As a proud navy pilot I can say with out a shadow of a doubt that I would have spent every dollar I have to preserve the Enterprise. The fact that the ship that inspired our tactics, our training, and our spirits was allowed to be turned into beer cans is a disgrace.
As a person who has a lot of qualms with the modern American armed forces. I probably would have done the same. Just such a lucky and invaluable ship and crew. Lots of history there that's now gone. :/
Fought the entire war, took part in more major actions against Japan than any other us ship, most decorated us ship of the war, and was thought sunk 3 times by the Japanese. The fact that she was one of the three US CVs in the battle of Midway alone should have preserved her. So many "cool" ships that did much less get so much attention, 110% agree very very sad and disgraceful.
She was a blessed ship. Her counterparts and sisters weren't as lucky. Being on an aircraft carrier in WW2 was like playing Russian roulette with 5 bullets.
@@Adino1 Eh...I guess every theatre had atleast one dark and really unforgiving front. For the Germans The Eastern front was hell. For the US it was definetely the entirety off the Pacific. Like imagine fighting a foe that (unlike German soldiers) Wont ever fucking give up. Fighting bitter for every small spec of land in a vast, calm giant of an ocean. Fighting fierce against an enemy that got more dangerous as the hour progressed. You can see why the US just dropped the 2 extinction balls. The Japanese war-support and morale was just too damn high and they fought for every bit of land, just to spite the US because if they want to take Islands they will have to pay dearly for it.
TraMaChi Considering there was a near coup by the Japanese military just before the Emperor’s surrender announcement. Not even dropping Stewie and Peter Griffin on Hiroshima and Nagasaki would have made them quit.
@@tramachi7027 In the lead-up to the invasion of the main islands, the US ordered 400,000 purple hearts....and expected to need a LOT more. We haven't had that many recipents in the 75 years since, I do not think we had half that many. We expected to have to fight anybody OLD enough to pick up a stick to fight with, (5 years old?)....plus we expected to have to fight anybody YOUNG enough to pick up a stick to fight with, (95?). A lot of people think it was wrong, but it saved not just allied lives, but Japanese as well....
There will always be an Enterprise, but there can only be one Enterprise. She must die so she may be reborn a new, She must be Taken to the edge of death so she can return With the fury and fire of hell To use against her enemies. This is why she can never be turned Into a museum.....This is why she can never be Defeated. You can't kill that Wich is not truly alive and you can't Preserve that Wich is bound to be reborn. The Enterprise is not a Ship, she's a force of nature.
@@anarchyandempires5452 One of the Star Trek novels (Romulan TOS) talks about Romulan ship naming traditions. When Kirk explains what the name "Enterprise" means, the Romulan captain says, basically, "You named a ship after a CONCEPT!? No wonder we've never been able to kill this thing."
There is one thing that should bring a warm spot to the hearts of lovers of the Enterprise line. In 1958, as CV-6 was being dismantled, the portholes from the Captain’s cabin were preserved and sent to the yard where CVN-65 was being built. They were included in her Captain’s cabin. I posted a query about them on one of the defense websites, and received a response from a program manager for CVN-80 that the portholes from CV-6/CVN-65 had been procured and that they would go into CVN-80! What a tradition!!!
Tons (literally) of steel recycled from CVN-65 is also being used in the construction of CVN-80. Enty was never replaced, she just gets reincarnated every so often so she can keep going.
@@patrickcannady2066 With Ranger being a 'use up the treaty limits' carrier, ti kinda falls in gap between the Independence light carriers and the escort carriers. Small, slow, and cramped. Seeing as the USN did not consider moving the Ranger to the Pacific, it tells you what they thought of the design.
To be honest, there is a Kancolle fanfic in which Enterprise uses her flight deck as a sword, is capable of limited submersion and has been using Abyssal corpses as the material with which to repair herself. So yeah, I can imagine her doing that.
