Today the US Navy (USN) formally deactivates the Nuclear Aircraft Carrier USS Enterprise (CVN-65) after 51 years of active service. The 8th Navy ship to bear the name "Enterprise" (ironically the first Enterprise was a British ship until captured by Benedict Arnold on May 18, 1775) she was the world's first nuclear powered aircraft carrier.
In 1954 Congress authorized construction to begin on the newest edition of the Enterprise (her famous WWII era predecessor had been decommissioned in 1947). Once construction began everything about the new Enterprise quickly became superlative.
On December 7, 1941 over 350 Japanese aircraft launched from six aircraft carriers hammered US military installations across Oahu, Hawaii. The focal point for their attack was the elements of the US Pacific Fleet then at anchor at the US Naval Base at Pearl Harbor. This attack killed over 2,400 Americans and sank or damaged eight battleships (with two total losses), three cruisers, three destroyers, some auxiliary ships, and destroyed 183 aircraft. In turn, the Japanese lost 29 aircraft and five midget submarines.
