USS Enterprise

The "Big E" was the world's first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, commissioned in 1961, and she lived up to the name of every ship that had come before her. From the Cuban Missile Crisis to Vietnam to Desert Storm to Iraqi Freedom, the Enterprise was always there—eight reactors and unlimited range carrying her wherever the fight was. She served for 51 years—the longest of any carrier in American history—before decommissioning in 2012. There will never be another one like her.