Description: This is not the Star Trek ship...
The USS Enterprise (CVN-65) was the world's first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier and the eighth U.S. Navy ship of the name. As of 2006, the ship is homeported at Norfolk, Virginia, and scheduled for retirement in 2013. Her intended replacement is the as-yet-to-be-named CVN-21 class supercarrier CVN-78.
Enterprise was originally designated as CVA(N)-65 - the 'N' standing for nuclear, but later was changed to its current designation.
Like her predecessor of World War II fame, she is nicknamed the "Big E" and is well known throughout the world. At 1,123 feet, she remains the world's longest aircraft carrier, though her 89,600 tons are surpassed by the Nimitz class. She is also the only aircraft carrier to house more than two nuclear reactors. Enterprise's eight-reactor propulsion design was rather conservative, with each A2W reactor taking the place of one boiler.
Enterprise was intended to be the first of a class of six, but construction costs ballooned and the remaining vessels were never laid down resulting in her being the only ship of her class. |
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