USS Enterprise CVN 65

.....On 27 January 1973, the Vietnam cease-fire, announced four days earlier, came into effect and Oriskany, America, Enterprise, and Ranger on Yankee Station, cancelled all combat sorties into North and South Vietnam. However, on 28 January, aircraft from Enterprise and Ranger flew 81 combat sorties against lines-of-communication targets in Laos. The corridor for over flights was between Hue and Da Nang in South Vietnam. These combat support sorties were flown in support of the Laotian government which had requested this assistance and it had no relationship with the cease-fire in Vietnam. .

.....Following the cease-fire in Vietnam, Enterprise proceeded to Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton, Wash., where Big E was altered and refitted to support the Navy's newest fighter aircraft — the F-14A Tomcat. The first operational aircraft made its maiden landings and take-offs from Enterprise on 18 March 1974 , and when Enterprise made its seventh western Pacific (WESTPAC) deployment in September 1974, it became the first carrier to deploy with the new fighter plane.

.....On 9 February 1975, Enterprise responded to calls for disaster relief from the island nation of Mauritius which was struck on 6 February by Typhoon Cervaise. Arriving at Port Louis on the 12th, carrier personnel spent more than 10,000 man-hours rendering such assistance as restoring water, power and telephone systems, clearing roads and debris, and providing helicopter, medical, food and potable water support to the stricken area.

..... Enterprise, along with Midway, Coral Sea, Hancock, and USS Okinawa (LPH 3) deployed to waters off Vietnam on 19 April 1975 for possible evacuation contingencies as North Vietnam overran two-thirds of South Vietnam and pronounced the carriers' presence a brazen challenge and a violation of the 1973 Paris Peace Accords. Ten days later, on 29 April, in a period of three hours, Operation Frequent Wind was carried out by U.S. Navy and Marine Corps helicopters from the Seventh Fleet. Frequent Wind involved the evacuation of American citizens from the capital of South Vietnam under heavy attack from the invading forces of North Vietnam. The military situation around Saigon and its Tan Son Nhut airport made evacuation by helicopter the only way out.

.....President Gerald Ford ordered the evacuation when Viet Cong shelling forced the suspension of normal transport aircraft use at Tan Son Nhut airport. With fighter cover provided by carrier aircraft, the helicopters landed on Saigon rooftops and at Tan Son Nhut to evacuate the Americans. The airport became the main helicopter landing Zone; it was defended by Marines from the 9th Amphibious Brigade flown in for that purpose. All but a handful of the 900 Americans in Saigon were evacuated. The last helicopter lifted off the roof of the United States Embassy at 7:52 p.m. carrying Marine security guards. During Operation Frequent Wind, Enterprise aircraft flew 95 sorties.

.....The ship made its eighth WESTPAC in 1976, during which, on 27 February 1977, Enterprise and her escort ships were directed to operate off the east African coast in response to public derogatory remarks against the U.S. by the President of Uganda and his order that all Americans in Uganda meet with him.

.....Following her ninth WESTPAC deployment in 1978, Enterprise sailed to Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in January 1979 for a 30-month comprehensive overhaul. Enterprise made its 10th, 11th and 12th WESTPAC deployments in 1982, 1984 and 1986, respectively.

.....When Enterprise deployed in 1986, it became the first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier to transit the Suez Canal. On 28 April, Enterprise transited the canal en route from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean to relieve USS Coral Sea (CV 43), on station with USS America (CV 66) off the coast of Libya. The transit began at 0300 and lasted 12 hours. It was the first time in over 22 years that Enterprise was in the Mediterranean Sea. On 24 March, Libyan forces had fired missiles at U.S. Navy forces operating in the Gulf of Sidra. For the next month, aircraft from America and Coral Sea pounded Libyan targets.

.....In April 1988, Enterprise was on its 13th deployment, assigned to escort reflagged Kuwaiti oil tankers in the Arabian Gulf while stationed in the North Arabian Sea. On 18 April, the United States retaliated against Iran following the 1 April incident in which USS Samuel B. Roberts (FFG 58) struck an Iranian mine in international waters. The retaliation involved both surface and air units. Carrier Air Wing 11 squadrons from Enterprise were the major aviation participants. VAW-I 17s "Nighthawks" provided airborne early warning tracking and analysis of targets as air intercept control. The initial American strikes centered around a surface group action against two Iranian oil platforms that had been identified as support bases for Iranian attacks on merchant shipping. Elements of CVW-11 provided air support for the surface groups in the form of surface combat air patrols, flying A-6E Intruders and A-7E Corsair IIs, and combat air patrols with F-14 Tomcats.

