A 32-ton anchor from America's first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier is finding new life
The USS Enterprise (CVN-65), waged war around the world, from Vietnam to Afghanistan, for 51 years. The carrier affectionately known as "Big E" was decommissioned in 2017, and inactivation of the eight nuclear reactors was completed last year.
"We are harvesting as many parts as we can from the Enterprise," Chris Miner, the vice president of in-service carriers at Newport News, explained to Defense One in May. "She's still giving back even today."
The USS George Washington, a Nimitz-class carrier, is undergoing its midlife refueling and complex overhaul, a necessity for nuclear-powered aircraft carriers that need to have their nuclear reactor cores refueled.
During the overhaul process, the shipbuilders determined that a George Washington anchor needed to be replaced. They opted to swap it out for one of the anchors on the former Enterprise.
Source: Huntington Ingalls Industries
The starboard anchor weighs 32 tons and was first built in 1957, several years before the "Big E" went into service.
Source: Huntington Ingalls Industries
The USS Abraham Lincoln, another Nimitz-class carrier, previously received one of the Enterprise's anchors. The George Washington and the Lincoln received components of the ship's aircraft-launching catapults. And part of the steel hull from the Enterprise is to become part of the keel for the future carrier to bear the same name.
The former USS Enterprise entered service in 1961 and served until 2012. The name is being given to CVN 80, a Ford-class carrier currently under construction.
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