The Final Voyage of the Aircraft Carrier Enterprise

The last mission featuring rare interviews of U.S. Navy pilots and sailors relating their stories and experiences living aboard as a member of the crew.

[@marcuskervy6507]

I was on this boat with VA-196, Main Battery from September 1972 to April 1973. We flew A6A Intruders, with 77 combat missions over North and South Vietnam. Thanks for making this video. Sure brought back many happy memories. Proud to be part of history.

[@gogogravity]

USS Midway veteran from the early 80s here. Salute!

[@sapphire13579]

My brother was in the Navy. The Enterprise was the first ship he was on. I had Christmas dinner on the ship one year.

[@oldhendy785]

....I served aboard the destroyer USS Henderson DD-785. We operated with the Big E a number of times off Vietnam. I'll never forget the first time I saw her up close. We had pulled along side for an unrep. I stepped out on deck to my unrep station and was overwhelmed at the sight of this massive war machine. We were about amid ships and preparing to fire the bolos for the hook up lines. A DD along side a CVN is just dwarfed by her size. It's sad that she's being retired. My destroyer was commissioned in 1945 and served until 1980 and sold to Pakistan. I would have rather seen her used as target practice for our side rather than going to Pakistan. I like to tell people that I'm mighty damn proud of my service aboard the tin can Henderson. BUT, in my next life I plan to come back as flight deck crew member on a flat top.

[@sapphire13579]

I'm proud of everyone who serves in the military. I'm saddened when I hear people say," Well, at least he/she came back unharmed." I believe everyone loses a bit of themselves when they see first hand what happens during battle. That is what should make the rest of us thankful for the military. You are willing to sacrifice some (sometimes all) of yourself. Thank you.

[@davidcoon7741]

The Big “E”, The first ship l served on from 76-79, what a ride she was with many great memories.

[@johnpeterson4213]

I served on CVN 65 from 1976 to 1978! It was an amazing journey! I was a crashcrewman!

[@jamessuhr9667]

Goodbye old Girl, I remember her well.From a Royal New Zealand Navy Sailor .F148 .

[@pennyott8446]

My blue bird troop sold candy to all the sailors on the Enterprise in 1976-77!!it was so amazing for a little girl to watch the goings on in that massive carrier!!!!I was awestruck!!!!!

[@AdmiralPreparedness]

I served on the U.S.S. Truxtun (CGN-35) ~79 -82, one of the first surface nuclear powered guided missile ships. The Enterprise was one of the ships we sailed with during a cruise and a famous picture was taken of all of the nuclear powered surface ships of the day. Sad to she that she will be scrapped.

[@Tracks777]

I like! Keep it up!

[@pumkin12287]

Thank You, Very Nice.

[@staudtj1]

I'll always remember the Star Trek Movie where Chekov says "Captain....we have found the nuclear vessel....And it is the Enterprise!

[@mikescott53]

My first ship. 1972-1974 V-2 Div Arresting Gear

[@russgammon1979]

Mike Scott Did you happen to know Jim Ryan, Steve Price, Bobby Chandler, Gary Knicklebien, Wesley Pye, Mike Haskins, Lt. Kane? to mention few.I also was in the Gear from 74-76.

[@erictaylor5462]

It's telling that the Enterprise is the only ship in it's class. They built the Enterprise, figured out everything they did wrong with that design, then built the Nimitz class. Still it was good enough to serve for more than 50 years.

[@MegaBakerg]

Well, The Enterprise has been put on hold! Until Naval Sea systems can figure out just what to do with the reactors, Yes it worked with the Long Beach , Bainbridge,Truxton, 'Virginia class cruiser classes were pretty easy but this Carrier class is a monster!! I say keep it in service . With the problems going on with the Ford class carriers, What's to lose here?

[@AvengerII]

CVN-65 already served TWICE the life expectancy it was originally designed for! The main thing they had to worry about were the reactors but other things were breaking around that ship. The hull has components that are over 60 years old. The ship has been well-worn and arguably should have been decommissioned earlier. It's not an efficient design and has half the endurance of the Nimitz-class ships. It's more expensive to support because it's one of a kind and spares are more difficult to procure to support it. You could not refit CVN-65 easily. It would have to be torn and literally rebuilt. The tear-down to get the 8 reactors that are still sitting in the machinery space is why it was never viable to turn Enterprise into a museum ship. You'd have to rebuild the hull around the holes and the Navy won't do that for Big E or any nuclear-powered carrier! The namesake has been laid down. It's time to let the old ship go and hopefully they will tear down the hull of CVN-65 sometime in our lifetimes because the process of winding it down has been expensive!

[@Psalm1101]

Didn't gene Roddenberry serve on the enterprise. His knowledge shown against the romulan star ship

[@MilesEdgeworth129]

These are the voyages...

[@stnwrd]

My Dad is a plank owner of the USS Enterprise. He told me that he was part of the nucleus crew.

[@juliamason8393]

My son Jared B Mason was was a member of the last crew on the last cruise of the U.S.S Enterprise before being de-commissioned.

