- Sputnik International
World
Get the latest news from around the world, live coverage, off-beat stories, features and analysis.

Farewell, 'Legend'! US Decommissions Its First Nuclear-Powered Aircraft Carrier

© AFP 2023 / JIM WATSONThe Navy aircraft carrier USS Enterprise rests at the pier as it is gutted before being official decommissioned at Naval Station Norfolk in Norfolk, Virginia, May 8, 2013, during the Department of Defense's tour deemed Navy 101
The Navy aircraft carrier USS Enterprise rests at the pier as it is gutted before being official decommissioned at Naval Station Norfolk in Norfolk, Virginia, May 8, 2013, during the Department of Defense's tour deemed Navy 101 - Sputnik International
Subscribe
USS Enterprise, usually referred to as a "legendary" warship, has been decommissioned by US Navy on Friday after a half century of service.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — The US aircraft carrier Enterprise has been retired, the US Navy announced in a press release.

"The ship was put to sea in 1961 and safely steamed more than 1 million nautical miles on nuclear power over its entire career of more than 50 years," the release stated on Friday.

The Admiral Kuznetsov aircraft-carrying cruiser in Severomorsk. File photo - Sputnik International
Russia
How Russian Carrier Admiral Kuznetsov Compares to US Counterparts
The decommissioning ceremony not only marked the end the ship's nearly 55-year career, it also served as the very first decommissioning of a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, the release explained.

The ship’s history included a 1960 deployment to track the flight of the late astronaut John Glenn as he became the first American to orbit the Earth.

Two years later, the carrier deployed when President John Kennedy ordered a naval blockade of Cuba in what became known as the Cuban missile crisis.

On September 11, 2011, the Enterprise turned around during a voyage home to the United States and headed back to Persian Gulf, where it sent its aircraft on hundreds of sorties over Afghanistan in the weeks that followed.

Newsfeed
0
To participate in the discussion
log in or register
loader
Chats
Заголовок открываемого материала