When You Have No Choice but to Hold the Line
Unquestionably THE most well-known American warship of World War II, U.S.S. Enterprise (CV-6) was the second ship of the Yorktown-class aircraft carriers. But when she was launched in 1936, no one could have imagined just how important she would become in the future.
The Early Engagements
Just days after the Attack on Pearl Harbor, Enterprise would draw first blood on the Imperial Japanese Navy. When her aircraft spotted and sank the Japanese submarine I-70, just north of Hawaii. But this was only the beginning.
As 1942 came, Enterprise would be involved in numerous engagements throughout the western Pacific. Most notably the Battle of Midway and the many Naval Battles of Guadalcanal. But in this time Enterprise went from having 2 sisters, to being an only child, as both Yorktown and Hornet would be lost during that year. Coupled with the loss of the USS Lexington at Coral Sea and the Saratoga in dry dock after an encounter with another Japanese submarine, Enterprise became the only operational aircraft carrier the Americans had in the Pacific for a time.
A fact her crew were well aware of, as they had even placed a sign on the ship that said “Enterprise vs. Japan”. In a way, Enterprise had the unenviable task of holding the line against the Japanese Imperial Navy for many months and taking serious damage as a result. There were many times the Japanese believed they had sunk the Aircraft Carrier after leaving it burning, only to see it sailing just weeks later as if nothing had happened. This earned her the nicknames “The Gray Ghost” and “The Galloping Ghost”.
The Legacy Lives On
Even as the new Essex-class carriers came online and began to flood into the Pacific, Enterprise was there alongside them thanks to upgrades to her radar and more importantly, anti-aircraft guns.
Enterprise would survive the war with 20 battle stars, a Presidential Unit Citation, and even a British Admiralty pennant from the Royal Navy.
Sadly, there was not much need for the old Yorktown-class carrier after the war, and she was eventually sent to the breakers in 1958. But her legacy still lives on today in more ways than one. The first Nuclear Powered Carrier was named Enterprise (CVN-65) and there are already plans to build U.S.S. Enterprise (CVN-80). In 1964, a man by the name of Gene Roddenberry chose the name “Enterprise” for the hero ship in a little television series called “Star Trek,” mainly because of the ship’s history during the war.
Also, ever heard about Enterprise Rent-A-Car? Well, guess what? The founder of that company, Jack C. Taylor, was a fighter pilot stationed on the Enterprise during the war and actually named his company after the ship.
~NC
