USS Enterprise (CV-6)

Easily the best known aircraft carrier of World War II, and the name is even better known thanks to a certain sci-fi television series. Why did the Enterprise become so synonymous with US carrier aviation?

Known as “The Big E” or “The Grey Ghost” (due to the Japanese claim to have sunk her three times), the Enterprise was the most decorated ship in the US Navy. Which is perhaps not surprising since it was among a small number of ships in service from the start of the War to the end. Of seven US carriers in service at the start, only three survived to the end. One of these, USS Ranger had been converted to a training ship; but Ranger’s combat had all come in the Atlantic. So that means only Enterprise and Saratoga survived among Pacific Fleet carriers. And curiously, through luck and circumstance, the Enterprise had been present at every carrier battle except The Battle of Coral Sea (the first carrier battle, May 1942). While the Saratoga had missed every carrier battle but one, The Battle of the Eastern Solomons (August, 1942).
Over the course of that substantial combat record Enterprise amassed 20 Battle Stars (the most of any US warship). Her guns and aircraft destroyed 911 enemy planes and sank 71 ships.

A quick look at how carrier designs progressed for the US requires first a look at the Washington Naval Treaty of 1922. In the aftermath of World War I most governments agreed it was a good idea to reduce the risk and cost of a new naval armaments race. So one of the big agreements reached for this treaty was no Capital Ship (at the time, this meant Battleships and Battlecruisers) construction at all for ten years. While aircraft carriers were recognized as an important new technology.
Thus Aircraft Carrier tonnage allowed would be restricted. At this time, only the British had a few experimental units. The US and Japan had none. The Treaty mandated the US could build no more than 135000 tons of aircraft carriers, with no one ship displacing more than 27000 tons. But a proviso was made concerning incomplete capital ships. The US and Japan would both be allowed to complete two larger aircraft carriers converted from capital ships.
The Treaty defined US aircraft carrier construction in the run-up to World War II. The first US Carrier (USS Langley, CV-1) was converted from a Collier (a type of ship now in surplus as the Navy had converted its ships to Fuel Oil) purely as a test vessel. A lot was learned about aircraft storage, handling, maintenance and naval aircraft operations from Langley. But the Navy never considered Langley anything other than a testbed, and the Treaty waved several such ships as counting against tonnage.
Next came the first two true aircraft carriers for the US, the Battlecruisers Lexington and Saratoga became CV-2 and CV-3. These were large, fast warships of 37000 tons. Again, this was allowed by the Treaty to avoid wasting such hulls that were well along in construction. These ships were excellent first efforts. They were fast and allowed for large air groups. No surprise, they also revealed some limitations. The biggest led to slow aircraft handling. Specifically, the hanger deck was too narrow and restricted below deck aircraft handling (this problem became more pronounced as aircraft sizes increased) and the elevators were slow. These were perhaps not huge problems when the ships entered service, but naval designers were forward thinking enough to see these as problems to be solved on the next generation of ship.
Perhaps the biggest problem with the new aircraft carriers was purely their size, they consumed 74000 tons of the allowed limit! Only 61000 tons remained. So for the next ship they would go much smaller. This would be the USS Ranger of 14000 tons. Aircraft handling was much improved; hanger decks were wider and left open (retractable shutters were available when needed for weather). This not only simplified handling, but allowed for full maintenance and engine run-ups to be performed in the hanger. And the elevators were much faster.
But the downside was, they’d simply put too much on too small a hull. The new ship was slow, short range and unstable in any weather.

After the Ranger, the Navy decided they did not want three more such ships and would be better off with two bigger ships. This led to a new design, what would be the Yorktown class of 20000 tons. The Yorktown (CV-5) and Enterprise (CV-6) were certainly the best US Navy carriers until the post-treaty era. They had the size for extended Pacific operations and further improved aircraft handling.

The tonnage math of the time (which I have noticed does not exactly match the numbers I’ve been using!) allowed for one more smaller carrier within Treaty rules. So Wasp (CV-7) was built, the Navy hoped enough had been learned from the two previous classes of ship to build something more like a small Yorktown than a big Ranger. They were partly successful.
We could say that takes us up to the end of the Treaty era, the start of World War II. In summer of 1940 the US Congress passed the “Two Ocean Navy Act” that authorized massive expansion of the Service. This meant a new class of fleet carrier, with no size limits, could be built. What became the Essex-class was very much an improved Yorktown. It was recognized this would take some time to complete; Essex (CV-9) entered service summer of 1943 and the final Essex class ships were completed long after the War. But notice we skipped a number! In the name of expediency, a third Yorktown class ship (USS Hornet, CV-8) was ordered also. This ship was already complete, undergoing shake-down trials, when Japan attacked Pearl Harbor.

I always get carried away with that stuff. I’m a serious aircraft carrier fanboy. That was all just to give context about what the Enterprise was and where it fit into things.

Some highlights of the Enterprise’ service would include sinking the first Japanese warship of the War, Japanese submarine I-70 on December 10, 1941.
A series of raids on Japanese held islands in the central Pacific in February and March 1942.
Escorting the Doolittle Raid to bomb Japan the following month.
Then the Battle of Midway in June 1942. Four Japanese aircraft carriers were sunk in that battle, three of them by aircraft from the Enterprise.
US Marines invaded Guadalcanal in August to start a grinding campaign in the South Pacific, Enterprise was a part of that from the beginning. She was bomb damaged on August 24, and after minimum repairs returned to action with one elevator jammed in the up position (so with reduced aircraft handling capability).
Summer of 1943 found the Enterprise a part of the new fast carrier force with new Essex class and Independence class (cruiser conversions) carriers. In November came Operation Galvanic (the invasion of Tarawa).
February of 1944 Enterprise launched the first radar guided night torpedo attack of the War against Japanese shipping in Truk Lagoon.
From there, the War got progressively bigger. But Enterprise was a part of US carrier forces at the Marianas, the Philippines (Battles of Philippine Sea and Leyte Gulf), Tokyo, Iwo Jima and Okinawa.
On May 14, 1945 Enterprise was damaged for the last time when struck by a Kamikaze. She was under repair at Puget Sound Navy Yard for most of the rest of the War, but sailed for the War Zone on August 31 (after the Atomic Bombs but before the official surrender).

Which (finally!) leads to what this them build will be. I still don’t build ships! Fortunately, aircraft carriers make this easy. I will build four aircraft that were based aboard the USS Enterprise at different points in her career, to show different camouflage schemes. In order we will look at a F3F, TBD, F4F and F4U.
I admit I’ve been working slowly these last few months. But only the TBD should be a longer sort of build. Ideally, I’ll do all this in less than a year this time!