NEWPORT NEWS — Fifty years ago today the largest dry dock in the
world filled with water from the James River, setting afloat the
world's largest ship and first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier.
At 10:30 a.m. on Sept. 24, 1960, Mrs. William B. Franke, wife of
the Secretary of the Navy, smashed a bottle of champagne across
the bow of the USS Enterprise as the rushing seawater freed it
from its last keel block. Yard president William E. Blewett Jr.
paid tribute to the thousands of workers who "labored with
imagination, skill and pride to build a vessel worthy of its
name." Today, the Enterprise sits across the harbor at Naval
Station Norfolk, preparing for two final, six-month deployments
before it's decommissioned in 2012. Neither the Navy nor the
ship's crew has planned an event to celebrate the milestone,
preferring to wait until Nov. 25, 2011, the 50th anniversary of
the Enterprise becoming an official member of the fleet.
Nonetheless, when the one-of-a-kind supercarrier was launched
that Saturday five deca