By Michael Peck
Forbes
Forbes
NCC-1701-C (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
The Klingons couldn’t destroy her, the Japanese and the Soviets couldn’t sink her, and nor will defense cuts end a proud tradition. There will be another USS Enterprise in the U.S. Navy.
Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus announced that the Navy’s third Gerald Ford-class supercarrier will be named the Enterprise. The announcement came after the current aircraft carrier Enterprise was decommissioned on Dec. 1 after an incredible 51 years of service.
“Rarely has our fleet been without a ship bearing the name,” said Mabus. This is an understatement. Look up the name Enterprise in the Navy’s Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships; there have been eight previous Enterprises in the U.S. Navy. The lineage started with a British supply sloop captured by the Americans in 1775 during the Revolutionary War, extended through the carrier Enterprise (the legendary “Big E”) that fought and survived the toughest naval battles of World War II, and finally to today’s Enterprise, which was the world’s first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier.
The new USS Enterprise (CVN 80)
The newest Enterprise, scheduled to for completion around 2025 at a projected cost of nearly $14 billion, will displace 97,000 tons, stretch 1,092 feet long – almost a quarter mile – and sail at more than 34 knots. It will be much more crowded than the starship Enterprise; instead of a crew of 400, it will have nearly 6,000 between the ship’s crew and the carrier air wing that will use it as a mobile airfield.
Did Star Trek fans have something to do with the resurrection? An online petition to name the third Ford-class Carrier (Navy pennant number CVN 80) the Enterprise garnered nearly 5,000 signatures. Yet if there is only one discordant note, it’s that the name Enterprise will again be used for a ship of war. Not that the starship Enterprise didn’t engage in its share of battles, but it was primarily an exploration vessel. A supercarrier is nice, but a manned spacecraft to Mars named Enterprise would be nicer. Still, there are few prouder names for a ship than Enterprise. It will be good to see her sail again.
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