@@ladikthrawn7078 was confused about the full situation above with a ship using its flight deck as a weapon, regenerating and being a part ww2 sub. i searched kancolle now and it makes sense. don't mind me. thought it was some video game, tv series or game but it still sounded like a weird thing
My Uncles death had a great impact on the family.my Dad Mother were close dad (Adron) b.1915, Ruth 1917 and John Udell Lane b.1918. Were like 3 peas in a pod. Their several fights when Udell tried to join "The Navy", very heavily fought against my grandmother. He went to Great Lakes in 1937 trained in radio and served on USS LEXINGTON, USS YORKTOWN, last USS ENERPRISE. SOMETIME he voluteered for air crew. My oldest son has his log book, notes early raids on the Marshalls. One log was noted "suicide mission." He was with Enterprise up through 4 June 1942. Both Udell and my father liked airplanes and dad told me that Udell had written that dad hadn't seen any good planes. I told dad udell hadn't either. The Douglas Devastator was a plane of interest when debuting in 1937. The Navy's first all metal monoplane. Early on it got good reviews. Their was not good ir any intelligence on what IJN had, the Kate was far superior, and IJN Pilot Training was severe with corpral punishment. The TBD-1 was a gut less, best if flown low and slow, if there was any choice. A performace plane it wasn't. I don't think they had any idea what a zero was. The TBD-1 was a three seater,the 3rd seat was for a bombardier. Most of the time only two men crewed the plane (the pilot and the radioman,rear gunner. The Navy did not have enough of the TBD-1's and so on 4 June 42 TBD-1's were deficient in number. A full squadron should have 15 planes. Only Topedo Squadron 8 had 15. All 15 were shot down that day. Out of 30 men only Pilot George Gay survived. My uncles squadron commander crashed his plane on the fantail and rode trip to the battle in sickbay. On 4 June he surprised every one by coming up saying "I'll take my boy's in." ONLY FOUR of 14 TBD-!'s returned to Enterprise. Yorktown taking serious damage at the Battle of Coral Sea was rushed back to Pearl Harbor. Repair Group reported to Admiral Halsey that they needed weejs to repair Yorktown and Admiral Halsey told them they hadlike 24 hrs to fix her. And so Enterprise left alone for Midway and Yorktown followed next day, both missing ISN Submarines posted in the suspected route of the carriers to Midway. As they say the rest history. Up untill 4 june the prior six months, everyone was getting their asses kicked. Like many battles many people lost their relatives and friends, 4 June was a day of great loss. We had Gaudalcanal to struggle through and the Uss Wasp and USS HORNET to lose, Enterprise damaged several times. It was an epic like the Trojan War, But it was a MIRACLE if ever there was one.
Jonathan Stiles I personally do not know why you say it sucks since it is all historically based unlike what they make now a days, for me and most people who have seen it, we enjoyed it
Fun Fact: The founder of Enterprise Rent a car Jack C. Taylor flew a F6F Hellcat during the war from CV-6 he went on to become a billionaire. If you saw the original airing of Battle 360 Enterprise it was brought to us "with limited commercial interruption by Enterprise Rent A Car".
Thank you. My father's blood was in her steel, having served aboard her with Air Group 6, and being wounded at Santa Cruz. When I watch combat footage from the battle, I can't help but wonder if one of the men pictured is Dad. Once, I mentioned the preservation attempts, and his response was anger at the thought that her honor would be insulted by allowing 'long-hair hippies' to walk her decks. On a lighter note, she was a propaganda nightmare for the Japanese, who announced her sinking no less than 6 times!
I really don’t understand why the ship’s crew would want their ship scrapped so nobody could see what was the ultimate capital ship in terms of achievements. Seems incredibly selfish to me.
Pete, My dad also served on her during the war. My grandmother supposedly got 7 KIA messages during that time. I also wonder if I'm looking at my teenage father as they pictured the crew. He wore his CV 6 tattoo with pride as he served his 30 year enlistment. Despite the numerous other ships he served on, including CVN 65, CV 6 was "his ship".
It becomes really personal, doesn't it? NOW I wonder if our dads might have known each other, even though your fathers was apparently ship's company while mine was Air Group. On your father's behalf, thank you.
