Nuclear History

USS Enterprise named an ANS Nuclear Historic Landmark

December 2, 2021, 9:30AMANS News
The USS Enterprise was officially decommissioned in February 2017.

The USS Enterprise (CVN-65), the world's first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, has been named an ANS Nuclear Historic Landmark. The designation was officially recognized on December 1 during the ANS Winter Meeting in Washington, D.C.

The inscription on the plaque presented by ANS reads, “In recognition of the most advanced nuclear engineering technology of the 1950s and for her 51 years of service to our nation, the USS Enterprise (CVN-65) is designated as an ANS Nuclear Historic Landmark.”

The Enterprise was commissioned in November 1961 and completed 25 deployments during 51 years of service. At 1,123 feet (342 meters), the Enterprise was the longest naval vessel ever built and had a crew of about 4,600 service members.

The Enterprise was inactivated in December 2012 and was officially decommissioned in February 2017. It was the first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier to be decommissioned. Naval enthusiasts requested that the Enterprise be converted into a museum, but it was deemed to be too expensive to approve, in part because the ship would need to be partially dismantled to remove its eight nuclear reactors.

The final reactor was defueled in December 2016, and in February 2017 the ship was stricken from the Naval Vessel Registry.

Tags:
ans winter meetingnuclear historic landmarkuss enterprise
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