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The Big "E" was the most famous carrier of WW2. The 20,000 ton,
825-foot carrier fought in the important early carrier battles, notably
Midway.
The
seventh Enterprise (CV-6) was launched 3 October 1936 by Newport News
Shipbuilding and Drydock Co., Newport News, Va.; sponsored by Mrs.
Claude A. Swanson, wife of the Secretary of the Navy; and commissioned
12 May 1938, Captain N. H. White in command.
Enterprise sailed south on a shakedown cruise which took her to Rio de
Janeiro, Brazil. After her return she operated along the east coast and
in the Caribbean until April of 1939 when she was ordered to duty in
the Pacific. Based first on San Diego and then on Pearl Harbor, the
carrier trained herself and her aircraft squadrons for any eventuality,
and carried aircraft among the island bases of the Pacific. Enteprise
had just completed one such mission, delivering Marine Corps Fighter
Squadron 211 to Wake Island on 2 December 1941, and was en route to
Hawaii when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor.
Enterprise's scout planes arrived over Pearl Harbor during the attack
and, though surprised, immediately went into action in defense of the
naval base. The carrier, meanwhile, launched her remaining aircraft in
a fruitless search for the Japanese striking force. Enterprise put into
Pearl Harbor for fuel and supplies on December and sailed early the
next morning to patrol against possible additional attacks on the
Hawaiian Islands. While the group did not encounter any surface ships,
Enterprise aircraft scored a kill by sinking submarine 1-170 in
23°45' N., 155°35' W., on 10 December 1941.
During the last 2 weeks of December 1941, Enterprise and her group
steamed to the westward of Hawaii to cover those islands while two
other carrier groups made a belated attempt to relieve Wake Island.
After a brief rest at Pearl Harbor, the Enterprise group sailed on 11
January to protect convoys reinforcing Samoa. On 1 February the task
force dealt a hard blow to Kwajalein, Wotje, and Maloelap in the
Marshall Islands, sinking three ships, damaging eight, and destroying
numerous airplanes and ground facilities. Enterprise received only
minor damage in the Japanese counterattack, as her force retired to
Pearl Harbor.
During the next month Enterprise's force swept the central Pacific,
blasting enemy installations on Wake and Marcus Islands, then received
minor alterations and repairs at Pearl Harbor. On 8 April 1942 she
departed to rendezvous with Hornet (CV-8) and sail westward to launch
16 Army B-25 bombers in a raid on Tokyo. While Enterprise fighters flew
combat air patrol, the B-25s roared into the air on 18 April and raced
undetected the 600 miles to their target. The task force, its presence
known to the enemy, reversed course and returned to Pearl Harbor on 25
April.
Five days later, the "Big E" was speeding toward the South Pacific
to
reinforce the U.S. carriers operating in the Coral Sea. Distance proved
too great to conquer in time, and the Battle of the Coral Sea was
history before Enterprise could reach her destination. Ordered back to
Hawaii, the carrier entered Pearl Harbor on 26 May and began intensive
preparations to meet the expected Japanese thrust at Midway Island. Two
days later she sortied as flagship of Rear Admiral Raymond A. Spruance,
CTF 16, with orders "to hold Midway and inflict maximum damage on the
enemy by strong attrition tactics." With Enterprise in TF 16 were
Hornet, 6 cruisers, and 10 destroyers. On 30 May, TF 17, Rear Admiral
Frank J. Fletcher in Yorktown (CV-5), with two cruisers, and six
destroyers, sailed to support TF 16; as senior officer, Rear Admiral
Fletcher became "Officer in Tactical Command."
Battle was joined on the morning of 4 June 1942 when four Japanese
carriers, unaware of the presence of U.S. forces, launched attacks on
Midway Island. Just 3 hours after the first bomb fell on Midway, planes
from Hornet struck the enemy force, and 30 minutes later Enterprise and
Yorktown aircraft streaked in to join in smashing the Japanese
carriers. Each side hurled attacks at the other during the day in one
of history's most decisive battles. Though the forces were in contact
to 7 June, by the end of the 4th the outcome had been decided and the
tide of the war in the Pacific had been turned in the United States'
favor. Yorktown and Hammann (DD-412) were the only United States ships
sunk, but TFs 16 and 17 lost a total of 113 planes, 61 of them in
combat, during the battle. Japanese losses, far more severe, consisted
of 4 carriers, 1 cruiser, and 272 carrier aircraft. Enterprise and all
other ships of TFs 16 and 17 came through undamaged, returning to Pearl
Harbor on 13 June 1942.