“Let’s make sure history never forgets the name Enterprise!“ ~Picard Thank you, Mark for the bit of humor you used in naming the Enterprises of Star Trek. Truth be told, I first came to know the name from watching Star Trek in the late 1960s. Then I found out that the Trek Enterprise was named after the WWII aircraft carrier as well as the, at the time, new nuclear powered carrier. That started my lifelong fascination with ships! You are a gifted writer, that uses dry humor to make points. In fact, sir, you are just plain funny! Thank you for this video, and all the others!
Another accomplishment of The Enterprise, from her own website: "For a record-setting seven days and six hours between February 23 and March 2 - 174 hours total - Enterprise ran continuous air operations. Day and night, she provided air defense for the Marines on Iwo, the amphibious forces, and her own task group, and also struck at enemy airfields and shipping at Chichi Jima, to the north. Only severe weather forced the Big E to halt flight operations on March 2. The next day, round-the-clock operations resumed and continued until March 9, when Army Air Force planes flying from captured Iwo Jima airfields were able to relieve Night Air Group 90."
Awesome video!!! Did you know that Enterprise, a major car rental company here in the States, is named for the ship? The company's founder had been a naval aviator serving aboard the Enterprise in WW 2.
Glorious. For more detail on this ship I recommend watching the Documentary: *Battle 360 USS Enterprise* it’s a Long watch, 10-12 one hour long episodes, but it is worth it. And I will say I cried when I saw The last episode and saw she was Scraped.
I don’t even know how many times I’ve watched or listened to it anymore. But similarly, the last episode nearly brought me to tears. All that work, all that luck, just to be scrapped
As an interesting side note there have been fourteen HMS Enterprises, one HMS Enterprize in addition to the eight (soon to be nine) USS Enterprises. Not to mention privately owned ships and one space shuttle. Gene Roddenberry would have been proud.
"Fate protects fools, children, and ships named Enterprise." Cmdr. William T. Riker. "Let's make sure history never forgets the name Enterprise" Capt. Jean-Luc Picard. "You treat (the Enterprise) like a lady, and she'll always be there to bring you home." Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy.
Just imagine... USS Enterprise, USS Birmingham, USS Johnston, HMS Warspite. The most powerful fleet on the seven seas, even if they survived to this day, in the age of jets and missiles.
I studied naval history quite extensively after I turned 10 with much of my studying revolving around the pacific war and the initial bulk being no less than 5 books and many hours of documentaries on this ship and her airgroups in particular. In fact I owe this ship much of my character, as her story as told on battle 360 inspired me to join the Navy and be a proud patriot all the way back when I was 8. As a kid, people would ask me what my favorite superhero was, and I would invariably rattle off a few of the more famous and heroic aviators that launched from her deck. (I was a nerd back then too)
Well she was renamed directly as a result of Star Trek fans and presidential intervention, so I think she counts. ;) Leonard Nimoy was there for both the original christening and her arrival in NYC in 2012. During the later, he said “may she live long, and prosper” 👌
Excellent video, as always. So glad you dropped the robot voice, as it was distracting from your excellent videos. The Enterprise's name also lives on in the car rental company named after her by the company's founder, a veteran of service aboard her.
My uncle Val served on both the new and the old Enterprise, WWII, Korea, Vietnam and peace time after that. In 1957, while serving as a Chief, he took my brothers and me on a tour of the old Enterprise, my dad went with us. It was overwhelmingly huge to us boys, amazing. I ask him who is boss was, "Chiefs don't have any bosses on board ship." I've always wondered if all Chiefs thought this way. Never served myself, so I don't know.
Was just comming to thank him for the Star Trek refrence myself!! When mentioning movies, don't forget that CVN-65 Enterprise was in a staring role as a Time traveling super carrier....to Dec 6th, 1941 near Pearl Harbor.
@@montecorbit8280 I haven't heard of that movie unless you are referring to "The Final Countdown". That carrier was played by the USS Nimitz. It was partially filmed off the Virginia coast. You can see her passing the Chamberlin hotel at Fort Monroe, Hampton, VA., in the background, as she is supposed to be returning to Pearl Harbor.
Shame on those who decided to scrap her shortly after the war. Others survived, but the most decorated was killed, not by Japanese attacks but by politicians.
Try most legendary capital ship, period. I don’t think any other capital ship remotely comes close to CV-6 in terms of importance in combat or achievements.
