The USS Enterprise (CVN-65) was launched on September 24, 1960, making it the world’s first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier.
At 1123 ft, it was the longest naval vessel in the world and at 93,284 long tons displacement, it ranked as the 11th-heaviest supercarrier. Enterprise had a crew of some 4600 people.
Enterprise was also the only aircraft carrier to house more than two nuclear reactors. It had an eight-reactor propulsion design, with each A2W reactor taking the place of one of the conventional boilers in earlier constructions. Enterprise was also the only carrier with four rudders, two more than other classes, and featured a more cruiser-like hull.
Key to the CVN-65 was a phased array radar system that was better at tracking multiple airborne targets than conventional rotating antenna radars. Its early phased arrays were replaced around 1980.
The ship was meant to be the first of a class of six, but construction costs ballooned and the remaining vessels were never built. Items were also cut from Enterprise’s build for cost reasons, including RIM-2 Terrier missile launchers.
Even with its trimmed-back build, Enterprise was a massive gain for US defense. Its long list of utilizations include use in a blockade effort during the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962, becoming the first nuclear-powered ship to engage in combat when it launched aircraft in Vietnam in 1965, and providing air support for Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003-2004.
Enterprise also had an impressive film career, being featured in films such as Top Gun and The Hunt for Red October , and was possibly the inspiration for the name of the Star Trek starship.
Enterprise was deactivated in December 2012 as the longest active US aircraft carrier to date. The final reactor was defueled in December 2016, and it was decommissioned in February 2017.
The next carrier, the CVN-80, will be the ninth ship named Enterprise, and it will include steel from CVN-65. Construction began in 2017 and it is scheduled to be ready in 2027. The US Navy chose Olympic gold medalists Katie Ledecky and Simone Biles to be the ship’s sponsors. They will participate in the milestone events for the ship, and were on hand for the steel-cutting ceremony that began its construction.