The USS Enterprise (CV-6) was a 20th century US Navy aircraft carrier. During World War II, the Enterprise fought in the Pacific Ocean. The Enterprise was succeeded by the USS Enterprise (CVN-65).
In an alternate timeline in which Germany invaded the United States of America, the Enterprise was destroyed prior to 1944. After seeing the mission patch on Jonathan Archer's Starfleet uniform, depicting the Enterprise NX-01, Alicia Travers assumed that he was a sailor who managed to escape the naval vessel before it sank. (ENT: "Storm Front")
Captain Jonathan Archer kept a photograph of Air Group Ten, the members of whom served on the USS Enterprise in WWII, in his ready room aboard the Enterprise. (ENT: "Twilight")
An illustration of this Enterprise was included in a gallery of ships named Enterprise on the recreation deck of the refit USS Enterprise. (Star Trek: The Motion Picture)
| Pre-warp ships Enterprise |
|---|
| Sail: HMS Enterprize • Enterprise • USS Enterprise • USS Enterprise |
| Powered: USS Enterprise CV-6 • USS Enterprise CVN-65 |
| Spacecraft: Enterprise |
Appendices
Background information
This was the historical World War II Yorktown-class aircraft carrier Enterprise, after which Gene Roddenberry named his fictional starship, USS Enterprise (NCC-1701). (The Making of Star Trek, p. 164) World War II veteran Roddenberry emphatically reaffirmed this himself in a later 1973 radio interview (approximately 9 minutes into the interview) regarding the renaming of his originally intended SS Yorktown to Enterprise, by stating that he was, "(..)particularly fascinated by the story of the Enterprise in WWII which had Midway really turn the tide of the whole war. And I always considered it a heroic ship, and decided to use the name." [1] [2] Like its fictional counterpart, the historical Enterprise has become one of history's most celebrated vessels, being out of four carriers the only class survivor, and becoming the most decorated American vessel to serve in World War II, according to the Star Trek Encyclopedia, 4th ed., vol. 1, p. 245. The originally intended SS Yorktown incidentally was named after the historical USS Yorktown (CV-5), the class vessel and thus one of Enterprise's class sisters; unlike Enterprise however, she was lost in the Battle of Midway.
The real Enterprise (CV-6) was decommissioned in 1947, and scrapped in 1958.
Following the tradition set in Star Trek: The Motion Picture and Star Trek: The Next Generation, Archer's Enterprise NX-01 also had a display of the historical lineage of ships called Enterprise aboard in his ready room. In this case it was a series of four artistic prints comprising the frigate Enterprise, the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise (CVN-65), the space shuttle orbiter Enterprise (OV-101), and Archer's own ship. These prints were made by John Eaves, who actually made a series of five. However due to space limitations on the wall, one had to be left out. The one chosen to be left out portrayed the USS Enterprise (CV-6). [3]
In the Star Trek heavy episode "The Bakersfield Expedition" of the popular, already heavily Star Trek referencing, sitcom The Big Bang Theory (S06E13, 2013), the "Enterprise Rent-A-Car" agency is mentioned in reference to Star Trek by one of the main characters. Founder Jack C. Taylor had named his company in 1969 for the ship he had served on in World War II, the USS Enterprise (CV-6). [4]
Enterprise (CV-6) is one of the playable ships available for purchase in the video game World of Warships. From 11 July through 7 August 2024, the game hosted a temporary Star Trek: The Next Generation event, during which Star Trek commanders and camouflages could be earned/purchased. The historical Enterprise was one of four ships selected for a potential Star Trek upgrade as Jean-Luc Picard was made available as a potential commander, alongside a camouflage befittingly based off the appearance of the carrier's future namesake, USS Enterprise-D. When the camouflage is applied, the historical World War II carrier based aircraft are replaced by Federation attack fighter squadrons as well.
Apocrypha
The Enterprise appears in the short story "World of Strangers" in Star Trek: Enterprise Logs.
The novel A Flag Full of Stars states that the space shuttle Enterprise was named for this ship, because one of the engineers working on said shuttle lost a brother on her.
External links
- USS Enterprise (CV-6) at CV6.org
- USS Enterprise (CV-6) at Wikipedia
- USS Enterprise (CV-6) at Memory Beta, the wiki for licensed Star Trek works