My grandmother's brother, Eugene Burns, was aboard Enterprise from shortly after Pearl Harbor through Midway and the Solomon Island campaign. He authored the book "Then There Was One."
My uncle served on her during WW2 and would tell us harrowing stories. I had 5 uncles that served in the navy and all saw amazing action and had great stories to keep me enthralled.
Yorktown class clarriers were the most beautiful carriers to ever exist. Plus all 3 off them played important parts in the pacific war against the IJN and Imperial Japanese Conquest. If we xould scrap one Nimitz-class and rebuild a Yorktown class I would pay for that for sure !
All hail the Big E. I love how my history with the love of the USS Enterprise started with Star Trek and later on in live I started to learn about the ships whom actually carried the name and as I learned more the more my love and mainly respect grew for the ships who bore the name Enterprise. May she long continue to see service indeed.
My great grandfather served on the big E from 1942 - 1945. He was an anti-aircraft gun radar operator ... he earned 7 medals including a purple heart. Once he got off that boat for the last time he never went in the ocean again for the rest of his life.
That Enterprise vs. Japan sign never ceases to get a chuckle out of me. Who over thought it up and posted it had some serious cheek LOL! 4:06 That image always amazes me. And that was just a fraction of the fleet. Talk about messing with the wrong guys!
Yamamoto DID warn them, but they went ahead anyway. Being Yamamoto, he did his very best, and proved he was completely honest: He got them 6 months of victories, and then made the US pay for every square inch they took until the US managed to take him out.
I LOVE that you brought up the STARFLEET ships as well. But, I hate to be a downer, you forgot two. The spaceshuttle Enterprise, and the Starfleet NX01 Enterprise.
The fightingest ship in the largest naval war and perhaps the history of naval warfare. Which ships can exceed her? Ever? Even the Victory only fought three actions, though they were all doozies. Perhaps one of those old Venetian galleasses? One of those battered old second or third rates from the age of the sail? Surely no ship that both survived as much and was so dominantly important to any fleet she was in?
Yeah, maybe some of those second or third rates participating in the blockade of France and in the Med during the Napoleonic wars could give her a run for her money, but probably not many others!
@@thomaskositzki9424 Much respect to the Warspite, but her role in the war just can't be compared to the Enterprise. For several months she carried the full weight of an entire theater of WW2 on her shoulders. I don't think any other ship in history can match that.
The loss of ships like Warspite and Enterprise is sad. That great ships survive multiple sea battles Is testimony to the courage, mettle, and skill of their crews, and the care and expertise of those who designed and built them. Letting the most decorated ships meet their end in the scapeyard is an insult to those involved with ship development and construction, and certainly to those men who served with such distinction in war. Some ships have earned the right to dignified retirement!
"I wonder how those captains felt when their ships effectively were sunk by a cripple." This is the hardest roast I have ever heard in history. Literally and metaphorically.
A bit late here but I feel a little torn here. On one hand, I agree its pretty much a travesty they scrapped one of the most decorated ships in WW2 but on the other hand I feel like they were going for ensuring that there will always be an "Enterprise" in the US navy as there can't be 2 ships with the same name afloat (I am not sure tho can someone clarify this one). But all in all let us agree that even though this ship is gone and CVN-65 was decommissioned, this ship's namesake and spirit will continue to live on in the new generation of carriers. Enterprise will ride again as CVN-80, so yeah, this ship isn't gonna leave anytime soon.
@@michaelusswisconsin6002 Oh really? Thats rather interesting. Then I guess its like what one of Enterprise's crew said at Battle 360. They rather prefer to preserve the memory of its glory than be docked and vandalized by tourist who dont know her history (to which I doubt any one would NOT now its legacy) But yeah. Thanks for the interesting info tho
The reason Gene Roddenberry named NCC 1701 'Enterprise' is because of the record of CV 6. A well built ship, a well trained crew, some luck and the right name makes a ship a legend. This is true in the past, the present and the future.
