Key Points: The USS Enterprise (CVN-65) is considered the best U.S. aircraft carrier for its combination of technical innovation, lengthy service history, and remarkable size. It was the world’s first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, housing eight nuclear reactors, and remained in service for 50 years.
-Measuring 1,123 feet, it is the longest naval vessel ever built. The Enterprise participated in major historical events, including the Cuban Missile Crisis and the Vietnam War, and endured challenges like a deadly fire in 1969. Despite these setbacks, it continued to serve through the Iraq War and was retired in 2012.
What is the U.S. Navy’s best aircraft carrier ever? The question is hard to answer. Like comparing Jordan against Lebron, do we account for differences in era? Do we evaluate relative to contemporaries, or do we evaluate in isolation? Are we considering accomplishments and service history, or are we evaluating strictly on the technical metrics?
Because obviously, the $13 billion USS Gerald R. Ford is a better machine than the USS Enterprise (CV-6). But the Enterprise was the most decorated aircraft carrier of the greatest naval conflict in human history, whereas the Ford has accomplished little.
Let’s consider the U.S. Navy’s best aircraft carrier relative to its contemporaries. And let’s give heavy weight to accomplishments and service records. But let’s do so without neglecting to weigh technical specifications.
Narrowing down the entire history of aircraft carriers to one vessel was difficult, and highly subjective. But for its combination of technical innovation, lengthy service history, and sheer size, I’m naming the USS Enterprise (CVN-65) the best U.S. aircraft carrier ever.
The Enterprise, nicknamed Big E, is the longest naval vessel ever built. How long? 1,123 feet. That’s over one-fifth of a mile long. More importantly, perhaps, the Enterprise was the first. nuclear-powered aircraft carrier ever built. The Enterprise had endurance; by the time she was stricken from the Naval Vessel Registry, after fifty-five years of service, she was the third oldest vessel in the registry, behind only the USS Pueblo (1967) research vessel and the USS Constitution (1797).
Originally, the Enterprise was meant to be the first in her class of six carriers. But construction costs were much higher than expected and the remaining five vessels were canceled, leaving the Enterprise as the only example of her class, which is the only class that has ever housed more than two nuclear reactors.
The Enterprise featured eight nuclear reactors; each reactor replaced the boilers that would have been featured on earlier, non-nuclear models. Enterprise is also the only carrier with four rudders, most carriers have two.
The Enterprise joined the fleet just in time to participate in one of human history’s most precarious moments, the Cuban Missile Crisis. Just months after being commissioned in June 1962, the Enterprise was dispatched to assist in the quarantine of Cuba along with four other aircraft carriers. The incident was resolved peacefully, in what is commonly understood to be the closest the Cold War ever came to a nuclear exchange.
Over five decades of service, the Enterprise endured several notable mishaps, perhaps the most notable of which was a fire in 1969. The fire occurred when a rocket on a parked F-4 Phantom exploded. The fire was contained, but not before twenty-seven sailors were killed and another 314 injured. The Enterprise was repaired, however, and served through Vietnam and the 80s and the Iraq War.
The Enterprise remained in service until 2012.
Harrison Kass is a defense and national security writer with over 1,000 total pieces on issues involving global affairs. An attorney, pilot, guitarist, and minor pro hockey player, Harrison joined the US Air Force as a Pilot Trainee but was medically discharged. Harrison holds a BA from Lake Forest College, a JD from the University of Oregon, and an MA from New York University. Harrison listens to Dokken.
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