The End of a Legend - Scrapping USS Enterprise

I have, previously, talked about why USS Enterprise was scrapped. The short answer is 'money', but the longer answer? Well, in this video, I'll go into more detail than I have before. Look at the various plans, and how the ship ultimately ended up scrapped.
Which is still a shame, decades later, although not a surprising result. Looking at the situation in the 1950s, of course.

[@TheNinjaGumball]

Girls: Why didn't he cry during Titanic? He must be heartless Boys: Uncontrollable sobbing watching this

[@marckyle5895]

Yep, pretty much.

[@falloutlover5443]

I felt a real pang at the photo of the bow torched down to the waterline.

[@mbryson2899]

This was one of the most depressing videos I have ever watched, it was like watching a murder blow by blow. (Not your fault, @Skynea, you did great work.) As a kid I was amazed at her service, at the way she always came back for more. I was gobsmacked, saddened, and angry when I read of her demise, and those feelings stick with me to this day. In the end she did what she always did best; she gave everything she had so that others could win. True story: In my 20s I was gifted with a fancy old-fashioned safety razor. The first time I went to use it I fumbled at inserting the blade because the disgusted words of a USN veteran echoed in my head: "She did everything the Navy asked, she won the damned war for us, and they made razor blades out of her." I never did use that razor, I couldn't get the image out of my head.

[@androidemulator6952]

Loss of significant history .. yet again!. ;( ;(

[@fubarmodelyard1392]

The most decorated and significant ship of ww2 kicked to the curb. Heartbreaking

[@exAirMover]

History will always remember the name 'Enterprise' 🇺🇲

[@EpicRaf]

Kapla

[@HankScally]

​@@EpicRafUnderstood and agree. She was a historic ship.

[@renardfranse]

James T Kirk

[@cherokee43v6]

@@renardfranseUh... no... That was Captain Picard in the Next Gen episode 'Yesterday's Enterprise'.

[@nathanielmeade5731]

​@cherokee43v6 no no that was totally Emperor Palpatine Whilst in conversation with the Doctor and Admiral Adama.

[@murraystewartj]

CV6 - Enterprise vs Japan. 20 battle stars and, I believe, the only USN ship to be granted a Royal Navy pennant in recognition of her service. She's gone but will never be forgotton.

[@LFMotorhead]

I live in the San Francisco Bay Area where we have the USS Hornet as living museum. Before it was saved from scrap it was tied up in Alameda Naval Air Base. We were on the Bay cruising around and saw the Carol Vincent tied up and behind it was the Hornet. We cruised into the harbor and right between the Carol Vincent and the Hornet. It was an amazing sight to have on one side the Hornet and the other side the latest in carrier technology. After a few minutes of admiring the 2 ships, armed Marines came out and chased us away. Few months later the Hornet was turned over to a civilian board to be made into a museum. She was only hours away from being turned over to the scrape yard but was saved. I eventually became a volunteer on the ship helping with aircraft restoration.

[@allaboutboats]

Good memory but the name of the modern CV is Carl Vinson, not Carol Vincent! It sound similar tho!

[@bobmartin4942]

​@allaboutboats maybe he had s weird autocorrect guess.

[@wramsey2656]

Thank you for being a volunteer on CV-12 USS Hornet. Dad was with VF-11 Sundowners and they were on 'The Good Ship Hornet" (What dad and his fellow fighter pilots called her). I was blessed to have toured her for 2 days in 2018 before i became disabled and really enjoyed my time on board. Dad's picture is with the Sundowners exhibit near the ready room. The volunteers and paid staff do a good job preserving her. Its a shame Enterprise was not saved. So many ships were scrapped too early.

[@tomyorke3412]

HMS Warspite the grand old lady and the USS Enterprise the grey ghost/The big E. Those two ship earned the right to be saved a dozens times over wish we had saved them.

[@SennaAugustus]

Warspite defined the term battleship. Enterprise defined the term aircraft carrier. (A few others like Nevada and Illustrious and Ajax and San Diego and so on, proper legends the lot of them.) Governments and crew wish their ships will do the things they did when they design or launch them.

[@vf12497439]

I thought Lexington was the grey ghost? Named by the Japanese after they sank two Lexingtons and we just commissioned a new lex each time.

[@marckyle5895]

@@vf12497439 That should have been a clue for them

[@Grafknar]

Warspite I can grudgingly comprehend. The UK was devastated. There was absolutely zero excuse for the USN giving only 6 months. Screw anyone who defends scrapping either of these ships.

