NARRATOR: Bremerton,
Washington, summer 1943.
The Big E slips
into Puget Sound.
It's the first time
the mighty carrier
has been stateside in years.
Now, the decorated ship is
in for a massive overhaul
to make her even
tougher and more deadly.
In summer 1943, the Enterprise
went through a repair overhaul.
She had been through
significant combat
and suffered a lot of damage.
They looked at this and drew
lessons learned from it.
NARRATOR: Hundreds
of yard workers
swarm in to trick out
the mighty flattop
and get her ripped and
ready for more combat.
Her additions-- a protective
torpedo blister, more guns,
new radar, and a new
plane that will literally
change the face of war.
The arrival of the F6F
Hellcat is a real watershed
in terms of the
American capabilities
to both bring offensive
firepower to the Japanese
and also to defend
the fleet effectively.
NARRATOR: 33 feet long, with
a maximum speed of 376 miles
per hour to the Wildcat's
320 miles per hour,
the F6F is faster and 5 feet
longer than the Wildcat.
She's also got more firepower.
With a standard armament of
six .50 caliber machine guns,
she can deliver 2,400 rounds of
fearsome ordnance on the enemy,
and can launch bombs
or unguided rockets.
The US Navy finally
has a fighter
plane that is more than a
match for the legendary Zero.
It's a deadly
aircraft when you
consider the complement of .50
caliber machine guns on it.
It's also rugged and reliable.
It's going to change the
course of the Pacific.
NARRATOR: The Navy realizes that
the greatest threat to carriers
like the Enterprise
are enemy air
attacks and Japanese torpedoes.
They proceed to install
a torpedo blister along 3/4
of her length that
will give her better
protection against any
torpedo hits that she suffers.
NARRATOR: Japanese torpedoes
killed her sisters,
Yorktown and Hornet.
The Navy is bound to
ensure that Enterprise
does not suffer the same fate.
The torpedo blister
is a steel belt
that wraps around the outer
edge of the Big E's hull.
Between the huge
bulge and the ship
itself is a part-flooded,
part-air-filled compartment
that will absorb the
shock of explosion
and the sharp fragments
of a Japanese warhead.
18 more feet of solid
steel and timber
are added to her overall
length, and her damage control
equipment and radar is replaced.
But the most important
improvement-- new 5-inch guns
and 36 additional 40
millimeter and 20 millimeter
antiaircraft guns.
The guns were the main thing.
We had more quad
40s than I can--
I can't even remember
now how many there were.
Those are big cannons.
[artillery fire]
And when they go off,
they make a lot of racket.
We had better armament.
NARRATOR: Brand new fire control
systems link her 5-inch and 40
millimeter batteries.
Defending the
carrier isn't easy.
Enterprise's firepower must
pepper the skies with a barrage
of flak to hit Imperial planes.
But in order to kill the enemy,
accurate shooting is a must.
[cannon fire]
Radar-controlled
directors can pinpoint
the distance and elevation
of incoming aircraft
and help ensure a kill.
[explosion]
Mark 37 and Mark
51 gun directors
are mounted on either side
of the Big E's island.
These systems will
provide vital target
data that will guide the fire
of Enterprise's heavy weapons.
The directors calculate firing
orders for the gunner's mates,
giving the crews the accurate
elevation, range, and velocity
of an enemy target.
And the radar can detect
incoming Japanese aircraft
at 45,000 yards and enemy
vessels at 40,000 yards.
[gunfire]
The Big E will now be able to
shred any incoming enemy planes
that invade her airspace--
day or night.
[explosion]
Nothing in the Japanese
anti-aircraft arsenal
can compare to the firepower of
the radar-guided 40 millimeter
guns and 5-inch rifles.
[gunfire]
By the end of
World War II, no one
else's anti-aircraft
defenses come anywhere
close to the Americans.
American warships are
incredibly dangerous to approach
by the end of 1943.
And that situation
only gets grimmer
for any Japanese attacker
as 1944 and '45 goes on.
NARRATOR: Now, she joins one
of the largest naval fleets
ever assembled in history.
The fall of 1943, the US
Navy is now in a position
to begin initiating this
long anticipated drive
through the Central Pacific that
everyone has known is coming.
NARRATOR: Only a year before,
Enterprise was the only carrier
left to fight in the Pacific.
Now, she's teamed
with an armada.
The flagship of her task
group, Enterprise sales
with light carriers Monterey
and USS Belleau Wood,
battleships Massachusetts and
Indiana, cruiser Baltimore,
and six destroyer escorts.
She's also got her
old friend, battleship
North Carolina, veteran
of the Eastern Solomons.
Together, this force
can deliver the fury
of thousands of explosive
shells and a venomous strike
of more than 200 warplanes.
There was a feeling that
we had a lot of power,
and we were going to use it.
NARRATOR: Enterprise
and the Pacific fleet
is about to set off on one of
the longest naval campaigns
in world history.
It will mark the start
of 560 days of war
before she can go home--
560 days of pure hell.
[engine clicking]
