USS Enterprise (CV-6)
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| USS Enterprise (CV-6) | |
|---|---|
| Ship caption | USS Enterprise under way in 1945. |
| Ship country | United States |
| Ship name | USS Enterprise |
| Ship ordered | 1933 |
| Ship builder | Newport News Shipbuilding |
| Ship laid down | 16 July 1934 |
| Ship launched | 3 October 1936 |
| Ship commissioned | 12 May 1938 |
| Ship decommissioned | 17 February 1947 |
| Ship struck | 1 October 1956 |
| Ship fate | Scrapped, 1958–1960 |
| Ship honors | Presidential Unit Citation, 20 Battle Stars, Navy Unit Commendation |
| Ship class | Yorktown, aircraft carrier |
| Ship displacement | 25,500 tons |
| Ship length | 824 ft 9 in (251.4 m) |
| Ship beam | 109 ft 6 in (33.4 m) |
| Ship draft | 25 ft 11.5 in (7.9 m) |
| Ship propulsion | 9 × Babcock & Wilcox boilers, 4 × Parsons geared turbines, 4 × shafts |
| Ship speed | 32.5 knots (60.2 km/h; 37.4 mph) |
| Ship range | 12,500 nmi (23,200 km; 14,400 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph) |
| Ship complement | 2,217 officers and men (1941) |
| Ship armament | 8 × single 5 in/38 cal guns, 4 × quadruple 1.1 in/75 cal guns, 24 × .50 caliber machine guns (1941) |
| Ship armor | Belt: 2.5–4 in (64–102 mm), Deck: 4 in (102 mm) over steering gear |
| Ship aircraft | 90 aircraft |
USS Enterprise (CV-6) was a of the United States Navy and the seventh U.S. naval vessel to bear the name. Commissioned in 1938, she became the most decorated U.S. warship of World War II, earning the nickname "The Big E." Her service spanned nearly the entire Pacific War, from the aftermath of the attack on Pearl Harbor to the final campaigns against Imperial Japan.
Construction and commissioning
The ship's keel was laid down on 16 July 1934 at the Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Company in Virginia. Her design was a product of the interwar Washington Naval Treaty limitations, which influenced the size and capabilities of the . Sponsored by Lulie Swanson, the wife of Secretary of the Navy Claude A. Swanson, she was launched on 3 October 1936. Following fitting out, she was commissioned into the United States Atlantic Fleet on 12 May 1938 under the command of Captain Newton H. White.
Service history
After initial shakedown cruises and fleet exercises in the Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea, Enterprise was transferred to the Pacific Fleet in 1939, operating out of Naval Base San Diego. In 1941, she was tasked with delivering United States Marine Corps aircraft to Wake Island and was returning to Pearl Harbor when the Japanese attack occurred on 7 December, narrowly avoiding destruction. This event catapulted her into a continuous frontline combat role for the next four years, operating with Task Force 16 and later Task Force 58.
Design and description
As the second of the three-ship class, Enterprise represented a significant evolution in U.S. carrier design. She had a flight deck length of 809 feet and a full-load displacement of approximately 25,500 tons. Her propulsion plant, consisting of nine Babcock & Wilcox boilers connected to four Parsons geared turbines, could drive the ship at over 32 knots. Her air group typically comprised around 90 aircraft, including fighters like the Grumman F4F Wildcat and later the Grumman F6F Hellcat, dive bombers such as the Douglas SBD Dauntless, and torpedo bombers like the Grumman TBF Avenger.
World War II operations
Enterprise participated in nearly every major naval engagement in the Pacific Theater of Operations. She launched aircraft for the Doolittle Raid on Tokyo in April 1942. Her air group was crucial at the Battle of Midway in June 1942, sinking the Japanese carriers ''Akagi'' and ''Kaga''. She fought at the Battle of the Eastern Solomons and the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands, where she was severely damaged. After repairs, she supported the Gilbert and Marshall Islands campaign, the Battle of the Philippine Sea, and the Battle of Leyte Gulf. She endured damage from kamikaze attacks during the Battle of Okinawa and was hit by a Japanese bomb off Kyushu in May 1945.
Awards and legacy
For her extraordinary combat record, Enterprise received the Presidential Unit Citation, a Navy Unit Commendation, and 20 battle stars, more than any other U.S. warship in World War II. Her legacy is preserved in numerous historical accounts, the National Museum of the United States Navy, and the naming of a later nuclear-powered aircraft carrier in her honor. The ship and her crew are memorialized in films like The Fighting Lady and books such as Enterprise: America's Fightingest Ship.
Decommissioning and fate
With the war's end, Enterprise participated in Operation Magic Carpet, returning American servicemen to the United States. She was decommissioned at New York Naval Shipyard on 17 February 1947. Despite a vigorous public campaign led by veterans like Admiral William Halsey Jr. to preserve her as a museum ship, efforts failed to raise sufficient funds. She was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 1 October 1956 and sold for scrap in July 1958. Demolition was completed at the Kearny, New Jersey, yard of the Lipsett Division of Luria Brothers by 1960.
Category:Yorktown-class aircraft carriers Category:Ships built in Newport News, Virginia Category:World War II aircraft carriers of the United States