[@brucesim2003]

Devastated is right. Rationing in one form or other kept going until 1954. I suspect most civilians in the USA didn't realise how good (comparatively) they had it during the war years. Still, it is most definitely a shame Warspite was broken up. At least she put up a valiant effort to stop it. Vanguard, as the last of her kind, is also one of those 'should have been a museum' ships. There is much less excuse for the failure here.

[@gandalfgreyhame3425]

It was a very different time. Despite coming out as the winner of WWII with the only intact industrial base and economy of any country in the world, Americans were also still haunted by the Great Depression, and frugality and paying off the gigantic WWII war debt were the main priorities for this Greatest Generation. Marginal tax rates were as high as 90%, which basically meant that there weren't any super rich people making massive amounts of money like today. CEOs rarely got the huge salaries and bonuses like today, because it would just get taxed away. Keeping around an old, beat up warship where a lot of sailors and pilots had died in violent combat (Enterprise was struck numerous times by bombs and torpedos and kamikazes) wasn't exactly the grand nostalgic ideal that lots and lots of Americans wanted to donate money for, or for that matter, have their tax dollars spent on. Americans wanted to move on from WWII, enjoy the fruits of winning the war, not keep around momentos of the horrors of the fighting.

[@blusmahn]

Every time we went to visit my Grandparents we would pass the "BIG E " and observe the state of it's scrapping. Being brought up on WW2 movies and my Father's Bastogne experiences we were well aware of it's fame and importance in history and felt the loss every time we would see it's dis-assembly .

[@henryb4701]

And for us Brits. Warspite was the one. Legend

[@marckyle5895]

She tried to break away, God bless her. Couldn't they at least preserved Vanguard as the only surviving British (super)Dreadnought? But... Great Britain was broke and couldn't afford it.

[@user-so1mv9po2f]

I agree , Warspite should have been saved.

[@exAirMover]

Indeed Shippers, indeed 🇬🇧

[@user-xh3lz9xt4l]

And either Intrepid or Fearless.

[@justin3415]

Agree

[@daleferber2096]

The guy that started Enterprise rental cars served on that version of the "Big E"

[@Odin029]

I put USS Enterprise in the same category as old Penn Station. After they were lost, people started caring about preservation.

[@MarkLac]

Exactly! The fact we had a chance to save Enterprise on New York’s part is a fat joke in itself. Then came the destruction of Pennsylvania Station and after that everyone finally changed. P.S. I would not be surprised if Robert Moses had some hand in this of New York denying to take in the Enterprise. He was 1st Chairman of the New York State Council Of Parks from 1924-1963 and had actually stopped the Brooklyn Dodgers from building a new ballpark on Atlantic Yards where the current Barclays Center stands today. It was that reason why Walter O’Malley moved the Dodgers to Los Angeles.

[@Mustapha1963]

If ever a ship deserved to be preserved as a shrine, it was the Enterprise.

[@iamrichrocker]

The picture of the ship at sundown was a moving and apt photo..could sense the navy guy was in a remorseful mood...great video/summary of this epic ship

[@dommy1971ify]

USS Intrepid served her country honorably and gallantly through the war, and beyond. As did the sailors who served aboard her. Having said that, I have always believed, that USS Enterprise should have been where Intrepid is today. The grand old lady, hero of Midway, telling her story and the stories of her pilots, and crew. As sad as it is, that she is no longer with us, at the very least the navy recognizes her magnitude and she lives on in name, as we have said good-bye to Enterprise 65, and will soon say hello to Enterprise 80.

[@allaboutboats]

I was thinking it would be really cool to take those portholes from CV6 currently installed on CV65 (shown on the video) and move them to CV80!

[@wayfaringman8418]

@@allaboutboats Pretty sure that will happen. They're already recycling metal from CVN 65 for use in CVN 80.

[@navyav8r653]

There is more than that of CV 6 still around. I served on CVN65 from 8/18/01-11/30/06 she had a space onboard call the enterprise room. Everything in it including the bulkheads ,deck ,overhead all the display cases are a removed space from CV6. It had relics in it from all the previous ships named Enterprise, Bomb and plane parts from Japanese planes that hit CV6. I got a few photos of the room from my re-enlistment I could share. I hope they carry on the tradition and everything gets removed from CVN65 and installed on the new CVN 80 Enterprise

[@sid2112]

I would LOVE to see those pictures.

[@justcollectingdust]

@@sid2112 as would I! I served on the USS Forrestal 71-72

[@clubtepes2046]

have you shared these pictures on the Facebook Enterprise page?

[@robertlewis1965]

I hope WILLIAM SHATNER gets to launch the new ENTERPRISE !

