members of the Prowler crew were lost at sea, and the remains of the fourth were recovered shortly after the crash. The crew of the Viking were rushed to the Naval Medical Center Portsmouth, Virginia. There were no other significant injuries. An exhaustive search for three missing EA-6B Prowler crew members was suspended after nearly 24 hours.

On 23 November 1998, *Enterprise* relieved *Dwight D. Eisenhower* in the Persian Gulf.

During a port call in Jebel Ali, UAE, the carrier hosted former President George H. W. Bush and enjoyed a live concert by Grammy Award-winning rock group Hootie & the Blowfish.

In December 1998, *Enterprise* battlegroup spearheaded Operation Desert Fox, destroying Iraqi military targets with more than 300 Tomahawk land attack missiles and 691,000 lb (346 short tons; 313 t) of ordnance. The 70-hour assault was carried out by *Enterprise*, *Gettysburg*, *Stout*, *Nicholson* and *Miami*.

Shortly after the Račak massacre and failure of Yugoslavian peace talks in Rambouillet, France, *Enterprise* quickly left a port visit in Cannes, France, to return to the Adriatic.

In early March 1999, *Enterprise* returned to the Persian Gulf to relieve *Carl Vinson* in support of Operation Southern Watch, returning to Norfolk in May 1999.

During the 1998–1999 deployment, *Enterprise* steamed more than 50,000 nmi (93,000 km; 58,000 mi) and spent 151 days underway. *Enterprise* Battle Group was the first to deploy with IT-21, which allowed unprecedented internal and external communication capabilities, including Internet, email, and television.

In March 2001, *Enterprise* took part in the exercise *JTFEX 01-2* in the Caribbean Sea. *U24*, a Type 206 class diesel-electric submarine with the German Navy, managed to "sink" the *Enterprise* by firing flares and taking a photograph through its periscope.

On 25 April 2001, *Enterprise* began her 17th overseas deployment with CVW-8 embarked and Captain James A. Winnefeld, Jr. in command. From 18–28 June, the carrier and four escorts participated in an exercise with the Royal Navy in a joint and combined warfare training exercise in the North Sea, near the Hebrides and in Scotland.

*Enterprise* was beginning her voyage home from the Persian Gulf when the September 11 attacks were carried out. Without orders, the carrier returned to the waters off Southwest Asia near the Persian Gulf, outrunning her escorts. In October 2001, the United States launched air attacks against Al-Qaeda 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 over 800,000 lb (400 short tons; 360 t) of ordnance over Afghanistan. On 10 November, the carrier arrived at her home port of Norfolk, Virginia, 16 days later than originally planned. During her last day at sea, the ship hosted a live two-hour broadcast of ABC's *Good Morning America*. Garth Brooks performed a concert with Jewel from *Enterprise* on 21 November while she was docked in Norfolk, Virginia. The concert was carried live on CBS. On Pearl Harbor Day (7 December 2001), President George W. Bush addressed the sailors of *Enterprise* from its flight deck.

In January 2002, *Enterprise* entered the Norfolk Naval Shipyard, Portsmouth, Virginia for a scheduled one-year Extended Dry Docking Selected Restricted Availability.

From September 2003 to February 2004, the ship deployed to relieve the four carriers that were on station during the invasion of Iraq. Enterprise's role was to provide continued air support for Operation Iraqi Freedom. The fully repaired *Cole* was a member of her escort group at this time. A USO tour was held aboard while at sea, with wrestler Kurt Angle, NASCAR racer Mike Wallace, and comedian Robin Williams giving talks and performances. The ship made several port-calls to Jebel Ali, a stop in Bahrain (during which actor Ben Affleck visited the ship), and Naples, Italy and Cartegna, Spain on the way home. Admiral James Stavridis commanded the battle group at this time with Captain Eric Neidlinger as *Enterprise*'s commanding officer.
2005 saw the ship in for another routine shipyard overhaul at Newport News Shipyard in Newport News, Virginia. Departing the dock after this yard period, *Enterprise* ran through a sand bar, causing all eight reactors to shut down, leaving the ship adrift on emergency power for nearly three hours before she was tugged back to her pier at Norfolk Naval Base. It took about three days for the ship's nuclear machinists to clear her condensers of river mud.

In May 2006, *Enterprise* departed for a six-month deployment, operating in the 6th, 5th and 7th Fleet areas in a world-tour, supporting Operations Iraqi and Enduring Freedom, and visiting ports in Dubai, Hong Kong, and crossing the line. She returned to Norfolk on 18 November 2006.

On 19 December 2007, the carrier returned home after a six-month deployment in the Persian Gulf.

In April 2008, *Enterprise* entered the Northrop-Grumman Newport News shipyard for a scheduled 18-month Extended Docking Selected Restricted Availability, with a projected completion date of September 2009. As maintenance was performed, costs continued to rise above projections and the completion date repeatedly slid. *Enterprise*, the oldest active combat vessel in the Navy, was scheduled to be decommissioned as late as 2014. On 6 April 2009, Admiral Gary Roughead, Chief of Naval Operations, said that he was seeking a congressional dispensation to speed up the process to decommission *Enterprise*. Under this new timetable, the ship would complete one final deployment before being decommissioned in late 2012 or early 2013. This would temporarily reduce the U.S. Navy to having only ten active aircraft carriers through the launch of the *Gerald R. Ford* in 2015. In October 2009, the House and Senate Armed Services Committees agreed with the recommendation, approving the decommissioning of *Enterprise* in 2013 after 51 years of service.