A 32-ton anchor from America's first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier is finding new life
Courtesy of Huntington Ingalls Industries
The huge starboard anchor of the USS Enterprise, the first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, has been installed aboard the USS George Washington.
A number of components from the decommissioned carrier affectionately known as the "Big E" have been handed off to other carriers, giving new life to a flattop that served the US Navy for more than half a century.
A 62-year-old anchor from the USS Enterprise, the world's first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, will live on in the USS George Washington, which is expected to continue to serve the US Navy for at least another 25 years.
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.
Specialist 2nd Class Stacy Laseter/U.S. Navy
"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."
Petty Officer 3rd Class Brooks B. Patton/U.S. Navy
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.
Associated Press
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.
Courtesy of Huntington Ingalls Industries
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.
Courtesy of Huntington Ingalls Industries
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.
Courtesy of Huntington Ingalls Industries
Read more: How the world's first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier lives on in other US Navy flattops
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.
Courtesy of Huntington Ingalls Industries