[@navyav8r653]

@@robertlewis1965 That would be Kind of cool. The guy is 93 now though

[@jeebusk]

Imagine all the Star Trek conventions they could have hosted on this thing!

[@ald1144]

Man, you're not making me feel any better.

[@charlesmaurer6214]

And with tugs could move up and down the coast too! Mobile trek and history/Va convention center. 5 Conventions in a town to pay upkeep plus tours and moved on a seasonal basis, even a good mobile concert hull.

[@Redhand1949]

In the1950s I was a small boy living on Long Island. My paternal grandparents lived in Northern New Jersey. I came from a military family, and was always interested in the Navy -- watched "Victory at Sea" on the TV whenever I could find it. I was privileged to see the Enterprise many times when we crossed the Pulaski Skyway to visit the grandparents. Every time we crossed I looked down at the ship at the scrapper's wharf while it waited for the scrapper until it was no more. It's a shame it wasn't saved.

[@HandyMan657]

This is heartbreaking. She will never be forgotten. Thanks Skynea

[@exAirMover]

She was the USN's Fighting'est Ship of WW2 and I think the most historic ever because of this. It was a terrible shame she was scrapped rather than being preserved 😢

[@Gentleman...Driver]

She is the most decorated US-warship EVER.

[@royasturias1784]

@@Gentleman...Driver That honour goes to USS Nicholas (a Fletcher-class destroyer) with 30 Battle Stars, 10 more than CV-6

[@Gentleman...Driver]

@@royasturias1784 Oh wow. Thanks for this information. I will look her up!

[@Verbindungs]

The USS Enterprise, USS Hornet, and USS Yorktown were amazing ships for their time. No navy at the start of WWII had so powerful and farsighted aircraft carriers such as these. It has always admired me that the Americans had such vision.

[@DK-gy7ll]

The Yorktowns were built to satisfy the Naval treaty limitations. It's just a happy coincidence that they turned out to be such durable and reliable ships.

[@Verbindungs]

What is it said about coincidences? What you call a coincidence I call smart people at the right place at the right time.

[@kenduncan3221]

None took so much damage to die, and none took more damage and sprang back as ready as ever!

[@ULTRA_2112]

@@kenduncan3221HMS Illustrious (87) did survive severe damage as USS Enterprise. The naval historian J. D. Brown noted that "There is no doubt that the armoured deck saved her from destruction; no other carrier took anything like this level of punishment and survived." When HMS Illustrious ultimately arrived at the Norfolk Navy Yard in the United States on 12 May 1941 for permanent repairs, US Navy and Norfolk Navy Yard specialists assessed the damage to the British aircraft carrier and were surprised to find tout that there was not a single US carrier in service, that would have survived this damage and the new Essex-class carriers under construction at the time would not have survived such damage either. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Illustrious_(87)

[@jaybee9269]

Ryan at Battleship New Jersey (great channel) contends that the Shōkaku class were the world’s best aircraft carriers at the start of the war…I agree.

[@wildwillie5408]

Most significant ship in history of USN, not just ww2

[@abhchelms]

I was the flight deck leading chief on CVN-65 from 1986-1989, those of us who served aboard 65 felt the same as those of CV-6! We wanted her or at least her island preserved as a museum as it was and it the only island structure like on a carrier!

[@pedenharley6266]

I certainly wish Enterprise had been saved. I think the closest you can get to visiting her (unless you have a particularly good submersible and can go have a look at her sisters) is to spend one day on BB-55 (which was only commissioned three years later) and then drive to spend the next day on CV-10. I would expect that she is well documented enough to have a reasonable go at creating a virtual museum of her in the style of Titanic Honor and Glory.

[@userbosco]

I went on two dependents cruises on this as a lad. Never served, but will never forget the overwhelming size of this vessel...especially as a little kid!

[@HiddenHistoryYT]

The biggest mistake we've made. Makes it even worse that there were efforts to save her and nobody could get anything together. Great video as always :)

[@user-hc9xs7dy9v]

She may be gone, but she will live on in Legacy. ❤❤❤❤

[@Ambugginfly]

In truth, USS Enterprise CV-6 has been preserved in spirit far more than the physical presence of the ship herself. Both in the real world and the fictional world, the USS Enterprise has been immortalised in our collective consciousness and that has to be the finest tribute that can be paid to both the ship and her crew.

[@marckyle5895]

It would have been nice to walk her decks like I did Hornet's

[@gotanon9659]

Well technically speaking she is both preserve as well as being an active warship as some of her remains are carried and memorabilia were carried to the new CVN 65 with from what i hear it will be continued with the brand new CVN-80

[@Bonzar_Tumberson]

Although it makes me sad the Big E, along with countless other vessels couldn't be saved. I'm still grateful for handful of ships that we Did Manage to preserve. "Even if some are just parts of them."

