USS Enterprise (CVN-65)
From Memory Alpha, the free Star Trek reference
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The USS Enterprise (CVN-65) was a US Navy aircraft carrier in the 20th century and the second carrier to bear the name.
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[edit] History
The Enterprise operated during the latter half of the 20th century, following the retirement of the previous carrier named Enterprise. The new Enterprise was one of the most powerful ships of its time and was the first carrier on Earth to be powered by a nuclear fission reactor.
In 1986, Enterprise was docked at the Alameda Naval Base in San Francisco when it was breached by an apparent Soviet spy. The "spy" was Starfleet Commander Pavel Chekov, who had been collecting nuclear radiation from one of the ship's reactors to recrystallize dilithium for a captured Klingon Bird-of-Prey that had traveled back in time. (Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home)
[edit] Legacy
Over a century later, the ready room of Enterprise (NX-01) featured a sketch of the carrier as well as other early vessels named Enterprise. (Star Trek: Enterprise)
The portrait of her World War II predecessor was on the famous USS Enterprise's recreation deck. (Star Trek: The Motion Picture)
A sculpture of the carrier adorned the wall of the observation lounge on the USS Enterprise-D during the first few years of that vessel's service. (Star Trek: The Next Generation) The sculpture, like the older pencil sketch, depicted the ship in her pre-1975 configuration.
[edit] Appendices
[edit] Background
In Star Trek IV, the "part" of USS Enterprise was actually filled by the conventionally-powered USS Ranger (CV-61, Forrestal-class), because Enterprise was on deployment at the time of the movie's filming. At the time of the filming, the reactor arrangement of all American nuclear aircraft carriers was tightly classified. Ranger also stood in for Enterprise in the 1986 aviation thriller Top Gun. Ranger differed from Enterprise in the shape of the ship's command "island" superstructure (which was longer, rectangular and possessed smokestacks for the ship's oil-fired boilers) and the placement of the side elevators, with two abaft of the island instead of two before it. Both differences were visible in Star Trek IV.
In the real world, Enterprise is nicknamed "the Starship," after her fictional namesake. Her "official" nickname, as well of that of her predecessor, is "Big 'E'". She also possesses the far less flattering nicknames Three-Quarter Mile Island and Mobile Chernobyl, after famous nuclear disasters. According to the Naval Historical Center, the name Enterprise means "Boldness, Energy and Invention in Practical Affairs".
Sailors from "The Big E" appeared as background extras in several episodes of Star Trek: Enterprise.In 1993 and 1994, the Star Trek Association of Towson, a fan club in Towson, Maryland, sponsored "The Big E Con," a convention held aboard the carrier Enterprise while the ship was at its home port of Norfolk, Virginia. The events featured tours of the ship and appearances by Star Trek notables. The fan club also donated Star Trek memorabilia for display in the ship's recreation room. turn of a phrase
[edit] External links
- USS Enterprise (CVN-65) official website
- USS Enterprise (CVN-65) at Wikipedia
- USS Enterprise (CVN-65) at Memory Beta, the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