.....The initial action began with coordinated strikes by two separate surface groups. One group, consisting of two destroyers and one amphibious ship, attacked the Sassan platform while the other group, comprising a guided missile cruiser and two frigates attacked the Sirri platform. Iranian response to the destruction of the two oil platforms involved the dispatching of numerous gunboats to prey on various targets in the Arabian Gulf. Following an attack by Iranian Boghammar speedboats on an American-flagged supply ship and a Panamanian-flagged ship, A-6Es from VA-95 were vectored in on the speedboats by an American frigate. The aircraft dropped Rockeye cluster bombs on the speedboats, sinking one and damaging several others.

.....Action continued to escalate. Joshan, an Iranian Combatant II Kaman-class fast attack craft, challenged USS Wainwright (CG 28) and her surface group. The American ships responded to the challenge by sinking Joshan. Fighting continued when the Iranian frigate Sahand departed Bandar Abbas and challenged elements of an American surface group. She was observed by two VA-95 A-6Es while they were flying surface combat air patrol for USS Joseph Strauss (DDG 16).

.....Sahand launched missiles at the A-6Es, and the Intruders replied with launches of two Harpoons and four laser-guided Skipper bombs. This was followed by a Harpoon firing from Joseph Strauss. The weapons delivered against Sahand were successful.

.....Fires blazing on her decks eventually reached her magazines resulting in the final explosions that led to her sinking. The loss of Sahand, one of Iran 's most modern ships. Was not enough to stop the suicidal sorties of the Iranian navy. A sister ship, Sabalan, departed her port for operations in the Gulf. She fired on several A-6Es from VA-95 with a surface-to-air missile. One of the Intruders responded with a laser-guided bomb that hit Sabalan and stopped her dead in the water. The Iranian frigate was taken in tow by an Iranian tug with the stern partially submerged. VA-95's aircraft, as ordered, did not continue the attack. This action ended the retaliatory strikes against Iran that began as a result of Iranian mining in international waters.

.....Enterprise began its 14th overseas deployment in September 1989. In early December, Enterprise, along with USS Midway, participated in Operation Classic Resolve, President George H.W. Bush's response to Philippine President Corazon Aquino's request for air support during the rebel coup attempt. Enterprise remained on station conducting flight operations in the waters outside Manila Bay, until the situation subsided, and then proceeded to her scheduled deployment to the Indian Ocean.

.....In March 1990, Enterprise completed its highly successful around-the-world deployment by arriving in Norfolk, Va. Enterprise had successfully and safely steamed more than 43,000 miles from its long-time homeport of Alameda, Calif.

.....In October 1990, Enterprise moved to Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry-dock Company for refueling and the Navy's largest complex overhaul ever attempted. It returned to sea 27 September 1994, for sea trials, during which Enterprise performed an extended full power run as fast as when it was new.

.....On 28 June 1996, Enterprise began its 15th overseas deployment. The Big E enforced no-fly zones in Bosnia (Operation Joint Endeavor) and Iraq (Operation Southern Watch). The deployment also marked the end of an era when VA-75 retired the A-6E Intruder from the Navy. Enterprise completed its deployment 20 December 1996 .

.....In February 1997, Enterprise entered Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry-dock Co., for an extended selective restrictive availability lasting four-and-a-half months. Following workups, Enterprise departed on its 16th overseas deployment 6 November 1998, this time with Carrier Air Wing Three (CVW-3).

.....Shortly after the start of the deployment, on the night of 8 November 1998, Enterprise suffered a major accident when an EA-6B Prowler crashed into an S-3 Viking on the carrier's flight deck. The mishap occurred when the EA-6B was returning to Enterprise following night qualifications and struck the S-3 which was on the flight deck. Both crews were reported to have ejected from their aircraft.

.....A fire broke out involving both aircraft, but was quickly extinguished by the Enterprise flight deck crew. Three of the four Prowler crew were lost at sea. The remains of the fourth were recovered shortly after the crash. The two crew of the Viking were rushed to the Naval Medical Center in Portsmouth, Va. No other Enterprise crew members were injured. A search for three EA-6B Prowler crew members was suspended after nearly 24 hours and after covering more than 100 square nautical miles on the water and 700 nautical miles in the air.

.....Following a high-speed Atlantic transit, Big E relieved USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69) in the Arabian Gulf 23 November.