Gene actually name the her after the Enterprise CVN 65 which had recently been commissioned when Star Trek was in development. Originally the Star Trek ship was to be named after the USS Yorktown CV 5 but was changed due to the great technological advances that the CVN 65 represented at the time. In fact many businesses that had developed technologies for the building of the CVN 65 used it in their advertising.
@@bq5575 Really? Perhaps you are correct. I still like to think that the extraordinary performance of CV-6 had an influence on the naming of both CVN-65 and NCC-1701. Gene Roddenberry was a great guy!
@@daleeasternbrat816 Yeah it is, I spent 3 years on the Enterprise CVN 65 so her history has been a point of interest to me. When CVN 65 was being designed nothing like her had been built before. At the time no one had built Nuclear reactors in parallel and there was some question about if it was even possible. She was the largest ship built at the time, and she had many more technologies that were state of the art for the 1950s and 1960s which made her the most advanced ship ever built, so that's what inspired Gene to name his ship Enterprise.
Drachinifel I really feel like this video could use a new go at it. Its perfectly wonderful for what it is, but I think Enterprise herself deserves a more indepth video then a 5 minute guide here.
Great ending to the vid. Haha. I didn't know she was one of the first to get radar. And I think the nuclear Enterprise had the first Billboard Radar, which made her so easy to distinguish among modern carriers.
CV 65 lost her billboard radar and got a new custom made island with the regular radar later in her carreer. Also I was told she was one of the fastest ships in the fleet forward or backward...
Lovely, as always. One small correction, though. The destroyer Ward sunk a Japanese mini-sub on the morning of Dec. 7, so she, not the Enterprise was the first to sink a Japanese ship in the Pacific - though that wasn't confirmed until 2002, when the wreck of the sub was located.
A bit of useless information, the American car rental company Enterprise was named after the carrier CV6 by Jack Taylor who had served on board CV6 Enterprise during the war :>)
Thank you for all you do but espescially this video on CV-6. I have no where near the knowledge that you do concerning warships, but I have been aware of the history of the Enterprise for quite a while. She was definitely a heroic ship and my favorite as was HMS Warspite was for you. I thank you for putting them in the same category and lament, as you said, the travesty of the scrapping of both. Definitely a dark spot in human history. I thank you again for calling my attention to Warspite and the other heroic ships displayed on your channel. BRAVO ENTERPRISE! BRAVO WARSPITE! BRAVO DRACHINIFEL!
If WW2 would be a game. The Big E would definetely be the biggest MVP of the Allied team. Without her or her luck...The war in the pacific couldve gone way different. She basically solo-carried the US in the pacific from 41 to 43. WW2 truly showed that the CV was the new era of naval warfare. Best example being the Big E
Actually I don't think he was, though it sure looked that way. There's even a video somewhere else on RU-vid that shows him scurrying out on deck after the blast.
I had to make the trip back here after Ryan's latest video on the Battleship New Jersey Museum and Memorial channel. I'll requote it here too, "Fate protects fools, little children, and ships named Enterprise."
I am sad that the CV-6 was scrapped, but I’m happy that Enterprise continues to serve in the USN. If she had been made into a museum her retirement would probably have been permanent.
As a museum ship she still would have been decommissioned, freeing the name for new construction. Once USS Constitution, still in commission, was briefly renamed “Old Constitution” to free up the name; the USN quickly reconsidered.
Super sad that this ship was scrapped. There was probably more U.S. naval history in that hull than any other single ship. Would have been a great museum ship.
The Trek ships were a nice touch. One day, I'd like to see a survey measuring and comparing Trek's social impact with LOTR. They are antithesies to each other regarding how their respective Canons are created. I'll bet Peter Jackson knows.......
The founder of the company I work for enterprise rent a car served on this ship as a pilot. Jack Taylor also funded the series Battle 360 about his ship.
Mr. Drachinfifel, the destruction done by this lone ship is simply extraordinary. U.S. intelligence was not hugely prone to exageration in WWII. But could you go into the known record of this hero ship a little more? Both its naval and land engagements? When I read it, my jaw dropped.
Of the more than twenty major actions of the Pacific War, engaged in all but two. Her planes and guns downed 911 enemy planes; her bombers sank 71 ships, and damaged or destroyed 192 more.