[@panic_2001]

At least one of the Essex carriers could have been preserved in the WWII configuration.

[@marckyle5895]

They couldn't even be bothered to save USS Cabot, the last existing straight deck fleet carrier, in 2000.

[@George_M_]

Cold war feasibility was the only way we could save anything back then :/

[@bob80q]

@@marckyle5895Cabot was an Escort Carrier not a Fleet Carrier.

[@bob80q]

Not practical with the newer jet aircraft

[@DK-gy7ll]

Consider the vast amount of time and money that was spent putting USS Franklin back together after her ordeal. And then to never use her again, and unceremoniously scrap her years later. The Navy has no business complaining about money when they clearly waste so much of it.

[@osogrande2]

One of my junior high and high school classmates father served on the Enterprise from 44 to 46. He did not often talk about the time he was on the big E but mentioned many of his shipmates that didn't survive. I came to feel he and his wife were like another set of parents. He taught me several live lessons that I continue to use everyday. He was always ready to talk about fishing in pearl harbor bay with hand grenades, smuggling cases of beer onto base suspended by piano wire in tanker of av gas. He said you could always tell when a fresh supply of beer was on base. All the CO2 fire extinguishers on the flight line were empty.

[@wayneabate337]

Interesting Note I grew up in Jersey City and My Grammar school PS 38 overlooked the Kearny scrap yard. On the day when the Enterprise was towed to the scrapyard, My class was told to stand look out the window at the beautiful ship and salute with our hands over our Hearts . That was America.

[@randywarren7101]

Admiral William Halsey tried to have her saved but nobody wanted to spend the money! 20 battle stars for all the battles fought throughout World War 2!

[@Urbicide]

They sure spend money today. How many billions have gone to Ukraine?

[@MrDirigible]

What was done to USS Oregon was just as disgraceful considering she was a memorial before the war and found surplus to requirements of the war and rather than restore her she was unceremoniously scrapped in Japan.

[@aj-2savage896]

FDR was concerned about the optics of not scrapping it. You know, for the war effort.

[@Bonzar_Tumberson]

Agreed. Considering that she WAS a museum ship for a time. Plus being a pre-dreadnought battleship like Mikasa. Really makes it feel like rubbing salt in the wound. I am happy that they saved the old bulldogs mast as a memorial though.

[@Cyberleader135]

I think restoration would have been difficult because by the end of the war Oregon was gutted and stripped to the main deck

[@jamesmurray8558]

The conning tower is in Portland.

[@roadweary5252]

Great video, my friend. Definitely a shame she wasn’t saved. As a Bostonian I’m privileged to live less than 3 miles from the Constitution.

[@jaybee9269]

And I’m quite jealous of that. Good for you, though!

[@memadmax69]

We have tons of millionaires all over this country even back then and not one would do the honor of saving this national treasure...

[@markwilliams2620]

There's a reason they're millionaire/billionaires. They don't pay for anything. Get rich and borrow for the rest of your life.

[@walthammassagefitness]

No doubt. Meanwhile the State of the Union is being held by communists.@@markwilliams2620

[@jeebusk]

Most of them probably never got approached about it.

[@rumannkoch4864]

Elvis did help fund the USS Arizona Memorial

[@FP194]

You need to research what it takes to take on a ship and turn it into a museum Then you will understand why

[@bennybenitez2461]

Outstanding presentation

[@mjisabelle18]

To quote Captain Jean-Luc Picard "Let's make sure history never forgets... the name...Enterprise!" Let's hope when CVN 80 is ready to retire, they can turn her into a museum ship.

[@marckyle5895]

They can't. The world generally frowns on museums with functional nuclear reactors at their core. They'll have to open her up, remove the reactors, put everything back together, restore and then tow to her last berth.Then figure out funding, because the existing carrier museums routinely have all the funding they need, right? And there would still be areas off limits because of residual radiation. The Last E would be at least 50 years from becoming one anyway. It's my guess that Midway will be the only non-Essex carrier museum because we scrapped the rest of the conventionally fueled supercarriers and the other Midways.

[@MrGoesBoom]

Sad to say, never gonna happen with anything that has a nuclear reactor in it

[@aj-2savage896]

Do we know already that it could ever make itself as legendary like the first one?

[@aj-2savage896]

I think it was in one of the movies that showed the quarterdeck being emblazoned with silhouettes of ALL the previous USS ENTERPRISEs.

