Storied carrier, 'the Big E,' makes final voyage

Associated Press (AP) ^ | Sat, Mar 10, 2012 | BROCK VERGAKIS

[sukhoi-30mki]

Storied carrier, 'the Big E,' makes final voyage

NORFOLK, Va. (AP) — When the makers of "Top Gun" were filming on board the USS Enterprise, they donated a set of black fuzzy dice to liven up the ship's otherwise drab interior.

A quarter-century later, the dice will still be dangling inside the tower of "the Big E" as the world's first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier sets sail on its final voyage Sunday.

The trinket is a reminder of the ship's storied 50-year history that includes action in several wars, a prominent role in the Cuban missile crisis and serving as a spotter ship for John Glenn's historic orbit of the earth.

"To serve on this ship, certainly in this capacity, you certainly have to be a student of the ship's history," said Rear Adm. Walter Carter, commander of the Enterprise strike group. "Fifty years of service, in our nation's history, we've never had a warship in service that long."

The Enterprise is the longest aircraft carrier in the U.S. fleet. It is also the oldest, a distinction that brings pride as well as plenty of headaches for the ship's more than 4,000 crew members. The ship is effectively a small city that frequently needs repairs because of its age. It was originally designed to last 25 years, but a major overhaul in 1979 and other improvements have extended its life.

The ship largely looks like any other carrier on the inside and has modern amenities like gyms, a coffee shop and a television station with dozens of channels. It even produces its own daily

[IronJack]

Obummer will name the next Carrier the ``Manifesto``

Or "Potemkin".

[LomanBill]

[If your GPS fails you best know how to use a map & compass. Just sayin’.]

We’ve got an entire generation of pink shirt wearing Useful Idiot fodder who can’t even change the oil in their car — let alone strike up a stick of 6013 to fix a broken tie rod or calculate a back-azimuth in the middle of the Mojave.

There’s no GameBoy for that.

[stevie_d_64]

When I was in the Fleet...We used to plane guard for the Big E on a regular basis...What was funny, if there was no way top find the course and speed for proper winds for launch and recovery of aircraft...

They made their own winds...Yeah, they could go very fast...

Try keeping up with something like that (at apsecific spot, or station) was kinda frustrating...I think it was an unspoken agreementy that those ships designated to work that plane guard duty just had to kind be in the area to help pick up the crews if they ended up in the drink...

Which I never heard happening in my carreer off that carrier...

Now the USS Ranger??? That was a different story...It didn’t get the un-official moniker of “Danger Ranger” for nothing...No offense intended to guys who served on that ship...hehe

There used to be a story hanging around out there that they once saw a rooster tail coming out the back of the Big E when they were at speed...

That might have been something neat to see...I can neither confirm, or deny, that I ever saw that occur...;-)

[elcid1970]

MIG welding is fun & easy but there’s nothing like stick to get ‘er done. Pays better, too.

Off topic already, but a friend of ours who is already forty (!) saw my turntable & stack of LP’s, and asked “what are those?”

Needs a calculator to multiply & divide, and she’s superb in her job, just utterly dependent on chip driven technology.

G-d help us if there is a EMP attack.

[gg63]

What was Matthias Gardner like? I am very interested in learning more about him.

[wjcsux]

I met him when I lived in Las Cruces in the late 80’s. I was a Cubmaster and he did volunteer work for the Boy Scouts. I am guessing he was in his late 80’s at the time. He was very sharp and active in spite of his age.
I made arrangements for him to come talk to all of the kids and their families at our annual banquet as our guest speaker. Needless to say, he made a very lasting impression on everyone. He had a lot of pictures of the “Big E” in battle. You could definately tell he was a ships Captain! I believe he retired from the Navy right after WWII. He explained to the kids that when they left port with the Fleet they knew quite well that they may never come back. His talk was an experience none of us will ever forget!