1944 Ray Pictorial WWII Broadside of the U.S.S. <i>Enterprise</i>

This is a 1944 Jim Ray pictorial cross-section broadside of the U.S.S. Enterprise. In amazing detail, the carrier is illustrated in the process of launching aircraft. Each deck is labeled with a black circle bearing a letter or number. For example: the Island is marked with an 'I', the Flight Deck an 'F', and so on. Locations on each deck are numerically identified by white circles bearing numbers, which correspond with an index below the image. A short description of each deck appears here as well. Views illustrating carrier operations, from launching aircraft to manning anti-aircraft batteries, create the top border and aerial views of the Enterprise occupy both bottom corners.

The U.S.S. Enterprise

Launched on October 3, 1936, the U.S.S. Enterprise (CV-6) was the sixth ship in the U.S. Navy to bear the name Enterprise. She was also the sixth aircraft carrier commissioned in the U.S. Navy. The Enterprise, nicknamed 'The Big E', served throughout World War II and was one of only three American aircraft carriers afloat before the war to survive. For Enterprise, that was no small feat, as she saw action as an escort for the U.S.S. Hornet during the Doolittle Raid, at the Battle of Midway, throughout the Solomons Campaign, at the Battle of the Philippine Sea, at the Battle of Leyte Gulf, she participated in air operations during the invasions of Iwo Jima and Okinawa, and was part of numerous other engagements. In total, she earned twenty battle stars, the most of any U.S. warship during World War II, and was also the most decorated ship during the war. After the Battle of the Santa Crus Islands, when the U.S.S. Hornet sank, Enterprise became the only active carrier in the Pacific Fleet. She received a Presidential Unit Citation for her actions on May 27, 1943. Enterprise was undergoing repairs in Puget Sound when the war ended in August 1945. The Japanese falsely claimed to have sunk the Enterprise three times. This feat earned her another nickname: The Grey Ghost. Efforts to save Enterprise never proved successful, and she was sold for scrap in 1958.

Publication History and Census

This broadside was created by Jim Ray and published by Garden City Publishing Company in 1944. We note three examples cataloged in OCLC, which are part of the collections at the Boston Athenaeum, the Pritzker Military Museum and Library in Chicago, Illinois, and the U.S. Air Force Academy. Scarce on the private market.