The USS Enterprise's Last Tour (After 51 Years in Service It Is To Be Decommissioned)

After 51 years of service, the historic aircraft carrier is about to be decommissioned.

When the USS Enterprise (CVN 65) sailed away from Norfolk, Virginia, on its maiden voyage in 1962, it was the world’s first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, and the eighth Enterprise in a long dynasty reaching back to the Revolutionary War. Its eight nuclear reactors, reported the Chicago Daily Defender, had an energy potential "as great as that of all the reactors in the free world."

The most recent Enterprise played a role in the Cuban Missile Crisis, along with other ships in the Second Fleet, blockading shipments of military equipment to Cuba. During the height of the Vietnam War, nearly 100 aircraft were launched each day from the Enterprise, laden with explosives and bound for the Ho Chi Minh Trail. After the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the carrier—headed home after a long deployment—steamed overnight to the North Arabian Sea to participate in Operation Enduring Freedom.

On December 1, 2012, the carrier will be inactivated, ending 51 years of service. See the gallery above for more about its history. Here, two F/A-18 Super Hornets fly past the Enterprise on its last deployment, on October 4, 2012.

There has been an Enterprise since 1775, when Captain James Smith was ordered to Lake Champlain to take command of the 70-ton sloop that originally belonged to the British. Enterprise II was an eight-gun schooner purchased in 1776 that convoyed transports in the Chesapeake Bay. Enterprise III, a 12-gun schooner, searched for British privateers off the coast of Maine in 1812. Enterprise IV launched from the New York Navy Yard in 1831; while Enterprise V, a steam corvette with auxiliary sail power, was commissioned in 1877. . | 2 of 9 | Next »»

Why is this ship not being preserved as a museum? You would think that the first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, one of the longest-serving ships ever in the Navy, and the namesake of the Navy’s most decorated ship of World War II would be worth preserving and saving for future generations instead of “dismantling and recycling.”

The Navy's explanation, as noted earlier, is that the ship will need to be deconstructed past the point of economical repair in order to get to the reactors.

Enterprise is a modified Kitty Hawk-class hull, and her eight reactors roughly correspond to the eight boilers that the Kitty Hawks carried (apparently Enterprise has two more reactors than necessary; Hyman Rickover - allegedly - personally ordered the number increased from six to eight to correspond to the Kitty Hawk boiler numbers).

The ship was built around the reactors. USN policy for scrapping nuclear wessels (inside Star Trek joke there) is to defuel then remove the reactor vessels intact for containment and burial at Hanford. Getting to the eight reactors and removing them per this policy is going to require cutting massive holes straight down from the flight deck. It's going to be a brutal undertaking, given not only how the reactors are shielded but also the armor plating on the hangar and flight decks.

HOWEVER .... (and there's always a however)

There's been some speculation that the Enterprise was actually designed to have its reactor vessels removed and replaced. Enterprise was the first nuclear carrier, essentially a prototype/proof-of-concept that was both wildly expensive to build and maintain but also highly successful (she was designed with a 25-year lifespan in mind), and she carried early (2nd generation?) nuclear reactors.

The USN had already replaced a prototype (liquid sodium cooled) reactor in the USS Seawolf (the second nuclear submarine after Nautilus). Given that experience, the expense associated with Enterprise (2x as much as a Kitty Hawk and so costly that she was completed without any defensive weaponry) and the very real possibility of having problems with a reactor at some point that would be serious enough to warrant replacement of the reactor but otherwise wouldn't compromise the integrity of the ship (requiring complete removal from service very early in its career and flushing a $500 million investment right down the toilet), it does make logical sense that the Navy would have contingency plans to swap out the reactors.

The USN has shown an extreme reticence towards preserving nuclear-powered ships as museums. Nautilus is the only one, and even though her reactor was yanked when decommissioned in the mid 1980s the Navy still owns her and maintains operational control. Efforts to preserve the nuclear cruiser USS Long Beach and the submarines USS Cincinnati and USS Mariano G. Vallejo were denied outright. Senator John Warner tried really hard to get the nuclear cruiser USS Virginia for Nauticus in Norfolk and was politely told "no" and given the battleship Wisconsin and the lead ship of the next class of SSNs as a consolation prize. Heck, if you go to the Udvar-Hazy center for the National Air and Space Museum they have an F6F Hellcat that was flown - as a drone - through the fallout from the Bikini tests ... and the placard for the plane very specifically points out that there's only trace amounts of residual radiation.

So given all that, while I'm inclined to believe the Navy when they say that they really do have to cut Enterprise to pieces to get the reactors out, I do have a nagging feeling that if the truth were otherwise they'd never willingly let it be known.

I merely made an observation that the caption was pinned to the wrong photo and you took offense for some reason even though I was correct,

Once again you are incorrect. Once again there is no caption attached to the photo. A description of that photo and all other photos in the article are embedded in the text of the article. Most of those reading the article figured that out. You didn't.

In your initial comment you have publicly acknowledged that you aren't very bright, are easily confused and directed your criticism of the layout of the article at the wrong person. You are in the distinct minority and have exposed your own ignorance despite your wail to the contrary. You emote, you do not think because you are incapable of thinking. You ponder that the next time you sit down to void your bladder, madame.

Instead of publicly flaunting your deficient grey matter, which is not a character trait to be proud of, pay attention to what is actually written not what you perceive to be written. Had you bothered to visit the source you would have discovered that the photo of CV-6 is on page 2 of 9, not page 1 of 9. Now apologize to lbryce for being as dense as a slab of granite and shut your gaping, whining, ignorant maw.

"See the gallery above for more about its history."

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.