USS Enterprise (CVN 65) - Naval Cruise Book

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Flight -1,-t, , ga. t he day started out like most- sunny, warm andcalm. EN- TERPRISE was 70 miles south of' Hawaii going tllough UI Operational Readiness Inspection, similarto REFTRA and ATA. At 8: I5 seveml men started working theirway to their general quarters station for an anticipated drill. What they did notantici- pale was that in five minutes they would be involved in the real thing - fighting for their lives and the ship's survival. At 8: I9. Tuesday. January I4, l969 the ship's IMC I main intercom systemj called away, Fire, Fire, F'n'e on the flight deck! This is not a drill! This is notadrilll' The initial explosion and fire wascausedby hot air exhaust from a starter jet cart which overheated a Zuni air-to- ground rocket attached to an F-4 Phantom. The aircraft on the flight deck were being readied to launch for a bombing exercise on Kahoolawe. As such, most of the aircraft were loaded down with ordnance. When the first explosion occuned, ENTERPRISE was into a port tum in preparation for launch. Captain Kent L Lee, commanding officer. immediately ordered the tum be continued. This maneuver kept an I 8-knot wind blowing the flames aft, away from the aircraft and the island. 3 . E322 'The guys fighting that fire had more guts than anything I have ever seen. Bombs wen' going of and they still kept pushing those damn hoses in front of themselves and dragging guys out. Q sg., 1-.- A Chiefwarrant Oliicer I im Helton was one of the men working topside when the rocket exploded. I was walking aft on the l1ightdeck, he said. Suddenly, a fine ball went off in front of my Helton and severothers immediately retrieved fire hoses and helped rescue injured men from the spreading fire. A series of eight explosions shook the ship between 8:22 and 8:38. Helton and others fighting the fire were knocked to the deck several times, yet got back to their feet to battle the blaze. One sailor who worked in the island wrote home, 'The guys lighting that fire had more guts than anything I have ever seen. Bombs were going off and they still kept pushing those damn hoses in frontof themselves and dragging guys out. Below the flight deck the fire ravaged several compart- ments. One crewmember described the unbelievable damage: Some of the things back there were unreal. It's hard to believe what fire can do. The bulkheads melted, ran onto the decks which in tum melted and fell into the berthing spaces below. It's amazing we didn't lose more guys than we did . . The explosions and fire killed 27 and injured 85. Eighteen months earlier, a fire almost exactly the same aboard USS -i A, ' - 0 5 A Q K . V g by .LH H L 4: V' '12, WT, , ,, , V L :- g l . as gjff, y ,g a ..- -- -uve.-4 ' ' 'ii - ' Y I - - ' T 1 i5r..,-, -. --'-,,.. ,. L 'f F :. M-: V ..., ' , 1 -- r l fi., 4 ...Y -in j--- A- 'fi 4? -A

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Shipyard. its tlrst since being Commissioned. The feature gf the two-day transit to Bremerton was the S00families who were also embarked. While the nations tirst nuclear-powered carrier was beginning its overhaul, nuclear power became headline news across the nation. On March 28, Three Mile Island nuclear power plant near Middletown, Pennsylvania had a major accident result- ing in radioactive gases escaping into the environment. Another major headline ofthe year was Iran taking 63 hostages from the American Embassy in Tehran on November 3. The captors were militant student followers ofthe Ayatollah Khomeini. X950 On January 4, 1980. President Carter announced a series of punitive measures against the USSR as a reprisal for the Soviet's invasion of These measures included an embargo on the sale of grain and high technology. In addition, at 51.2, .,., -,...,....,.-......-..... M. ....l...4. f Yojfz Hinckley attempted the assassination. Columbia was the nations first space shuttle launched into orbit when it lifted off at Cape Canaveral on April 12. It com- pleted a successful mission two days later. Sandra Day 0'Connor became the first female U.S. Supreme Court Justice, September 21, when the Senate voted 99-0 for confirmation. X932 On February 1 1, 1982 the Big E departed Puget Sound Naval Shipyard like new. One of the most visible changes was seen onthe island structure. The bee hivev radar dome that made ENTERPRISE look distinct. was no longer part of the the comprehensive overhaul, ENTERPRISE the request of the President, the U.S. Olympic Committee voted, tmdeitook the largest habitability self-help program ever at- April 12, to boycott the Summer Olympics held in Moscow, tem by a The crew refurbished every beithing and head Two weeks later, on April 24, eight were incl 5,200 new modular berths, and live wounded in an ill-fated attempt to rescue the American redesigninglenngest in new lockers and improving the C ' hostages heldinlmn. andvventilfnion- Mt. St. Helenseruptedonamlm Sunday morning, May C . September 1, departed Alameda fOr 18, in a violent blast estimated to be 500 times more its ld3P10YmCm- me me Big the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima. y n I E 'cond11tIi3edfexercisesv in the Sea of Japan and twice operated On December 8, the music world and nation was ' g Q when John Lennon was shot and Ms f t C l r .y 1 CVCHTS Of the Yeaf included the Equal Rights building in New Yak, t 2 e l being defeated ta 10-yearsiruggle for ratifica- XQHQ Ronald Reagmt ww as me Y US- highest lmemiioymem me Since 1949 at the United States on J 'y 26, l l. 'Fmt day, t fwef 11 PCOPIC Uf WQYKL Lefinid released the America homes wang 444gyS t 2 Generai ofthe Soviet Union died November On Moen 30, no Predbnt we me ion 2 75 a Clerk, 6.1, becamesie first recipient Of 2 w. Hintney, Jr. mmm the , S Decembefl V Q., VV V , ' V, . ., , g . NG,

