USS Enterprise CV-6: The Most Decorated US Ship of WW2

The Quiz Question

Which US aircraft carrier, nicknamed the 'Big E', earned 20 battle stars to become the most decorated US ship of World War 2?

A. USS Saratoga
B. USS Lexington
C. USS Essex
D. USS Yorktown

The answer is E. USS Enterprise (CV-6) -- the 'Big E' earned 20 battle stars, more than any other US warship. Saratoga, Lexington, Essex, and Yorktown all earned fewer, and Lexington and this Yorktown were sunk in 1942.. Here is the full story.

She was reported sunk three times by Japanese propaganda. She fought in virtually every major Pacific campaign from Pearl Harbor to the final strikes on Japan. And when the last battle star was counted, no other American warship — not a destroyer, not a battleship, not another carrier — came close to her record. This is the story of USS Enterprise (CV-6), the 'Big E,' and why she remains the most decorated US Navy ship of World War 2.

The Ship That Refused to Die: Meet the 'Big E'

USS Enterprise (CV-6) was a Yorktown-class aircraft carrier commissioned on 12 May 1938 at Newport News, Virginia. From the moment she joined the fleet, she was something special — fast, powerful, and crewed by men who took enormous pride in her. It was those men who gave her the nickname 'Big E,' a term of affection that followed her through every battle, every repair yard, and every triumphant return to sea.

The Japanese did their best to convince the world she was gone. Tokyo Rose and official Japanese naval communiqués reported Enterprise sunk no fewer than three times during the war. Each time, she came back — repaired, rearmed, and fighting harder than before. Her crews began to see the enemy's announcements almost as a dark joke.

By the time the guns fell silent in August 1945, Enterprise had accumulated 20 battle stars — an unmatched record in US Navy history. She had participated in more major actions than virtually any other Allied vessel in the Pacific, from the chaos of December 1941 all the way to the final carrier strikes against the Japanese home islands.

Before the Storm: Enterprise in the Pre-War Navy

Enterprise displaced 19,800 tons and could operate up to 90 aircraft, making her one of the most capable warships afloat in the late 1930s. She was built for a world that hadn't yet arrived — a world where the aircraft carrier, not the battleship, would decide naval supremacy. History would prove her designers exactly right.

In 1939 she took part in Fleet Problem XX, large-scale US Navy war games that explored scenarios disturbingly close to what would unfold in the Pacific just two years later. The lessons weren't fully absorbed in time, but Enterprise's officers gained experience that would prove invaluable.

By December 1941, Enterprise was one of only three US fleet carriers based in the Pacific, alongside USS Lexington (CV-2) and USS Saratoga (CV-3). She departed Pearl Harbor on 28 November 1941 to deliver Marine aircraft to Wake Island — a routine ferry mission that accidentally placed her 200 miles from Oahu when Japan struck. Captain George Murray commanded her that day, with Vice Admiral William 'Bull' Halsey flying his flag aboard her in those opening weeks of crisis.

Pearl Harbor and the First Strikes: December 1941

Enterprise's aircraft were airborne and inbound to Pearl Harbor when Japanese planes struck on 7 December 1941. Several of her pilots flew directly into the attack — and a number were shot down by friendly fire in the chaos and confusion over the harbor. It was a brutal introduction to the war, and it hardened her crew immediately.

Within days, Enterprise was launching search missions and escorting the first American counter-operations across the Central Pacific. There was no time to grieve. The US Navy had its back against the wall, and Enterprise was one of the very few ships capable of striking back.

In February 1942 she took part in the raids against the Marshall and Gilbert Islands — the US Navy's first offensive strikes of the entire war. Modest in military terms, these attacks were enormous in morale value. They told a stunned American public that the Navy could still reach out and hit Japan's empire, even after the catastrophe of Pearl Harbor.

Midway: The Battle That Turned the War — and Enterprise Was There

The Battle of Midway, fought from 4 to 7 June 1942, is often described as the turning point of the Pacific War — and Enterprise was at the heart of it. Aircraft from her flight deck sank three Japanese fleet carriers: Kaga, Akagi, and Hiryu. In a single devastating day, American naval aviation broke the spine of Japanese carrier power.

Lieutenant Commander Wade McClusky led Enterprise's dive-bomber group during the critical attack on 4 June. With his fuel running critically low, McClusky made the decision to keep searching rather than turn back — and found the Japanese fleet. The US Navy credited that decision with changing the outcome of the battle. McClusky was awarded the Navy Cross for his actions that day.

The victory was not without cost. Enterprise lost 14 dive bombers and suffered significant casualties among her aircrews. But Japan lost four fleet carriers and hundreds of veteran pilots and aircrew — losses she could never replace. Midway shifted the momentum of the Pacific War decisively and permanently toward the Allies.

Guadalcanal: Fighting for Survival in 1942

If Midway was Enterprise's finest hour, the Guadalcanal campaign tested whether she could survive at all. For much of late 1942, she was the only operational US fleet carrier in the South Pacific — a burden of responsibility almost impossible to fully comprehend. If she had been lost, American operations in the region could have collapsed entirely.

