Enterprise was the name of two United States Navy aircraft carriers. USS Enterprise (CV-6) was launched in 1936 and participated in major combat in World War II (1939-1945). USS Enterprise (CVN-65) was launched in 1960. It was the world’s first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier. USS stands for United States Ship. CV is the Navy’s designation for an aircraft carrier. CVN designates a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier.
USS Enterprise (CV-6)—sometimes called the “Big E“—was the Navy’s sixth aircraft carrier. The ship was commissioned (put into active service) in 1938. It was at sea on Dec. 7, 1941, when the Japanese attacked the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. However, 11 Enterprise pilots and aircrew were killed at Pearl Harbor when a flight of dive bombers from the ship was caught in the attack. Enterprise engaged in fighting in the Pacific throughout the war. In early 1942, the ship took part in naval battles around the Solomon Islands in the South Pacific Ocean. In June, the ship joined with USS Yorktown (CV-5) and USS Hornet (CV-8) to defeat the Japanese at the Battle of Midway.
In 1943 and 1944, Enterprise fought in New Guinea and in the Gilbert, Marshall, Mariana, and Caroline island groups in the Central Pacific. In June 1944, the ship’s planes took part in a lopsided American victory over the Japanese in the Battle of the Philippine Sea. In late October, the ship joined the Battle of Leyte Gulf in the Philippines. The naval battle was the largest in history, and the United States won a major victory over the Japanese.
In 1945, the carrier raided targets in the Philippines and the Japanese home islands. The ship also supported the invasions of Iwo Jima (now Iwo To) and Okinawa. On Sept. 2, 1945, Japan signed an official statement of surrender, and World War II ended.
For its wartime service, Enterprise earned 20 battle stars—more than any other ship. A battle star is awarded for a ship’s participation in a battle or military campaign. Enterprise also received the Presidential Unit Citation for the crew’s heroism in combat. The Navy decommissioned (retired) the ship in 1947. The carrier was sold for scrap metal in 1958.
USS Enterprise (CVN-65) was launched in 1960 and commissioned in 1961. Its early designation, CVAN-65, indicated that it was an attack carrier. It was refitted as a multipurpose carrier and given the new designation CVN-65 in 1975. The ship participated in a number of operations during the Vietnam War (1957-1975). During the first decade of the 2000’s, the ship’s air wings participated in the U.S. war efforts in Afghanistan and Iraq. Throughout its career, the carrier was the longest warship in the world, measuring 1,123 feet (342 meters). Enterprise held around 85 warplanes and a crew of more than 5,000 people. The ship was inactivated in late 2012 and decommissioned in February 2017.
See also Aircraft carrier ; World War II (The war in Asia and the Pacific) .