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rtic lected rg an was 1 l ,the r E t of aint for irliner os- ad one rison- estine in fear- pl. ls laly rged lman- 1 neda irst te-off. fhrista exile. MOI'- larcos B B . Y -.-... - Y l 'N A Soviet city in the Ukraine became a household name as a result ofa major nuclear accident. The nuclear power plant in Chemobyl suffered a melt down on April 28, causing 23 deaths and the evacuation of 40,000 people. The next day. another historic event occuned in the life of the ENTERPRISE when it became the first nuclear-powered aircraft canier to transit the Suez Canal. The ship remained in the Mediterranean over six weeks. The Big E retumed from its seven month deployment on August l 3. In November, the Reagan administration began facing its greatest crisis when news of the govemment selling spare parts to Iran were reported on November 3. In the Soviet Union, January 1987 started a new'era of reform and openness for the country. Mikhail Gorbachev proposed new economic and social reforms on January '27, giving birth to glasnost. The USS STARK was struck by two missiles in the Persian Gulf on May 27. The missiles, fired by an Iraqi warplane, killed 37 sailors. October 19, became known as Black Tuesday on Wall Street as the stock market fell a record 508 points, the worst decline since the stock market crash in 1929. When ENTERPRISE departed for its 13th major overseas deployment on January 5, 1988, another page in the history books would be written. - In April 1988, Enterprise, on its 13th deployment, was assigned to escort reflagged Kuwaiti oil tankers in the Persian Gulf while stationed in the North Arabian Sea. In a measured response, Enterprise and Carrier Air Wing 1 1 struck a decisive blow to the Iranian navy in the most intensely fought naval battle since the Korean campaign. Enterprise began its 14th overseas deployment in September 1989. InearlyDecember,Enterprise ' 'patedin OperationCla . J v V- : ' ' ,n , Y rf' M. ., , .,, 1 ' f 17 f ' ff' ffur I Qi Q-412:59 I L1 'Y W Nur., -I ,fm 'QA 4 ' . , Q I fra' ,015 fififfe f, f 'f . .13 -' 'A ' ' ,V w 'J A 1 .ED . , It .,, lure: Q. Ziff , ' .- jf L1--V : 3 n -I-EI: 1 fe T 'I I :farm f'-fam, ' ,fa ,--.. if:--Aff, I Resolve, PresidentBush'sresponsetoPhilippine PresidentCorazron Aquino'srequestforairsupportduringtherebel coup attempt. Enterprise remainedon station conductingflightoperationsinthewatersoutside Manila Bay. In Manch 1990, Enterprise completed its highly successful around- the-worlddeploymentby arriving in Norfolk, Va Enterprisehad successfully and safely steamed morethan43,000 milesfromitslong-timehomeportof Alameda, Calif. InOctober, Enterprise moved to Newport News Ship- building and DrydockCompany forrefuelingandtheNavy'slargestcomplex overhaul everattempted. . Workbeganineamestinlanuary 1991. Whilespeciallytrained shipyard workers refueled the ship' s eight reactors, crewmen began over- hau1ingthecarrier's3,500compartments. Itretumed toseaSept. 27, 1994, forseatrials, during which Enterprise performedanextendedfull powemrnasfastas when it was new. TheBig Eremains the fastestcombatant in the world. Onlune 28, 1996, Enterprise began its 15th overseas deployment. TheBigEenforced no-fly zones in twoof the world'smostcritical areas. Bosnia-Herzegovina COpe1ation J ointEndeavorJ and Iraq I Operation Southem WatchJ,fIyingnear1y 5,000missions BigEsteamed more than 50,000 miles during l40days atsea, and launched and recovered morethan 13,000 aireraft which logged 25,0111 flighthours. 1 e During the deployment, the ship'sF-14squadron, VF 103,became thelirsttousetheLowAltitudeNavigation andTargeting Infared Systemfor NightfLANTlRNJ pod. BigEalso was the first nuclear-powered carrierto visit SoudaBay, Crete, and Bahrain. The deployment marked theend of an era when VA-75 retired the A-6E Intruder from the Navy. Enterprise completed its deploymentDec. 20, 1996. In February of 1997 Enterprise entered Newport News Shipbuild- ing andDrydockCo. foran extended selectiverestrictive availablity lasting four-and-a-half months. Thenext six-month deploymentis scheduled for November :J I 1 S r r