Fighter Sweep
  • Home
  • Military Aviation
  • Air Force
  • Navy
  • Spec Ops
  • Expert Analysis
  • Careers
  • Photos
Home Previous Post Next Post
Follow @fightersweep

Navy to Decommission World’s 1st Nuclear Aircraft Carrier – Enterprise CVN 65. The Big E!

January 26, 2017
FighterSweep Staff 5 Comments History, Military Aviation, Navy, News, Video

The US Navy announced they will officially decommission and give a final farewell to the aircraft carrier Enterprise (CVN 65) in a ceremony on February 3rd. The event is closed to the public but the Navy will post the ceremony on their Facebook page.

The Enterprise played a role in many major events in US history from the Cuban missile crisis to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. The carrier entered service in 1962 and was affectionately named “The Big E” by its crew. Serving for approximately 50 years the Enterprise’s homeport was Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia.

The USS Enterprise has spent the past several years being defueled and dismantled at Newport News Shipbuilding, the shipyard where it was built and refueled.

The decommissioning ceremony is a long-honored naval tradition that retires a ship from service through a variety of ceremonial services, including lowering the ship’s commissioning pennant.

The carrier was the eighth Navy ship to bear the name Enterprise, which dates to the Revolutionary War. The Navy has said a future Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carrier also will be called Enterprise. – The Virginian Pilot

Watch as the USS Enterprise is Moved Into Dry Dock

The Enterprise was moved to Dry Dock 11 at the Newport News Shipbuilding. The ship was taken out of service in December, 2012 but is still an active US Navy ship until the official decommissioning ceremony on February 3rd.

The Enterprise was the only ship of its class and also the longest US Navy ship ever built at 1,123 feet. Six total carriers of the Enterprise class were proposed to be built but never were due to the high costs involved. She is the only carrier with four rudders and has eight Westinghouse A2W nuclear reactors.

USS_Enterprise_(CVN-65)_high_speed_bow_view

Port bow view of the US Navy USS ENTERPRISE (CVN 65), underway at sea at high speed.

Featured image of Operation Sea Orbit by the US Navy. On 31 July 1964, USS Enterprise (CVAN-65) (bottom), USS Long Beach (CGN-9) (center) and USS Bainbridge (DLGN-25) (top) formed “Task Force One,” the first nuclear-powered task force, and sailed 26,540 nmi (49,190 km) around the world in 65 days. Accomplished without a single refueling or replenishment, “Operation Sea Orbit” demonstrated the capability of nuclear-powered surface ships.

Related Posts

  • Navy to retire USS Truman aircraft carrier 25 years earlier than expectedNavy to retire USS Truman aircraft carrier 25 years earlier than expected
  • Watch Northrop Grumman’s experimental X-47B in action: America’s UCAV UFOWatch Northrop Grumman’s experimental X-47B in action: America’s UCAV UFO
  • Watch: Incredible footage of a massive C-130 landing and taking off from a carrier at seaWatch: Incredible footage of a massive C-130 landing and taking off from a carrier at sea
  • Watch: Video shot inside the cockpit of a Super Hornets as they make high-speed passes over the USS EnterpriseWatch: Video shot inside the cockpit of a Super Hornets as they make high-speed passes over the USS Enterprise
  • Exercise Chesapeake 2018: Integrating a French Navy Air Wing with the US NavyExercise Chesapeake 2018: Integrating a French Navy Air Wing with the US Navy

Find Us on Facebook

FighterSweep.com

Sign Up
for the Newsletter

What’s Hot

  • blue-angels-reporter-blacks-out-passes-out
    December 5, 2017

    Watch: News Reporter Blacks Out on Ride with US Navy Blue Angels

  • February 18, 2015

    Welcome To Warrior Wednesday!

  • Whistling Death: How The Corsair Got Its Nickname
    August 30, 2019

    Whistling Death: How the Corsair got its nickname

Follow Us

Facebook Twitter Twitter

Recent Comments

  • pak152 " the team came up with what the Brits dubbed as Mustang, powered by a [...]
  • P K Polish AF never has and never will operate Su-27, An-26 aircraft has been out [...]
  • bnarfhyde The best book is also great. have a [...]
  • TerrorTrike ive never survived this long with such a clumsy FL- cG.866B.CO/NC6155hc
  • D4rksupeme yessss truck kunnnnnnnn i needddd you m.866E.CO/vC6155H

© Copyright 2023 SOFREP Media Group. All Rights Reserved.

  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • Advertisers
 

Loading Comments...