The Yorktown-class aircraft carrier, USS Enterprise (CV-6) was commissioned at Newport News, Virginia, on May 12, 1938. It was transferred to the Pacific and was at sea during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941. Three days later she became the first U.S. Navy warship to sink a Japanese warship, submarine I-70, and later that month she participated in the expedition to Wake Island. In April, the Enterprise covered the Dootlittle Raid on Japan and in June participated in the Battle of Midway, where her aircraft sank three Japanese aircraft carriers and a cruiser. During the Guadalcanal Campaign, she covered landings and participated in the battles of East Solomons and Santa Cruz Islands. Despite being damaged in both battles, she launched aircraft to aid the ships involved in the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal. In late 1943 and early 1944, the Enterprise participated in the Gilberts and Marshall invasions and air strikes against the Japanese in the central and southern Pacific. In the summer of 1944, she participated in the Marianas Operation and the Battle of the Philippine Sea, followed by the largest naval battle in history, the Battle of the Gulf of Leyte in October. In February 1945, Enterprise participated in the invasion of Iwo Jima, then attacks on the Japanese home islands and the Okinawa Campaign in April. Damaged by two kamikaze attacks in April and May, she returned to the United States with the distinction of being the U.S. Navy's most decorated warship during the war. After Japan's surrender, she helped transport American servicemen back to the United States. Decommissioned in February 1947.