USS Enterprise Is Launched
The USS Enterprise (CVN-65) is notable for being the world's first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, launched on September 24, 1960, in Newport News, Virginia. The ship was built by Newport News Shipbuilding, with its keel laid on February 4, 1958, and it was officially commissioned on November 25, 1961. Stretching 1,123 feet in length and 257 feet in width, the Enterprise boasts an expansive flight deck capable of accommodating nearly 100 fighter planes. Its powerful eight nuclear reactors generate close to 300,000 horsepower, allowing the vessel to reach speeds exceeding 30 knots. The aircraft carrier has played a significant role in numerous military actions, including the Cuban Missile Crisis and operations in the Middle East post-September 11, 2001. Serving as the core of a Carrier Battle Group, it has undergone several refurbishments throughout its long service life, which has spanned over four decades. The Enterprise remains an important symbol of naval power and innovation in military technology.
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USS Enterprise Is Launched
USS Enterprise Is Launched
The USS Enterprise (official designation CVN-65), the world's first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, was launched on September 24, 1960, in Newport News, Virginia, near the major mid-Atlantic port city of Norfolk. The Enterprise was christened that day in Newport News by the wife of William B. Franke, former secretary of the navy, and the naval base at Norfolk became the ship's home port.
Enterprise was built by Newport News Shipbuilding, with its keel being laid on February 4, 1958, and its formal commissioning taking place on November 25, 1961. Its eight nuclear reactors can generate nearly 300,000 horsepower and drive the ship at over 30 knots an hour. Enterprise is 1,123 feet long, 257 feet wide, and has approximately 4.5 acres of flight deck space for the nearly 100 fighter planes that it carries below decks.
Enterprise cost nearly half a billion dollars to build, quite a bargain compared to the $4 billion it costs to build a similar aircraft carrier today, and is the eighth vessel in the history of the United States Navy to bear the name Enterprise. Its maiden voyage commenced on January 12, 1962, under Captain Vincent P. DePoix, and it first saw service in the blockade of Cuba during the Cuban Missile Crisis of October 1962. Enterprise has served in virtually every major American military action since then, including the events in the Middle East following the terrorist strikes of September 11, 2001. It typically operates as the nucleus of a Carrier Battle-group, a formation which contains approximately one dozen vessels with varying support and combat functions. Enterprise has been refurbished and updated on several occasions, a necessity given that it has been in active service for over four decades.