When the makers of "Top Gun" were filming on board the USS Enterprise, they donated a set of black fuzzy dice to liven up the ship's otherwise drab interior.
A quarter-century later, the dice will still be dangling inside the tower of "the Big E" as the world's first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier sets sail on its final voyage Sunday.
The trinket is a reminder of the ship's storied 50-year history that includes action in several wars, a prominent role in the Cuban missile crisis and serving as a spotter ship for John Glenn's historic orbit of the earth.
"To serve on this ship, certainly in this capacity, you certainly have to be a student of the ship's history," said Rear Adm. Walter Carter, commander of the Enterprise strike group. "Fifty years of service, in our nation's history, we've never had a warship in service that long."
The Enterprise is the longest aircraft carrier in the U.S. fleet. It is also the oldest, a distinction that brings pride as well as plenty of headaches for the ship's more than 4,000 crew members. The ship is effectively a small city that frequently needs repairs because of its age. It was originally designed to last 25 years, but a major overhaul in 1979 and other improvements have extended its life.
The ship largely looks like any other carrier on the inside and has modern amenities like gyms, a coffee shop and a television station with dozens of channels. It even produces its own daily newspaper while at sea.
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This is the eighth ship to bear the name Enterprise, and there's a room on board dedicated as a museum to past incarnations. The preceding USS Enterprise was the most decorated ship in World War II, while the first Enterprise joined the U.S. fleet after it was captured from the British in 1775.
Link
AndesSMF wrote:May it live longer as a museum piece.
The following summer, Enterprise will be towed to the shipyard where it was built in nearby Newport News so its nuclear fuel can be removed, a process that will take until 2015. What remains of the ship after that will then be taken to Washington state so it can be scrapped.
The ship, among the first to respond after the Sept. 11 attacks, won't be turned into a museum like some other carriers. Crews have to cut large holes in the vessel to remove the nuclear fuel, and it would be too expensive to repair, said Lt. Cmdr. Sarah Self-Kyler, the Enterprise's public affairs officer.
Instead, many of the ship's alumni want another carrier to be named Enterprise in the future, which is not uncommon, she said.
halls120 wrote:The Navy would be making a monumentally stupid mistake by not naming another aircraft "Enterprise."
Then again, given the current SecNav, monumentally stupid seems to be right up his alley.
miamiair wrote:A quarter-century later, the dice will still be dangling inside the tower of "the Big E" as the world's first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier sets sail on its final voyage Sunday.
halls120 wrote:The Navy would be making a monumentally stupid mistake by not naming another aircraft "Enterprise."
Arniepie wrote:Some pointless input on my behalf,
Most eloquent US carrier names;
-Belleau Wood
-Ticonderoga
-Intrepid
-Enterprise
-Oriskany
-Boxer
-Bon Homme Richard
-Valley forge
-Ranger
-Constellation
-Yorktown
-Kitty Hawk
Click Click D'oh wrote:Yorktown, Lexington or Saratoga...
miamiair wrote:Hornet
Of the twenty-seven built vessels, nineteen were built by Ingalls Shipbuilding and eight by Bath Iron Works (BIW). All but one (Thomas S. Gates) of the ships in the class are named for noteworthy events in U.S. military history, and at least twelve; Ticonderoga, Cowpens, Anzio, Yorktown, Valley Forge, Bunker Hill, Antietam, San Jacinto, Lake Champlain, Philippine Sea, Princeton, Monterey, and Vella Gulf; share their names with World War II aircraft carriers.
ANCFlyer wrote:Arniepie wrote:Some pointless input on my behalf,
Most eloquent US carrier names;
-Belleau Wood
-Ticonderoga
-Intrepid
-Enterprise
-Oriskany
-Boxer
-Bon Homme Richard
-Valley forge
-Ranger
-Constellation
-Yorktown
-Kitty Hawk
And add:Click Click D'oh wrote:Yorktown, Lexington or Saratoga...
And . . .miamiair wrote:Hornet
Go back to tradition!
MD11Engineer wrote:ANCFlyer wrote:Arniepie wrote:Some pointless input on my behalf,
Most eloquent US carrier names;
-Belleau Wood
-Ticonderoga
-Intrepid
-Enterprise
-Oriskany
-Boxer
-Bon Homme Richard
-Valley forge
-Ranger
-Constellation
-Yorktown
-Kitty Hawk
And add:Click Click D'oh wrote:Yorktown, Lexington or Saratoga...
And . . .miamiair wrote:Hornet
Go back to tradition!
Why did you cancel out the names?
These were all military related names, (Battle of Belleau Wood in WW1, where US Marines fought), Battle of Oriskany during the American Revolution and Boxer used to be a name of several other US Navy ships before, dating back to the war of 1812.
Jan
ANCFlyer wrote:MD11Engineer wrote:These were all military related names, (Battle of Belleau Wood in WW1, where US Marines fought), Battle of Oriskany during the American Revolution and Boxer used to be a name of several other US Navy ships before, dating back to the war of 1812.
Jan
Just not my favorites . . . that's all Arnie said they were "eloquent", I don't find the USS Boxer to be eloquent. Thay's all . . .