[@justin3415]

​​@@aj-2savage896 yep. The 1st star trek movie had that scene.

[@fingerfeller]

great documentary, thank you, my father served in the navy from 1955-1975, on destroyers and swift boat in vietnam, i have visited the constitution in boston, the north carolina in NC, and a carrier at Mt Pleasant SC on the cooper river, all wonderful museaums , all victorious in battle, leaving a lot of enemy ships on the bottom of the ocean, including the big E, she sank many enemy ships, downed many aircraft and was essential and material weapon , even her demise can not erase her battle record, and it was a beautiful ship, large for its era because the photo of the E next to a nimitz class is obvious but the nimitz classes were vietnam era, 1960 built

[@lonnylundquist9818]

Never should of done it should of been a museum God bless the men who served in her

[@ricdintino9502]

"have" x2

[@jcwoodman5285]

This is indeed the single biggest loss as a monument. Another overlooked one is USS Oregon BB3 which was a museum but was sent to scrap after Dec 7th then an ignominious end😢

[@jeebusk]

Interesting

[@tomdolan9761]

I find it interesting so few of those who bemoan the loss of certain ship neglect the added expense of restoring these very worn ships in a postwar flush with more modern vessels and the hardwork of the volunteers who dedicate so much time and money to the effort. USS Enterprise was repeatedly bombed throughout the Pacific War and had serious damage which was repaired provisionally to keep her in the fight. Her last kamikazi hit finally ended her war. It was unreasonable to expect a Navy with more modern resources saving any of the ships from the 30s in 1945. We’re lucky to have a few of the battleships. I’m wondering what might be possible in the virtual world by using AI generated imagery from the extensive photos available

[@derweibhai]

Grandfather was a tail Gunner and an SBD dauntless on Enterprise from 43 45 I really wish that I could visit the ship in the museum.

[@rcstl8815]

Seems some of these comments are confusing CV-6 with CVN-65. CVN-65 is the one being scrapped currently with as much as possible being used in the CVN-80 build. CVN-6 was scrapped in 1958 to 1960 CVN-65 was being built. In fact I saw recently that some portholes(?) from CV-6 will also be used in CVN-80.

[@majorborngusfluunduch8694]

Those would probably the portholes mentioned in the video, which were originally from CV-6, then moved to CVN-65.

[@jaycooper2812]

One of the reasons that U.S.S. Enterprise was scrapped was because she was in such poor condition that it was a constant battle to keep her from sinking at her berth. It would have required an almost complete rebuild of the hull to keep her afloat. At the time of her scrapping she was leaking between 13,000 and 20,000 gallons per hour and the pumps were required to run 24 hours a day so she wouldn't sink. My uncle was working in the navy reserve fleet base when the decision was made. At that time it was costing the navy in excess of 1 million dollars a year to keep her from becoming a submarine.

[@jeebusk]

Then ground it

[@SennaAugustus]

I always said with Warspite, tie a German destroyer next to her and she will never sink despite her condition. Maybe they can tie a Japanese destroyer next to Enterprise and she will also always stay afloat, held together only by rage.

[@stevencarter3837]

It's true she was pretty beat up, savable but beat up. I had the pleasure of meeting and knowing a few of the Hard Years crewmen and there were a lot of Make Do repairs and structural flaws including steel members that were subjected to High temp, steel plate patches with concrete poured behind it. Few know it but the ship was wider on the trip back through the Canal because it has Bulged/Flexed out from Explosions Again should it have been saved Yes, was it Economicly possible Not really

[@davidb.fishburn9338]

Funny that some of the portholes were saved and used on CVN 65. During the construction of the new Enterprise, CVN 80, they had CVN 65 alongside the drydock and took parts off to be used on the new ship. Wonder if they are reusing those portholes on the new Enterprise?

[@noahmeehan1327]

Thy are from what I heard

[@stevencarter3837]

Supposedly one of the Hatches from CV-6 was welded into the Bridge of CVN-65

[@oceanlinerfan]

....r.i.p uss enterprise as well as lady lex and yorktown

[@nathanmeece9794]

The USS YORKTOWN CV1O is at Patriots Point in Charleston, South Carolina. The first YORKTOWN was sunk

[@oceanlinerfan]

@@nathanmeece9794 😐ok

[@didgerb72]