After a month of rest and overhaul, Enterprise sailed on 15 July for
the South Pacific where she joined TF 61 to support the amphibious
landings in the Solomon Islands on 8 August. For the next 2 weeks, the
carrier and her planes guarded seaborne communication lines southwest
of the Solomons. On 24 August a strong Japanese force was sighted some
200 miles north of Guadalcanal and TF 61 sent planes to the attack. An
enemy light carrier was sent to the bottom and the Japanese troops
intended for Guadalcanal were forced back. Enterprise suffered most
heavily of the United States ships, 3 direct hits and 4 near misses
killed 74, wounded 95, and inflicted serious damage on the carrier. But
well-trained damage control parties, and quick, hard work patched her
up so that she was able to return to Hawaii under her own power.
Repaired at Pearl Harbor from 10 September to 16 October, Enterprise
departed once more for the South Pacific where with Hornet, she formed
TF 61. On 26 October, Enterprise scout planes located a Japanese
carrier force and the Battle of the Santa Cruz Island was underway.
Enterprise aircraft struck carriers, battleships, and cruisers during
the struggle, while the "Big E" herself underwent intensive attack. Hit
twice by bombs, Enterprise lost 44 killed and had 75 wounded. Despite
serious damage, she continued in action and took on board a large
number of planes from Hornet when that carrier had to be abandoned.
Though the American losses of a carrier and a destroyer were more
severe than the Japanese loss of one light cruiser, the battle gained
priceless time to reinforce Guadalcanal against the next enemy
onslaught.
Enterprise entered Noumea, New Caledonia, on 30 October for repairs,
but a new Japanese thrust at the Solomons demanded her presence and she
sailed on 11 November, repair crews from Vestal (AR-4) still on board,
working vigorously. Two days later, "Big E" planes swarmed down on an
enemy force and disabled a battleship which was sunk later by other
American aircraft, and on 14 November, aviators from Enterprise helped
to despatch a heavy cruiser. When the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal ended
on 15 November 1942, Enterprise had shared in sinking 16 ships and
damaging 8 more. The carrier returned to Noumea on 16 November to
complete her repairs.
Sailing again on 4 December, Enterprise trained out of Espiritu
Santo,
New Hebrides, until 28 January 1943 when she departed for the Solomons
area. On 30 January her fighters flew combat air patrol for a
cruiser-destroyer group during the Battle of Rennell Island. Despite
the destruction of a large majority of the attacking Japanese bombers
by Enterprise planes, Chicago (CA-29) was sunk by aerial torpedoes.
Detached after the battle, the carrier arrived at Espiritu Santo on 1
February, and for the next 3 months operated out of that base, covering
U.S. surface forces up to the Solomons. Enterprise then steamed to
Pearl Harbor where, on 27 May 1943, Admiral Chester W. Nimitz presented
the ship with the first Presidential Unit Citation won by an aircraft
carrier. On 20 July 1943 she entered Puget Sound Navy Yard, Bremerton,
Wash., for a much-needed overhaul.
Back in action waters by mid-November, Enterprise joined in providing
close air support to the Marines landing on Makin Island, from 19 to 21
November. On the night of 26 November 1943, the "Big E" introduced
carrier-based night fighter operations in the Pacific when a
three-plane team from the ship broke up a large group of land-based
bombers attacking TG 50.2. After a heavy strike by aircraft of TF 50
against Kwajalein on 4 December, Enterprise returned to Pearl Harbor 5
days later.
The carrier's next operation was with TF 58 in softening up the
Marshall Islands and supporting the landings on Kwajalein, from 29
January to 3 February. Then Enterprise sailed, still with TF 58, to
strike the Japanese naval base at Truk in the Caroline Islands, on 17
February. Again the "Big E" made aviation history when she launched the
first night radar bombing attack from any U.S. carrier. The 12 torpedo
bombers in this strike achieved excellent results, accounting for
nearly one-third of the 200,000 tons of shipping destroyed by the
aircraft of the task force.
Detached from TF 58, Enterprise launched raids on Jaluit Atoll on 20
February, then steamed to Majuro and Espiritu Santo. Sailing 15 March
in TG 36.1, she provided air cover and close support for the landings
on Emirau Island (19-25 March). The carrier rejoined TF 58 on 26 March
and for the next 12 days joined in the series of hard-hitting strikes
against the Yap, Ulithi, Woleai, and the Palau Islands. After a week's
rest and replenishment at Majuro, Enterprise sailed (14 April) to
support landings in the Hollandia area of New Guinea, and then hit Truk
again (29-30 April).
