Introduction to the Enterprise

Personal Insights

Welcome to Sandcastle V.I.'s special electronic edition of These Are the Voyages: A History of the Ships, Aircraft, and Spacecraft Named Enterprise. This was a project I spent endless hours researching and writing during a period of about 10 years. Until 1996, it remained in drydock -- unpublished and unread by anyone except a few close friends and a good many more publishing company editors who didn't think it was worth publication.

However, I undertook this project, not to become rich and famous, but because of my interest in the subject. I had a story to tell, and I knew there were many Star Trek fans and naval history enthusiasts out there who would be ready to read that story. But I had no way of getting the story out, until the Internet appeared. Through this wonderful new technology, the story of the great ladies named Enterprise and their courageous crews could be told! I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed putting it together.

For those of you who have a keen interest in the vessels named Enterprise, I am currently in the process of trying to get this history of ships named Enterprise published professionally. Once it is available, I will provide a link here.

The Historical Enterprises [Drawings Copyrighted (C) by Arnold E. van Beverhoudt, Jr.] [Click on thumbnail for 800x version]

The Fictional Enterprises [Drawings Copyrighted (C) by Paramount Pictures] [Click on thumbnail for 800x version]

Table of Contents

Title Page and Dedication

Foreword by Admiral Richard H. Truly

Preface

Chapter 1 - The Spanish Armada

• Subchapter 1.1 - Mystery Ship
  

Chapter 2 - The Great European Fleets

• Subchapter 2.1 - The Rise of the French Navy
  
• Subchapter 2.2 - The First Royal Navy Enterprise
  

Chapter 3 - The Fight for Independence

• Subchapter 3.1 - An Enterprise for the Continental Navy
  

Chapter 4 - Challenges to a Young Nation

• Subchapter 4.1 - Early French Enterprises
  
• Subchapter 4.2 - Battling the Pirates of the Barbary Coast
  
• Subchapter 4.3 - The War of 1812
  

Chapter 5 - Exploring Strange Worlds

• Subchapter 5.1 - The South American Patrol
  
• Subchapter 5.2 - Exploring the Northwest Passage
  

Chapter 6 - Commerce and the Steamboat

• Subchapter 6.1 - Early American Steamboats
  
• Subchapter 6.2 - Paddlewheelers on the Canadian Frontier
  
• Subchapter 6.3 - Enterprises Down Under
  
• Subchapter 6.4 - Other Merchant Enterprises
  

Chapter 7 - Steam in the Civil War Era

• Subchapter 7.1 - A Confederate Enterprise
  
• Subchapter 7.2 - World Voyager
  
• Subchapter 7.3 - Another Enterprise for the Merchant Marines
  

Chapter 8 - A World at War

• Subchapter 8.1 - The Enterprise of World War I
  
• Subchapter 8.2 - The Royal Navy's Big "E"
  
• Subchapter 8.3 - Defenders of the America's Cup
  

Chapter 9 - Air Power at Sea

• Subchapter 9.1 - Naval Airpower and the "Big E"
  
• Subchapter 9.2 - Victory at Midway
  
• Subchapter 9.3 - Push Across the Pacific
  

Chapter 10 - E=mc²

• Subchapter 10.1 - The Post-War Era
  
• Subchapter 10.2 - Proving the Big E's Worth
  
• Subchapter 10.3 - On Yankee Station
  
• Subchapter 10.4 - On Patrol in the Persian Gulf
  

Chapter 11 - Lighter Than Air

• Subchapter 11.1 - France's Balloon Pioneers
  
• Subchapter 11.2 - The Goodyear Blimps
  

Chapter 12 - The Final Frontier

• Subchapter 12.1 - Leaving the Cradle
  
• Subchapter 12.2 - The 21st Century . . . and Beyond
  

Appendices

• Appendix 1 - Ship Directory
  
• Appendix 2 - Bibliography
  
• Appendix 3 - Reference Notes
  

| Home | Intro | Ventures | Sea | Air | Space | SciFi | Racing | Movies | Art | Travel | Exit |

| Intro | Dedication | Foreword | Preface | Spanish Armada | European Fleets | Independence |
| A Young Nation | Exploration | Steamboats | Civil War | World at War | Air Power | Nuclear Power |
| Airships | Final Frontier | Ship Directory | Bibliography |

Last Updated: April 8, 2010