See her few times at anchor in Stokes Bay. As too big for Portsmouth Naval Base UK. Easily fit in Southampton as deep draughted container vessels berth at the furthest end of the Port. Although i did get to board USS America in 90. I was young British Army RCT Maritime. We ere doing our Seamanship small boat handling in the Solent. We were in an old Admiralty chevereton barge. We came near to the stern. But got warned to keep clear. But our instructor was a former Royal Navy Officer and former Bosun on royal yacht britainia. He shouted that he had permission to visit. We didnt know. But he knew one of the senior officers aboard, when they met during royal visit. I dont remember much after. As we onky got as far as the QM duty officer, whilst our instructor visited the ward room for an hour. We did get a chance to see the hanger deck. First time as a young 18yr old to see a capital ship of such magnitude. Im now a 52yr old Disabled British Army Veteran. My finances and health means ill never work again. But my lottery jackpot bucket list, is to visit pearl harbour, and as many of the US museum vessels around the country. E.g: all carriers, dreadnoughts, cruisers, plus historical legends like Constitution.

[@mickeyphillips6603]

My father was in the Navy from 1943 until 1963. His favorite ship was the USS Ranger, an aircraft carrier. I know that efforts were made to turn it into a museum after it was decommissioned, but that never materialized. The ship changed hands from the Navy to a scrap yard for the price of 1 penny. I’m glad my father had passed away by the time that occurred. It would have broken his heart. Thank you to all members of the US Armed Forces for your dedication and service.

[@ArenBerberian]

This and Warspite, will go down forever in discussion, as the great "Should of been" museum ships.

[@user-qy3ml6bv1d]

I love this stuff! I am Enterprise crazy since The Motion Picture and have been studying the history of all ships named Enterprise ever since. I'm also a life long modeller and been collecting models and parts to build a visual history of all ships to carry the name from sailing ships to star ships, in multiple scales. Just last month I got the I Love Kit 1/350 CV-6 (on Valentine's day!) and 2 days ago I got the Entex kit of the space shuttle Enterprise. Already have many other kits of the various ships, and about to get serious about building the lineup. Only big thing I'm really looking forward to is a couple good kits of CVN-80 in 2 or 3 different scales to cover that ship. And maybe a good one of the Enterprise F, G, and J. (We haven't seen the H or the I yet, so we don't know what they look like.). Anyway, can't get enough of this stuff, and it's great for continued research and model detail reference. Thanks, and keep it coming!

[@rcstl8815]

Money, yeah but she still lives on as the next Enterprise. Bigger, badder, stronger ready to carry the legacy forward.

[@PelhamExpress]

It would seem USS ENTERPRISE was the Pennsylvania Station of the museum ship world.

[@CarolinaSpecial-No.1397]

Enterprise, Saratoga, Warspite, and Yukikaze should’ve all been preserved, but they didn’t for their own reasons. Enterprise: Nearly saved, later scrapped Warspite: Beaches herself, scrapped onsite Yukikaze: Sold to the ROC, almost saved as well, later scrapped Saratoga: *Sunk at the hands of a darn nuke.*

[@jim-me9wm]

Scrapping her was a crime against our history and the sacrifice of her crew

[@Peorhum]

It wasn't that she was old... nor small, it was that she was worn out after a war, and of course longer carriers were made after her. War can really wear out a ship, more so one with almost continuous sailing and major battle damage, which was the case with the Enterprise in the Pacific.

[@gravanon1577]

This just opens the door for Enterprise A

[@wendywhite4537]

According to history she was a good ship with a fantastic crew. It was sad that she was scrapped, but we have another one with her name.

[@sid2112]

It's a city of steel and while I get preserving the past, I also understand the value of that material. She was a grand ship, and she served us well. Now she serves us one more time helping to build the future. Remember her fondly, and respect her service to us, all of it.

[@alephalon7849]

I think I'll never get over the loss of Enterprise to the breakers, especially since future Enterprises are also unlikely to end up as museum ships.

[@michaelfoster9964]

They may melt our steel… but they will NEVER MELT OUR SPIRIT! E

[@shengyi1701]

At least the world’s first nuclear powered carrier was named Enterprise. CVN-65 is now scrapped but we have the new CVN-80. “Let us make sure history never forgets the name Enterprise.” -Jean-Luc Picard

[@Skirt553]

Speaking of Museum ships, would love a video on the SS Red Oak Victory (It's named for my hometown of Red Oak, Iowa!)

[@stevecochran9078]

Enterprise is in the process of being reborn. Bigger. Better. Faster. There will always be an Enterprise in the fleet.

[@jamesberlo4298]

What a true Disgrace , Enterprise would have been easier and less expensive to maintain than Intrepid, So unbelievable, a big part is the War was still Raw and people wanted to get over it, I saw an interview of a Sailor who was assigned to Enterprise at the start of the War and on Her till the end, then after the War Working in a Factory across from where Enterprise was being Dismantled and torn apart for Scrap Iron and Metals, He said it was tough to take but was so grateful to be alive and the War over, and having a nice life but still very painful & sad , that was His Home.

