U.S.S Enterprise

Oil on canvas
24" x 36"
c. 1985

This painting was commissioned by the US Navy in 1985 by the officers onboard the USS Enterprise (CVN-65) as a gift to the outgoing captain, Robert L. Leuschner, Jr. (1935-2016.) The ship's homeport was then Alameda, California. The jet that is taking off from the deck is  A-7B Corsair II, aircraft, a plane which Rear Admiral Leuschner had flown during the Viet Nam war years. The painting was so admired, a "duplicate" was commissioned soon after the first to be kept permanently onboard the ship in the officers' messroom. Captain Leuschner was promoted to Rear Admiral and posted to the Pentagon after running the Enterprise aground in November 1985. It is believed that the original may have hung in his office. It is unknown if it was there at the time of the September 11, 2001 attack and whether it survived or not. The image was published as a lithograph by the US Navy and many of the crew and officers who sailed on the ship purchased it.

As a side note, Leonard built a model of the Corsair and suspended it to get the angle of the flight path. He also met with several pilots and other officers serving on the U.S.S. Enterprise, watched videos, and had an opportunity to explore the ship in doing research for the painting to make it as accurate as possible.