Of the two vessels,
both aircraft carriers, to bear the name Enterprise in the 20th Century, The Yorktown-class
Carrier Vessel (CV) 6 is the most famous of the two. CV-6 was commissioned on 12 May 1938, 28 and a half years after
its predecessor was sold by the US Navy. This carrier would serve in almost every major Pacific Theater battle of
World War II. The vessel's aircraft would duel with Japanese attackers on 7 December 1941. CV-6 escorted its sister
ship, USS Hornet in the Doolittle Raid on Tokyo on 18 April 1942. The vessel's aircraft participated in the
sinking of three Japanese aircraft carriers in the Battle of Midway. Enterprise fought with distinction until
the end of World War II. The ship was severely damaged by a Japanese Kamikaze attack on 14 May 1945. Repairs kept
the vessel out of service until the end of the war. The carrier returned 10,000 soldiers to the United States after
the war ended. The vessel was decommissioned and placed in reserve on 17 February 1947. The vessel was reclassified
twice; first as an attack carrier (CVA) on 1 October 1952, then as a antisubmarine carrier (CVS) on August 8, 1953.
Enterprise was removed from the Naval Vessels Register on 1 October 1956. Attempts to turn the ship into a
museum in 1949 & 1956 failed. The US Navy sold it for scrap on 1 July 1958 and the ship was completely dismantled
by the end of March 1960. During the vessel's distinguished career, it received 20 of 22 combat stars and credited
with the sinking of 71 enemy ships and shooting down 911 aircraft. Enterprise was the most decorated ship of
World War II.
The second
USS Enterprise of the 20th Century was commissioned as Nuclear Powered Attack Carrier Vessel
(CVAN) 65 on 25 November 1961. CVAN-65 was the first nuclear powered aircraft carrier and longest warship built
at that time. The vessel was built with a square island that supported phased array radar and a then-complex
Electronic Warfare (EW) system. Enterprise participated in the blockade of Cuba during the “Cuban
Missile Crisis” in October 1962. During 1963 the nuclear powered aircraft carrier would circle the globe
with the nuclear powered vessels USS Long Beach and USS Bainbridge.
On 14 January 1969, a flight deck fire caused by exploding ordnance was quickly contained and extinguished. Unfortunately, 27 sailors lost their lives and 314 others were injuried. The carrier also lost 15 aircraft and was forced to have repairs conducted at the Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard, Hawaii until 1 March of the same year. CVAN-65 was the first nuclear vessel in combat where the vessel's aircraft struck targets in Vietnam during the Vietnam Conflict. The ship assisted in the evacuation of Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City) at the end of that conflict in 1975. On 30 June 1975, Enterprise was reclassified as CVN-65.
Following the vessel's ninth deployment, Enterprise travelled to Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Washington (state) for a 36-month comprehensive overhaul between 1979 and 1982. Also, between 1990 to 1994, Enterprise was refueled and overhauled at Newport News Shipbuilding, Virginia to extend the vessel's service life. Upon receiving reports of terrorists attacks in the United States on 11 September 2001, Enterprise, beginning a journey home from the Persian Gulf, reportedly, reversed course without orders and returned to the Persian Gulf, outrunning her escorts.
The United States Congress passed and President Barack Obama signed into law “The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010” on 28 October 2009. The passage of this act slated the decommissioning of the Enterprise in 2013.
Following the completion of its' final deployment, Enterprise returned to its' homeport of Norfolk Naval Station, Virginia on 4 November 2012 and was declared ‘inactive’ on 1 December 2012; ending an unprecedented 51 years of service to the United States of America and its' Navy as the nation's longest serving combat vessel at the time. While CVN-65 was an ‘active’ naval vessel, she was commanded by 23 officers between 1961 and 2012. As Enterprise was “de-fueled”, the vessel was under the command of Captain Todd Beltz beginning 15 October 2015 as the vessel's 24th and final Commanding Officer.
Following the “de-fueling” process which included the removal of critical and/or sensitive hardware from the vessel's structure, USS Enterprise was decommissioned as a vessel of the United States Navy on 3 February 2017; ending the final watch of one of the most remarkable and complex ships the world had ever seen. During the decommissioning ceremony, it was announced that steel from CVN-65 would be used to build the keel of its successor, CVN-80. Unfortunately, the extensive nature of the “de-fueling” process left CVN-65 in a condition unsuitable to serve as a muesum. Originally, what remains of the vessel was to be dismantled using enviromentally responsible processes. Until those processes were established the remains of the eighth U.S. Navy ship to bear the name Enteprise would remain in storage in Newport News, Virginia. Recently, however, the United States Navy has chosen to have a commercial facility to dismantle the remains of the aircraft carrier with the contract for the task being awarded in June 2025. It is expected to take five years to completely dismantle the remains of the fabled vessel.
Despite the
decommissioning of CVN-65, the future of the name Enterprise within the annuals of the United States Navy
is secure. During the inactivation ceremony of CVN-65 on 1 December 2012, the Secretary of the Navy, Ray Mabus,
announced in his recorded message that the third ship of the Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carriers,
already classified as CVN-80, will be named as Enterprise, making the vessel the ninth ship, and the
third aircraft carrier of the United States Navy to bear the illustrious name once it is commissioned. Construction
began on 21 August 2017 with the first steel cutting ceremony and the keel was laid on 05 April 2022 with the
official keel-laying ceremony on 27 August of the same year. The future Enterprise is being constructed
with 16,000 kg (35,000 pounds) of recycled steel from its immediate predecessor. It was expected that the vessel
would be launched in November 2025 however due production disruptions from the COVID-19 pandemic and lingering
industrial supply chain issues, CVN-80 may not be commissioned until July 2030 delayed for more than two years
from the original commissioning date of March 2028.