USS Enterprise

The name USS Enterprise has been borne by eight ships in the United States Navy, which are listed below. The name Enterprise is also closely associated with space travel, being the name of several fictional spacecraft in the Star Trek universe (see Starship Enterprise), as well as the very real prototype Space Shuttle Enterprise of the US space agency NASA. Before becoming a common name for United States ships, the British Royal Navy had several ships named HMS Enterprise (sometimes spelled Enterprize), and the name is still used by the Royal Navy today.

• The first American Enterprise was a sloop in the American Revolution Battle of Valcour Island.

• The second Enterprise, a schooner, was a successful letter-of-marque before she was purchased on 20 December 1776 for the Continental Navy. Commanded by Captain Joseph Campbell, Enterprise operated principally in Chesapeake Bay. She convoyed transports, carried out reconnaissance, and guarded the shores against foraging raids by the British. Only meager records of her service have been found; they indicate that she was apparently returned to the Maryland Council of Safety before the end of February 1777.

• The third Enterprise, a schooner, was built by Henry Spencer at Baltimore, Maryland, in 1799.

• The fourth Enterprise was also a schooner, and commissioned in 1831.

• The fifth Enterprise was a screw sloop commissioned 1877.

• The sixth Enterprise, a motorboat, served in a noncommissioned status in the Second Naval District during World War I.

• The seventh USS Enterprise (CV-6), an aircraft carrier, saw much action during World War II.

• The eighth USS Enterprise (CVN-65) was the world's first nuclear aircraft carrier, launched in 1960 and still on active service in 2003.