Enterprise (CVN-65)
Enterprise (CVN-65) is a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier operated by United States Navy, powered by 8 Westinghouse A2W. Retired.
The first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, commissioned in 1961 with eight separate reactors, twice as many as any carrier built since. It served for over fifty years and was defuelled in 2016. Every carrier that followed it uses two reactors, which is the number the Navy concluded was actually needed.
| Reactor | Westinghouse A2W |
|---|---|
| Reactors per vessel | 8 |
| Thermal output | not disclosed |
| Fuel enrichment | ~93% U-235HEU |
| Refuelling | not disclosed |
| Category | aircraft carrier |
|---|---|
| Role | aircraft carrier |
| Operator | United States Navy |
| Country | United States |
| Vessels in class | not stated |
| In service from | 1961 |
| Status | Retired |
Other aircraft carriers
| Class | Enrichment | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Charles de Gaulle | LEU | Operating |
| Gerald R. Ford class | HEU | Operating |
| Nimitz class | HEU | Operating |
Enterprise (CVN-65) in context
It is one of 4 aircraft carrier programs on record, 3 of them operating and 1 retired, and one of 11 naval reactor programs from the same country.
Its fuel is recorded as HEU, the same as 2 of the other 3 aircraft carrier programs with a stated enrichment class.
It entered service in 1961, 65 years ago; the aircraft carrier programs on record entered service between 1961 and 2017, and this one is the earliest of 4.
| Measure | Enterprise (CVN-65) | Median of aircraft carrier programs | Standing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Entered service | 1961 | 9876001 | 1 of 4 (earliest first) |
Worked out from the entries on this site only, so a figure compares Enterprise (CVN-65) with what is recorded here, not with everything that exists. An entry with no value for a measure is left out of that measure's ranking and median.
Sources
- World Nuclear Association, Nuclear-Powered Ships · retrieved 2026-09-07
How these sources are used, including the corrections applied on top of them and what is deliberately left blank · download the underlying data