[@obelic71]

Like the famous quote of General macArthur. "Old soldiers never die they just fade away" The fine ship USS Enterprise CV6 also faded away. Here name will soon be seen again on the high seas. CVN80 is under construction, steel is used from CV6 and CVN65 and in good maritime tradition we only use designation and hull number before CVN80 gets the bottle against here hull!

[@OscarVaughn]

I agree it should have been saved but aircrafts carriers are hard because they are so darn big. Hard to find someone or some organization that can preserve something so large

[@suspiciousminds1750]

Great video! Damn shame, though.

[@slingshot1961]

Tragic she wasn't saved. I would love to walk on a Yorktown class carrier, especially this old war horse. I served on an Essex class carrier, the USS Lexington, and we have plenty of those as museums, including Lexington.

[@RuralTowner]

Left to wonder how many of the workers cried manly tears in this task.

[@mulletoutdooradventures6286]

I live in Philly and fish the river in my boat all the time and I gotta pass the old Navy Yard when I go up the Schuylkill river and they got the JFK there along with a bunch of other ships that are really incredible to get up close to from the water. Even destroyers are imposing. Most are old Burke, and Ticonderoga class cruisers and some supply ships. Shame they are just rusting away

[@Urbicide]

At least our military leaders are concerned with the correct pronouns & diversity. 🙄😬🤢🤮

[@mulletoutdooradventures6286]

@@Urbicide I wanna get one of the Burke class destroyers and do cruises with it. But war cruises where the passengers are crew and we simulate depth charging and anti ship warfare 😂

[@75OldsNinetyEight]

There are some great exhibits for Enterprise at the USS North Carolina museum in Wilmington, NC.

[@user-ss7jl8ze9q]

Not only Enterprise but USS West Virginia and USS Nevada were both thrown away as well. Both were at Pearl Harbor and both fought in the war. 😢

[@johnthomsen8802]

There is a piece of the Enterprise still in existence. It is in front of the Boro Hall in River Vale, NJ.

[@stevencarter3837]

There was a lot more of it spread around the town, the Hoffman field ballpark was made out of the Enterprise flight deck. All the bleachers all the out field fence and I believe the cooler in the concession stand was Enterprise. There's even a flag pole on Hoffman's house that possibly could have been a part of it. When the field was rebuilt in the 70/80 the field wood wound up in the area under and behind the maintenance shed at the school. I almost wonder if the steel plates that used to lean against the tree on the side yard (rumerd to be war record) just disappeared while selling the house, I have wondered if they just broke ground somewhere and just covered it and planted grass on top

[@robertkreutzer9186]

Enterprise's stern nameplate is on display in a park in Rivervale, NJ. Her commissioning plaque is in the US Navy Museum on the grounds of the Washington Navy Yard. Prior to 9/11 you could just ask for permission to go to the museum and it was no muss, no fuss, but now it is much more difficult. I happened to be in the museum when Admiral Arliegh Burke, (ret.) happened to wander through. That was a very good day....

[@nunabiz]

Every super carrier that made it through thier life and ended up scrapped was a legend!!

[@RedXlV]

And now CVN-65 is being scrapped as well, the legendary first nuclear-powered carrier. It's a pity they couldn't at least take off her very distinctive square island and mount it on land somewhere as a museum.

[@passat24666]

The main question not answered is, Why was the Navy so eager to get rid of her???

[@bkjeong4302]

RIP to the greatest capital ship of all time.

[@TheHawk--oe8iq]

The "Legend" continues with CV-80, a Ford class aircraft carrier named the USS Enterprise.

[@rickeyhooper9815]

She loves in our 😊memory. Great lady.

[@PaulBeaudoin]

If she had ended up in New York, do you think they would have covered half the flight deck with big ugly barns to stuff unrelated exhibits inside like CV-11? That would have been a disgrace, like it is with CV-11. In the end, it was probably too close to the events that made her famous to begin with. Very sad.

[@aj-2savage896]

They had to appeal to a larger market to survive. Plain and simple.

[@frostedbutts4340]

Yeah if a few easily removed sheds on the deck are what it takes to keep her floating.. better than the alternative. @@aj-2savage896

[@mykofreder1682]

Some of the Navel Academy grads that served on her during her finest hour, were in positions of influence at the time. Eisenhower, who fought in the war, was President at the time. It would be hard to get a better group of people with history in the war and ship that OKed the scrapping by sitting on their hands.