On 6 June 1944, the "Big E" and her companions of TG 58.3 sortied from
Majuro to strike with the rest of TF 58, the Mariana Islands. Blasting
Saipan, Rota, and Guam between 11 and 14 June, Enterprise pilots gave
direct support to the landings on Saipan on 15 June, and covered the
troops ashore for the next 2 days. Aware of a major Japanese attempt to
break up the invasion of Saipan, Admiral Raymond A. Spruance, Commander
5th Fleet, positioned TF 58 to meet the thrust. On 19 June 1944 took
place the greatest carrier aircraft battle in history. For over 8 hours
airmen of the United States and Imperial Japanese navies fought in the
skies over TF 58 and the Marianas. By the end of the day, a United
States victory was apparent, and at the conclusion of the strikes
against the Japanese fleet on 20 June, the triumph became complete. Six
American ships had been damaged, and 130 planes and a total of 76
pilots and aircrewmen had been lost. But with a major assist from U.S.
submarines, 3 Japanese carriers were sunk, and 426 ship-based aircraft
were destroyed. Japanese naval aviation never recovered from this blow.
The Battle of the Philippine Sea over, Enterprise and her companions
continued to support the Saipan campaign through 5 July. Enterprise
then sailed for Pearl Harbor and a month of rest and overhaul. Back in
action waters on 24 August, the carrier sailed with TF 38 in that
force's aerial assault on the Volcano and Bonin Islands from 31 August
to 2 September, and Yap, Ulithi, and the Palaus from 6 to 8 September.
After operating west of the Palau Islands, the "Big E" joined other
units of TF 38 on 7 October, and shaped course to the northward. From
10 to 20 October her aviators roared over Okinawa, Formosa, and the
Philippines, blasting enemy airfields, shore installations, and
shipping in preparation for the assault on Leyte. After supporting the
Leyte landings on 20 October, Enterprise headed for Ulithi to replenish
but the approach of the Japanese fleet on 23 October, brought her
racing back into action. In the Battle for Leyte Gulf (23-26 October),
Enterprise planes struck all three groups of enemy forces, battering
battleships and destroyers before the action ended. The carrier
remained on patrol east of Samar and Leyte until the end of October,
then retired to Ulithi for supplies. During November, her aircraft
struck targets in the Manila area, and the island of Yap. The "Big E"
returned to Pearl Harbor on 6 December 1944.
Sailing 24 December for the Philippine area, Enterprise carried on
board an air group specially trained in night carrier operations. She
joined TG 38.5 and swept the waters north of Luzon and of the China Sea
during January of 1945, striking shore targets and shipping from
Formosa to Indo-China. After a brief visit to Ulithi, the "Big E"
joined TG 58.5 on 10 February 1945, and provided day and night combat
air patrol for TF 58 as it struck Tokyo on 16 and 17 February. She then
supported the marines on Iwo Jima from the day of the landings, 19
February, until 9 March when she sailed for Ulithi. During one part of
that period, Enterprise kept aircraft aloft continuously over Iwo Jima
for 174 hours. Departing Ulithi 15 March, the carrier continued her
night work in raids against Kyushu, Honshu, and shipping in the Inland
Sea of Japan. Damaged slightly by an enemy bomb on 18 March, Enterprise
entered Ulithi 6 days later for repairs. Back in action on 5 April, she
supported the Okinawa operation until again damaged (11 April), this
time by a suicide plane, and forced back to Ulithi. Off Okinawa once
more on 6 May, Enterprise flew patrols around the clock as the menace
of the kamikaze increased. On 14 May 1945, the "Big E" suffered her
last wound of World War II when a suicide plane destroyed her forward
elevator, killing 14 and wounding 34 men. The carrier sailed for
repairs at the Puget Sound Navy Yard, arriving 7 June 1945.
Restored to peak condition, Enterprise voyaged to Pearl Harbor,
returning to the States with some 1,100 servicemen due for discharge,
then sailed on to New York, arriving 17 October 1945. Two weeks later
she proceeded to Boston for installation of additional berthing
facilities, then began a series of "Magic Carpet" voyages to Europe,
bringing more than 10,000 veterans home in her final service to her
country. Enterprise entered the New York Naval Shipyard on 18 January
1946 for inactivation, and was decommissioned on 17 February 1947. The
"Big E" was sold on 1 July 1958.
In addition to her Presidential Unit Citation, Enterprise received the
Navy Unit Commendation and 20 battle stars for World War II service.
Sources: Public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships
and pictures from my father's 1943 Naval Recognition Manual
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