oooo yes, just before they use her as target practice [}:)][;)]
Greg
The America was retired for one reason. The ship was constructed of a lesser grade of steel than the other ships.
Robert Strange MacNamara as SECDEF thought he could save some money by using cheeper steel when the America was constructed, so the ship was decommissioned because the hull was in no condition to last. The JFK, Enterprise, Kitty Hawk and Connie were built with better steel.
The Enterprise is indeed still an experiment. The plan is for the ship to serve 54 years and is currently planned to retire and be replaced by CVN 78. Spreading the costs of the nuke ships across 50 years makes them more cost efficent. Nimitz received its only refueling and returned to duty 2 years ago. The “Ike” is finishing up her refueling and overhaul now.
Mike