[@rangerider4288]

_BIG~E_ turned the War, one Battle Star at a time and 20 of them overall.

[@MarkLac]

Living in NYC and hearing we had the chance to save Enterprise is angering, but should be no surprise at all with this city and how it fails at preserving history in big moments. We saw the same thing with Pennsylvania Station and how that literally broke the camels back in preservation.

[@calikid3336]

There's a lot of scrap metal there for sure, but wouldn't there also likely be asbestos on piping throughout which would go with it? And that would have to be removed from the steel?

[@scottyb68]

She should have been sold for $1 and either her final berth paid for by the government and more time given to the group. The Navy even then wasted more money than was required to make her a top notch memorial.

[@aqf235]

Always wondered why so many battleships were saved out of all the various classes of WW2 warships.

[@glennrishton5679]

I think in large part because of their names. Citizens of those various states didnt wish to see "their" ship get scrapped. Also despite carriers being the new Navy post WWII and not to forget subs most still were thinking of BBs as the most impressive ships. Truly a BB is far more impressive to see docked than a carrier because from shore you can see the bristling guns, that have the mean look.

[@DK-gy7ll]

Sort of ironic how the Yorktown and Hornet were sunk in combat, yet technically they still exist today while the Enterprise doesn't.

[@majorborngusfluunduch8694]

By that logic Enterprise is doing much better than those two. She got a long second life as the first Atomic Aircraft Carrier and will get a third life as one of the latest examples of the type.

[@fredvanduyne8684]

My father served aboard CV-6 USS ENTERPRISE. He was a member of VT-10 . His plane was shot down by enemy action during the battle of Leyte.

[@shellysmith1037]

sad to see them go.

[@mitchellscrannage6855]

Even the Hermes was a sad loss. There had been talks from buying her back from India but those plans fell through

[@fredderf3152]

I am surprised there was no mention of the Lexington in Charleston.

[@Ka9radio_Mobile9]

Hey! I was a snot nose kid and still am and I resemble that! 😀

[@michaelfranklin4276]

I think there was a general wave swell of regret that went through the beauracracy of the Navy after Enterprise's fate. CV-10 Yorktown was saved and made a memorial. Of course, she was not the sister ship of Enterprise at Midway, but carried on the torch of pride of those brave beloved ships. If the original CV-5 had survived the war, it's very likely she would've been spared the scrapper's yard to carry on for her other three sister ships names.

[@markwilliams2620]

Good point that many vets considered her hallowed ground. Another is many wanted to forget the war in the 1950's. TV was full of Westerns. You don't see WW2 Tv shows until the mid 60's when the nostalgia glasses start being worn. "If only....". Well, they didn't. Move on. Save what you have now. Help replace the teak on Alabama. Spend a night on Intrepid or Silversides. Visit The Showboat. Comments are 💩 (this included). Money and feet on the decks talk.

[@ph89787]

Bit of a spooky coincidence that Halsey died around the same time scrapping began on the Big E.

[@leroysgamesandmore2226]

I remember watching Battle 360 as a kid and my uncle argued that CV-6 wasn’t scrapped she was secretly rebuilt as CVN-65 I lost so many brain cells trying to get him to accept what happened to her

[@Grafknar]

Good man. That’s what it must really have happened. I’m stealing it. 👊😕

[@leroysgamesandmore2226]

@@Grafknar lol go ahead even as a kid I knew he was saying pure nonsense

[@erbmiller]

There's a chance it's partly true, from a certain point of view. Who knows how much steel from cv-6 was reforged unknowingly for cvn-65. Though bits and pieces from an old ship used in a new ship, it would be hard pressed to call a rebuild.

[@Stansman63]

I'd happily trade several of the Iowa class battleships for the Enterprise.

[@michaelmcclellan6944]

I would have favored saving the USS Saratoga ( CV - 3 )

[@rickeyhooper9815]

Was a defrent world we lived in when these great flattops protected our country.god bless them.

[@MrGoesBoom]

6:10 Please tell me these were saved from 65 and are going to be on the next Enterprise...would be one hell of a shame if they were lost this time around

[@bob80q]

These what?

[@MrGoesBoom]

@@bob80qthe portholes they saved from the first Enterprise (6 )for use on the nuclear one ( 65 ) which has been decommissioned. I think they've started on the scrapping process but my memory sucks so don't quote me on that

[@bob80q]

@@MrGoesBoom last I heard scrapping had been delayed until next year and was anticipated to be completed by 2030, some steel from it has been removed and used in construction of the new one.

[@KNS1996DFS]

Another factor in the preservation of the battleships is that their namesake states have a sentimental attachment to them.