Navy bids farewell to storied warship USS Enterprise

afp ^ | Nov 4 2011 | AFP

[null and void]

No. Lincoln was the wedge that started it all. No presidents living or dead on any US coins or currency in 1908, barely 55 years later every circulating coin has a president:

1909 Lincoln 1¢
1932 Washington 25¢
1938 Jefferson 5¢
1946 Roosevelt 10¢
1964 Kennedy 50¢

The Kennedy half was being struck within TWO MONTHS of his death.

We are already perilously close to honoring living kings presidents on our money.

Let's fully reset to allegorical figures.

Before "In God We Trust" is removed from our money to be replaced by, say, Obama's ugly mug.

[LSUfan]

I have often wondered what the Big E’s true top speed was...have heard some wild stories...

[NCC-1701]

“...If we’re going to go Treky - you gotta get it right. NCC 1701....”

Are you talking about me?

[null and void]

I didn’t include the Eisenhower dollar because I can’t recall a single instance of it being used to purchase anything outside of a chance in gaming.

In any event, it would only bump the timeline out to a whopping 62 years, less than one aversge human’s life expectancy.

[Schwaeky]

If the Navy still uses any DMS (destoyer-minesweeper) vessels, the USS Barack Obama would be a fair name for that cannon fodder...

[Schwaeky]

If the Navy still uses any DMS (destoyer-minesweeper) vessels, the USS Barack Obama would be a fair name for that cannon fodder...

[NCC-1701]

Here is a YouTube video that shows a home built model of the Big E.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJqPiQyqk9Q

The story behind it, as I understand it, is that someone started building it in his garage and it got too big for him to keep. So the builder called the Smithsonian and asked them if they wanted to take in off his hands and place it on display. They said they had enough models so he sent some pics. Smithsonian people got interested and sent some representatives to look her over. They were impressed enough to take her to D.C. where she is today. Quite an impressive effort. She shows up at the 1:17 mark of the vid.

[Wonder Warthog]

"Ship. The Enterprise is the only boat in the class."

I stand corrected. I'm not Navy....my interest comes from my background in nuke issues/reactors. The idea of EIGHT nuke reactors (even small ones) on a single ship was sort of mind-boggling when I heard it.

[ExTexasRedhead]

PING

America’s pride!

[gonzo]

Thanks, cutie. The big ‘E’! We’ll keep her docked for a while ................................................... FRegards

[Paul R.]

Thanks! That’s very interesting. The actual parallel matches the pic. (Maybe that’s the “Obama parallel character” in the front of the boat.)

It’s too bad so many modern “slaves” (and not just black “slaves”, either!) don’t realize how insidiously they’ve been made to lose their freedom, for which so much was paid by so many.

[rolling_stone]

One of my thrills was sitting in the Captains chair on the big E!

[seekthetruth]

Hey friend, Please put me on your ping list! I miss too much otherwise! :)

[Oztrich Boy]

I have often wondered what the Big E’s true top speed was...have heard some wild stories...

33.6 knots tops. Sorry.

[tanknetter]

I wonder that too. IIRC, the Enterprise's reactors are smaller, so you need 8 of them, they were designed for atomic subs.

Enterprise didn't even need 8 reactors. She really only needed 6, but Rickover demanded on a 1-to-1 ratio with the # of boilers in the Kitty Hawk class.

With the possible exception of the years in the 1980s and very early 1990s when the Iowa Class Battleships were back in service, Enterprise was the fastest deep-draft combatant in the world for the entirety of her life. She had a modified Kitty Hawk hull - lengthened more than widened and still optimized in slender form for efficient cruise in the mid-20 kts, as conventionally-powered carriers were to help conserve fuel. The Nimitzes with their two reactors produce equal or slightly higher shaft horsepower (shp) than Enterprise did with her eight, but are both heavier and have a fuller hull form -- so a somewhat slower speed - 30-31kts vs' Enterprise's 33.5. Although I'd heard that Enterprise was once pushed up to almost 34 kts (or maybe even a hair above) off the Virginia Capes during trials following her 1990s refueling, when she had a clean and newly painted hull and was operating in shallow water.