Flugzeugträger USS Enterprise
Im Frühjahr 2012 brach die USS Enterprise schließlich zu ihrer 22. und letzten Einsatzfahrt auf. Am 1. Dezember 2012 folgte die offizielle Deaktivierung. Leider gibt es keine Zukunft als Museumsschiff sondern einen langwierigen Verschrottungsprozess. Immerhin soll das dritte Exemplar der neuen Ford-Klasse, die CVN-80, wieder auf den Namen Enterprise getauft werden. Dann lebt die Legende weiter.
“Here we go!” Shortly after the call of the load master, the C-2 Greyhound literally hits the deck. A fraction of a second later the hook engages the arresting cable and with a hard jerk the transporter comes to a halt. A short time later, the rear ramp opens a little. From the rear-facing seats, the passengers can already observe the hustle and bustle on the flight deck as the turboprop taxis to its parking position near the island. While the engines are still running, the passengers walk briskly into the interior of the tower. Welcome to the US Navy’s most famous aircraft carrier, the USS Enterprise CVN-65.
For more than 50 years, the world’s first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier provided reliable service. In its penultimate operational voyage in 2011, the carrier, known to its crew as “Big E”, even took action against pirates in the North Arabian Sea. However, the carrier wing stationed on board, Carrier Air Wing One, concentrated for the most part on missions in Afghanistan as part of Operation Enduring Freedom. The CVW-1 contained 44 Hornets: eleven F/A-18Fs each of the VFA-11 “Red Rippers” and VFA-211 “Checkmates”, twelve F/A-18Es of the VFA-136 “Knighthawks” and ten F/A-18Cs of the VMFA-251 “Thunderbolts” of the US Marines. Also on board were four EA-6B Prowlers of the VAQ-137 “Rooks”, four E-2C Hawkeyes of the VAW-123 “Screwtops” as well as the three Seahawk HH-60H and four SH-60F of the HS-11 “Dragonslayers”. A special mission was carried out by an F/A-18F of the VFA-11 on 24 May 2011: Lieutenant Matthew Enos and Lieutenant Commander Jonathan Welsh completed the 400,000th arrested landing on the “Big E”. Only the carriers “Lexington”, “Independence” and “Kitty Hawk”, which have long since been decommissioned, have reached this number.
