USS Enterprise is the oldest active ship in the US Navy fleet and the world’s first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier. It has seen action in conflicts such as the Cuban Missile Crisis and the Vietnam War. The ship is set to be decommissioned in 2014 and replaced by USS Gerald R. Ford in 2015.
USS Enterprise is a United States Navy ship formerly known as CVA(N)-65. She is the oldest active ship in the Navy fleet and will remain so for several more years until her replacement is built. USS Enterprise is the world’s first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier and the only ship of her class, other ships were originally to be built, but prohibitive costs prevented the construction of subsequent ships. Also, the USS Enterprise is the only aircraft carrier to house more than two nuclear reactors: she has eight Westinghouse A2W reactors.
Launched in September 1960, the USS Enterprise saw its first conflict action during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Along with several other ships, the USS Enterprise served as a blockade ship in the vicinity of Cuba, but the crisis came to an end shortly after President John F. Kennedy ordered strict quarantine. The ship became the first nuclear-powered ship to fight when planes were launched from her decks at the Viet Cong during the Vietnam War.
In 1969, a rocket that had been loaded onto an F-4 Phantom was unintentionally launched on the deck of the USS Enterprise, starting a fire that caused serious damage to the ship, as well as casualties and injuries to personnel on board. USS Enterprise headed for Pearl Harbor, Hawaii for repairs, and was then shipped back to Vietnam for active duty. The ship has seen action as recently as 2007 in the Persian Gulf, and provided air support during Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003 and 2004.
The USS Enterprise has been an active ship for nearly fifty years and will be the first nuclear powered ship to be decommissioned by the United States. Efforts to expedite the decommissioning of the ship have picked up pace in recent years, but if USS Enterprise is decommissioned ahead of schedule in 2014, the Navy fleet would be reduced to ten active ships until replacement, USS Gerald R. Ford, is completed and launched in 2015.
The dimensions of the USS Enterprise are as follows: 1,123 feet (342 m) in length; 73,858 tons (67,002,850 kg) standard displacement, 92,325 tons (83,755,831 kg) loaded; top speed 33.6 knots (62.2 km/h); and the ship can carry approximately 5,800 people. The ship entered the Northrop Grumman Newport News Shipyard in April 2008 for an 18-month stay, during which time she was overhauled and prepared for her final deployment prior to decommissioning.
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