At the Battle of the Eastern Solomons on 24–25 August 1942, Enterprise absorbed three bomb hits and was badly damaged. Her damage control crews worked through the night to keep her fighting. She stayed afloat and operational when a lesser ship — or a lesser crew — might have gone under.

At the Battle of Santa Cruz on 26–27 October 1942, she was hit again by Japanese bombs while USS Hornet (CV-8) was sunk nearby. Official Navy dispatches used the word 'magnificent' to describe the efforts of her damage control teams. It was during this period that the Japanese kept announcing her sunk — and she kept reappearing — earning her the second nickname that would follow her through history: 'The Grey Ghost.'

The Men Behind the Legend: Commanders and Crew

Admiral Halsey, who flew his flag aboard Enterprise early in the war, reportedly called her 'the one vessel that most nearly symbolises the history of the Navy in this war.' Whether spoken in those exact words or not, the sentiment was widely shared — by the Navy's leadership, by her crew, and eventually by the American public.

Captain Osborne Hardison commanded Enterprise during some of the most intense fighting of the Guadalcanal campaign in late 1942, guiding her through battles that left her scarred but never beaten. His leadership during the Santa Cruz engagement was crucial to her survival.

Machinist Donald Gary won the Medal of Honor for his actions during the Battle of the Philippine Sea in June 1944. When a compartment flooded and trapped men below decks, Gary entered the space three times in darkness and smoke to lead them out safely. His citation stands as a reminder that Enterprise's legend was built not just on air strikes and battle stars, but on individual acts of extraordinary courage.

At peak strength, Enterprise's crew numbered around 2,700 officers and men — a floating city that became extraordinarily close-knit under fire. Veterans who served aboard her frequently described that service as the defining experience of their lives.

1944–1945: Finishing the Job Across the Pacific

By 1944, the tide had turned and Enterprise was on the attack. She participated in the Battle of the Philippine Sea in June 1944 — the largest carrier battle in history — helping to shatter Japan's remaining naval air power in an engagement American pilots nicknamed 'The Great Marianas Turkey Shoot.'

That same year she pioneered night carrier operations, operating a specially trained night air group equipped for operations after dark — a genuine tactical innovation that expanded the reach of American carrier aviation. No other carrier had attempted sustained night flying at this scale.

During the Battle of Leyte Gulf in October 1944 — the largest naval battle in history by tonnage — Enterprise's aircraft struck Japanese forces across multiple engagements over four brutal days. She was seemingly everywhere at once.

On 14 May 1945, a kamikaze strike blew her forward elevator 400 feet into the air. The explosion was catastrophic. Yet once again, Enterprise survived. She was repaired and returned to duty, her record of survival stretching credibility and inspiring something close to awe among those who served alongside her.

20 Battle Stars: What That Number Really Means

Each of Enterprise's 20 battle stars represents a major combat engagement — from Pearl Harbor in December 1941 to the final carrier strikes against Japan in the summer of 1945. That is not a statistic. It is a timeline of the entire Pacific War, and Enterprise was present for almost all of it.

To put the number in context: USS Saratoga (CV-3) earned 7 battle stars. USS Essex (CV-9) earned 13. USS Yorktown (CV-10) earned 9. The original USS Yorktown (CV-5) and USS Lexington (CV-2) — both sunk in 1942, at Midway and the Coral Sea respectively — never had the chance to add to their tallies.

Enterprise's battle stars spanned not just the Pacific but also operations in the Atlantic and the Indian Ocean in the early war period — she was, in the truest sense, a global warrior. No US Navy warship of any type, from destroyers to cruisers to battleships, matched her combat record across the full span of World War 2.

A Sad Farewell: Why the 'Big E' Was Lost to the Breakers

When the war ended, the US Navy faced a painful reality: it had hundreds of surplus warships and almost no budget to maintain them in peacetime. Enterprise was decommissioned on 17 February 1947. After everything she had survived, the accountants finished what the Japanese could not.

A passionate campaign to save her as a museum ship gathered genuine momentum throughout the late 1940s and into the 1950s. Veterans, politicians, and ordinary Americans wrote letters, raised funds, and lobbied Congress. For a time it seemed possible.

It wasn't enough. Enterprise was sold for scrap in 1958 — a decision that veterans and naval historians still mourn decades later. Almost nothing physical survives from the ship herself. Her legacy lives in records, photographs, and the memories of the men who served aboard her.

But her name refused to die. USS Enterprise (CVN-65), the world's first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, was commissioned in 1961 and carried the 'Big E' tradition forward for over 50 years. Today, USS Enterprise (CVN-80) is under construction — the latest ship to carry the most storied name in US naval history, a name made legendary by the Yorktown-class carrier that fought an entire world war and never gave up.

If the story of the 'Big E' moved you, share it with someone who loves military history — and drop a comment below telling us which battle from Enterprise's record you find most remarkable. There's no shortage of candidates.