[@robertaseremo3294]

Julia Mason Another USS ENTERPRISE well emerge the old USS Enterprise well be redyce into a scraper metal while new the USS ENTERPRISE well USS GERALD FORD CLASS CVA 80

[@robertaseremo3294]

Julia Mason I can draw the old USS ENTERPRISE if you would like it ?

[@AlbanianDentist]

just curious ... How does it feel to know your son pushed the button of a bomb that killed a million Iraqis? Metaphorically speaking as i know your son didnt push that button. How can you be proud of your son "serving your country" knowing he is going to kill and fight some rich sick peoples war....?

[@glenndavis3406]

AQ2 RVAH-6 I was on flight deck when fire started 69

[@uncbadguy]

I didn't know she had been de-commissioned. ;(

[@jeffreyallen3796]

Sad that she is retired.

[@Nikohere]

From 1968-69 my grandpa served on a oil refueler called uss Ponchatoula and he said he refueled the Enterprise many times.

[@davidcollison8973]

Niko here, those airplanes need a lot of gas!

[@davidcollison8973]

Niko here, those airplanes need a lot of gas!

[@unbournx]

My apology for lack of history knowledge...but is this the same enterprise in azur lane.. So she's strong due to the nuke power?

[@hosearolynquindiagan5258]

Yes.. the same Enterprise. I'm a fan too.

[@hanoitripper1809]

So who caused the explosion

[@sestrelbethesda9450]

So, what does “plank owner” mean?

[@drakecherry3375]

It means they were members of the FIRST crew. My father was a plank owner. As a child, about 6 years old, they had a family day when we went aboard for a while in the early 60s.

[@calebh7480]

@@drakecherry3375 thats so cool! i never knew that!

[@J3AD]

are they planning to name a new carrier the enterprise?

[@marcuskervy6507]

Not that I know of, the recent trend has been that of naming carriers after former presidents. I hope they won't name one after Obama or Biden. Seriously.

[@gangsterwafflesthe7th508]

Uss Enterprise cvn 6 is the real enterprise

[@philashio3595]

Not to be confused with the "Enterprise" at Midway?????

[@MajicMongoose62]

No, that one sank, I believe. They either sink or are decommissioned before the name can go to a new ship....

[@GardenerEarthGuy]

It would be cool to turn into a planter in the back yard.

[@dhindaravrel8712]

2009 was a bad year for two ships named Enterprise, apparently.

[@vhede5759]

The lucky E

[@jackthompson1382]

And now a pyramid scheme car rental business is named after it. ‘Merica. We should be so proud.

[@justsaucerawsauce8291]

owarida

[@ruditoromano3842]

😳😥😓

[@tehsauce1460]

she was mine. she has taken blood, tears, and a asstom of sweat. its hell in the MMR hard press to find a hotter spot.

[@tehsauce1460]

i loved athens overall for this deployment.

[@ruditoromano3842]

💝🥰💖😇🌏😘

[@donotdrink1]

RAG Museum Of Science Melancholy Acres, L.L.C.: Philologist: Twenty-seventh of July Twenty Seventeen From the Desk of: Mr. Roger A. Gertz; "Commissioned": Thank you ,Sir~! Question: How long is a "Cotton Picking Minute?" A Cotton Picking Minute is greater than fifty-nine cotton picking seconds but, never greater than sixty-one cotton picking seconds~! Try thinking about how it will feel having a cotton picking second, holding your horses, without light, in the back of a wagon, at night, and without a moon rise. We The People Are All Equal~ It is already illegal to practice Sharia Law in America. Please, do not get me started over the matter on anything Sharia, Islam, and/ or Muslim Philosophy. We are born, we will die, in the mean time, you understand (mean) it is "average" as in average time, we will be all we will be~. Show your work, Learn, and Study~! Thank you, again, knowledge is power, know yourself, and know your enemy.

[@ItsPauly22]

they can "accidently" leave it somewhere so ISIS can find it now, that's there common practice these days isn't it

[@Urbicide]

That would have been an Obama administration action. Good thing that Hillary Clinton was not elected. She would have sold the Enterprise & laundered the money through the Clinton Foundation.

[@MrCtsSteve]

Urbicide what are you stupid ?

[@tonysickels3776]

That's about as stupid as the ads on here

[@virgule888]

Did you know? The Enterprise nuclear propulsion system was designed by the same man who build the nuke aboard the Nautilus? He thought of a nuclear warship as such an insane idea that he endeavoured to built it in a manner so convoluted, so bureaucratically batshit that no paper pusher would ever approve of the design on the basis of cost alone. It's got four separate reactors. None share a single part. think of a ship's narrow hatchways. Spare parts have to jiggled throughout. There's four completely different nukes to be services. Maintenance is a Major Bitch. All done with hope that the Brass will see reason and abandon the venture of nuclear powered WARSHIPS. Nope. All the Brass saw is the stupendous operational range advantage. So them nuclear boats can circumnavigate the globe many times over? All it cost is "money" to maintain them? Money? What do you mean by that? The crap minions are forced to produced? derpa derpa.

[@public.public]

scrap it and make something useful from it.

[@glenndavis3406]

AQ2 RVAH-6 I was on flight deck when fire started 69