USS Enterprise (CV-6)

Aerial view of Enterprise at sea in 1945
History
United States
Name	USS Enterprise
Ordered	1933
Builder	Newport News Shipbuilding
Laid down	16 July 1934
Launched	3 October 1936
Commissioned	12 May 1938
Decommissioned	17 February 1947
Identification	Hull number: CV-6
Nickname(s)	The Big E Lucky E The Grey Ghost The Galloping Ghost
Honors and awards	20 battle stars Presidential Unit Citation Navy Unit Commendation
Fate	Scrapped 1958–1960
General characteristics (as built)
Class and type	Yorktown-class aircraft carrier
Displacement	19,800 tons standard 25,500 tons full load From October 1943: 21,000 tons standard 32,060 tons full load
Length	761 ft (232.0 m) waterline[1] 809 ft 6 in (246.7 m) overall From October 1943: 827 ft 5 in (252.2 m) overall length
Beam	83 ft 2 in (25.3 m) waterline 108 ft 11 in (33.2 m) overall From October 1943: 95 ft 5 in (29.1 m) waterline 114 ft 2 in (34.8 m) overall width
Draft	25 ft 11.5 in (7.9 m)
Installed power	120,000 shp (89,484 kW) 9 × Babcock & Wilcox boilers
Propulsion	4 × shafts; 4 × Parsons geared steam turbines
Speed	32.5 knots (60.2 km/h; 37.4 mph)
Range	12,500 nmi (23,200 km; 14,400 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph)
Complement	2,217 officers and men (1941)
Sensors and processing systems	CXAM-1 RADAR[2] SK air-search radar SM fire directional radar
Armament	8 × single 5 in/38 cal guns 4 × quad 1.1 in/75 cal guns 24 × .50 caliber machine guns From April 1942: 8 × 5 in/38 cal 4 × quad 1.1 in/75 cal 30 × 20 mm Oerlikon cannons From mid-June 1942 to mid-September 1942: 8 × 5 in/38 cal 5 × quad 1.1 in/75 cal 32 × 20 mm Oerlikons From mid-September 1942: 8 × 5 in/38 cal 4 × quad 40 mm Bofors guns 1 × quad 1.1 in/75 cal 44 × 20 mm Oerlikons (46 from 11/42) From October 1943: 8 × 5 in/38 cal 40 × 40 mm Bofors (8×2, 6×4) 50 × 20 mm Oerlikon From September 1945: 8 × 5 in/38 cal 54 × 40 mm Bofors (5×2, 11×4) 32 × 20 mm Oerlikons (16×2)
Armor	2.5–4 in belt 60 lb protective decks 4 in bulkheads 4 in side and 2 in top round conning tower 4 in side over steering gear
Aircraft carried	96 aircraft maximum, 80-90 average on board
Aviation facilities	3 × elevators 2 × flight deck hydraulic catapults 1 × hangar deck hydraulic catapults

USS Enterprise (CV-6) was a Yorktown-class carrier built for the United States Navy during the 1930s. She was the seventh U.S. Navy vessel of that name. Colloquially called "The Big E", she was the sixth aircraft carrier of the United States Navy. Launched in 1936, she was the only Yorktown-class and one of only three American fleet carriers commissioned before World War II to survive the war (the others being Saratoga and Ranger).

Enterprise participated in more major actions of the war against Japan than any other United States ship. These actions included the attack on Pearl Harbor — 18 Douglas SBD Dauntless dive bombers of her air group arrived over the harbor during the attack; seven were shot down with eight airmen killed and two wounded, making her the only American aircraft carrier with men at Pearl Harbor during the attack and the first to sustain casualties during the Pacific War^[3] — the Battle of Midway, the Battle of the Eastern Solomons, the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands, various other air-sea engagements during the Guadalcanal Campaign, the Battle of the Philippine Sea, and the Battle of Leyte Gulf. Enterprise earned 20 battle stars, the most for any U.S. warship in World War II, and was the most decorated U.S. ship of World War II. She was also the first American ship to sink a full-sized enemy warship after the Pacific War had been declared when her aircraft sank the Japanese submarine I-70 on 10 December 1941.^[4] On three occasions during the war, the Japanese announced that she had been sunk in battle, inspiring her nickname "The Grey Ghost". By the end of the war, her planes and guns had downed 911 enemy planes, sunk 71 ships, and damaged or destroyed 192 more.^[5]

Despite efforts made by the public after the war to turn Enterprise into a museum ship, Enterprise was scrapped from 1958 to 1960.