"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 were still dangling inside the tower of "the Big E" as the world's first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier set sail on its final voyage at around 5am today (NZ time).
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 Admiral 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..."
Link:
http://www.stuff.co.nz/world/americas/6560189/Storied-carrier-the-Big-E-makes-final-voyage
The eighth ship to carry the name. May we one day have a real ship like the fictional one that shares a proud name.
7 comments:
She's still a wonderful old ship. I saw her docked once and as an expression of raw power she was an awesome sight.
50 years is a lifetime for a ship. It would be interesting to hear original plank owners (commissioning crew) talk about their experiences.
Doesn't the Constitution hold the honour, as she is still commissioned?
(as another ST reference, Kirks Enterprise was a class :))
Dammit:
Kirks Enterprise was a Constitution class:)
Popcorn rots the brain, Ciaron. ;)
The Royal Navy could give them lessons in longevity.
HMS Victory, Nelson's flagship at Trafalgar, is still in service. She was, if my memory serves me correctly, built in about 1765.
(I remember the keel being laid)
Constitution still functions, Victory has been on the hard since 1922....
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