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There should ALWAYS be a carrier in the US Fleet proudly wearing the name USS Enterprise.

Like Nurse said, anything else is just un-American.

The America was a [bleep] Kitty class (CVA/CV 63) bird farm (Kitty Hawk).

I have picture from a cruise book from 1973 shows uss Bronstein DE-1037 USS America CVA -66 USS Corry DD817 USS lawe DD763 my ship. USS Enterprise CVAN -65 USS ORISKANY CVA 34 USS FANNING DE-1076 USS RANGER cva-61 USS CONE DD-866 off Yankee Station.spend alot time plane guarding.30 days on the line 30 days planeguarding and a few days in subic bay.man what wild time that was.seem to forgotten a few trips over [bleep].

that paints a pic of careful design of a floating airport made to be stable as possible for flyboys landing,specially with a wounded bird

will they ever replace her with a deck that big or bigger??

norm

I have seen such a thing from both vantage points. I went to Korea with her when the Norks grabbed the Pueblo. Not a fun trip.

There will be another Enterprise. Review the history of the name. It's one of the few that does repeat.

Saw the Big-E only once - tied up at a dock in Hawaii circa 1968 while the boat I was on at the time (USS Redfish) was there for a new batch of torpedos.. Sure was a big bastid..

She's served well for a long, long time..

Never deployed on that one. Happy for that actually. Spent enough time on Ranger and Constellation to prefer newer boats. Much preferred the Nimitz class boats.

Actually America (CV 66), Enterprise (CVN 65) JFK (CV 67)are in a class of their own and not related to the Kitty-Hawk (CV 63) or her sister ship Constellation (CV 64). The Enterprise was unique all to herself in hull design, Island setup and of course the eight reactor setup. America and JFK WERE supposed to be nuclear, but McNamara and Kennedy family pressure of (heaven forbid) having a nuclear carrier named after America or that serial philanderer stopped it under the excuse it was cheaper in the end, which was of course bullshit. If one were to look at the "plumbing" of both, you'll see the same setup as the CVN 68 Nimitz class similarities. America had the distinction of having the largest flight deck of all and both her and JFK also had an 11.5 degree angle whilst everybody else had the standard 8.5 deg angle. Also America was weird inside in her configuration and her island was a bit farther aft than the rest. JFK has the weird funnel arrangement. SIGH...

I think ti is very-very sad, an icon for sure. What is she being replaced with?

CVN 77 I guess, then again, who knows.

I spent a lot of quality time on the America VA-85 Black Falcons. Of course the Intruders got retired a long time ago as well for that matter. To make a barrier reef of a carrier named America instead of making a museum out of her is wrong. Considering it has been 21 years since I flew off to come home at the end of Desert Storm the Enterprise getting scrapped come as no surprise.

We do rescue training on the Lexington once a year. It still has the smell! I visited the Midway two summers ago. I once had orders to AIMD (Aviation Electronics Shop) aboard her when she was in Okinawa. Walked right by that shop for the first time that day as I managed to get the orders changed to remain in Matwing 1 and cross over to VA-85.

The former AT2 Crow (USN 85-91)

America was sunk as part of an evaluation of the abilities of Super Carriers to absorb damage. She was the test bed for the damage control/compartimentalization of subsequent carriers. She was sunk after three days of constant hammering and very very deep to avoid snooping.

Jorge,

I didn't realize she was sunk in deep water. I knew about the damage testing. It still doesn't seem right to sink one named after the country though.

My neighbor was on her during early 'Nam.
And said he had on a couple of occasions, run into others who served on her at the same time. And never met.

THAT is a big boat!

I share your sentiments and offer you a similar story: At the height of the British Royal Navy's power during and after WWI, the "Big Three" England, the US and Japan signed a treaty limiting the number of capital ships (Battleships and Battlecruisers at the time). One of them HMAS Australia was on the block. She was decommissioned and with great ceremony towed out to sea and sunk off Sydney Australia. However, the Aussies removed part of her bridge and mainmast and a monument was constructed in Sydney Harbor that stands to this day. Sadly after WWII when the age of the battleship was over, the Brits scrapped ALL of their battleships some of them with storied battle records and they lived to regret it. jorge

+1!

Gotta have another Enterprise in the fleet at some point...

While a museum is mice there is a limited number of sites and cities that can support and maintain a museum of the size of a CV.

IMHO I would rather see a great old ship go out in a blaze of glory in a SINKEX than cut up for scrap.

Daaaham! Surprised none of you picked up on anything or researched anything.

The CVN77 USS George H W Bush is the last of the ten Nimitz-class carriers, and is already built (mostly!) and scheduled to join the fleet.

CVX78 is the Gerald R Ford, and first of a new class of aircraft carriers that will be more automated, use more electrical lifts, robots, methods of moving stuff, etc. than the Nimitz boats - also with a smaller crew even though she'll have a similar size flight deck as the Nimitz class ships. The new CVX carriers will also only have three elevators instead of four, and the island will be redesigned and moved further back on the ship - THIS ALL ACCORDING to the internet!

CVX79 has already had its keel laid and the name being considered is the John F Kennedy!

The keel to CVX80 has already been approved by congress (that's the opposite of "progress," folks!), and the name being considered for that flattop is ..... ENTERPRISE!

So cheer up fellas!

Actually, my dad was in the Navy from '62 to '84. He hated the CVN65 because to him it was always the "show boat!" My pops flew helos, off of the USS Sacramento (AOE1) and Niagra Falls (AFS3). When un underway replenishment (unrep) was being conducted, my dad and fellow det pilots did the vertrep part.

I'm not 100% percent sure why my dad was NOT impressed by the big E, except his first deployment to Nam in 65/66 lasted 11 months (not too unusual back then!). He had a good freind who H2's (SAR/guard)on four cruises (that all took place during 34 out of 39 months) Back then there were ships on Yankee Station like the Ticonderoga, Hancock, Bonnie Dick, Kersarge, the 2nd York Town, the 2nd Hornet, Oriskany (which served 8 tours off VNam), all four of the Forrestal class, all four of the Constellation/ KittyHawk class, the Midway and Coral Sea ..... what have I left out?

My dad did not think many of those other carriers got near enough recognition for their efforts, compared to the show boat.

But someone said there's a tradition in the Navy that there's always a 'Enterprise,' which is absolutely TRUE!

There's also (usually) a USS RANGER too, and another couple names that I can't recall (Intrepid? Kersarge? )

One of the HUGE-EST TRADGEDIES I thought to come out of WWII was how the original CV5 CV6 USS ENTERPRISE (CV5 was the USS YORKTOWN, lost at Midway) was not saved from the scrap torch! Esp considering she was the only carrier left from her sister (group) of flattops that were made when they were, when they were pioneers in naval aviation! That the Japs sought to ALL destroy ......

Also, CV5 CV6 Enterprise provided support /air cover when CV8 Hornet and Jimmy Doolittle's raiders kept their date with destiny.

Yeah there's always been an 'Enterprise' in the US Navy, if this congress and gubmnt (with folks like Leo "pathetic") don't ruin and cancel that US Navy tradition, maybe CVX80 will be the next one?

By the way, wasn't the original USS SARATOGA 'CV6?' EDITED: ("NO!", answering my own question; CV3 was the Saratoga answered below, and CV4 was the USS RANGER that spent most of WWII in the Atlantic).

Saratoga was CV3, she like Enterprise survived the war, Like the enterprise she was used up. Took a Nuke to to put her down.

Seems very sad to me that such an important piece of American history cannot be preserved for future generations.