USS Enterprise (CVN-65) was a US nuclear powered aircraft carrier. The keel for this unit was laid in 1958, the launch took place in September 1960, and the commissioning to the US Navy took place in 1961. The total length of the ship was 342 meters, the overall width was 78.4 meters, and her full displacement was about 93,000 tons. The maximum speed was up to 33 knots. The on-board armament included, among others: three Sea Sparrow rocket launchers and three 20 mm Vulcan Phalanx CIWS sets. Later, two launchers for the RIM-116 missile were also added. The aircraft carrier could take up to 90 aircraft on board, but normally operated 60-70 planes and helicopters.
The USS Enterprise (CVN-65, commonly known as Big "E") was the first and only ship of her type. Very high construction costs, well above the original assumption, led to the cancellation of five planned units of this type. The USS Enterprise, however, was unique not only because of this, but also because it was the first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier in history to have as many as eight nuclear reactors on board! The unit received very modern for those times electronic equipment in the form of e.g. SCANFAR radar. The USS Enterprise (CVN-65), very shortly after its entry into service, took part in the maritime blockade of Cuba in 1962. Two years later, he operated in the Mediterranean. The unit also took an active part in the Vietnam War (1964 / 1965-1975), fighting in it from the very beginning. In 1969, a tragic accident occurred on the carrier, the self-ignition of one of the missiles, killing 28 people and injuring 334. In 1986, the USS Enterprise became the first nuclear carrier to cross the Suez Canal. Shortly after that, the carrier's on-board planes bombed targets in Libya. The unit was decommissioned in 2012.