The 1943 overhaul and a multiplying carrier fleet

The arrival of Essex- and Independence-class carriers allowed Enterprise to enter Puget Sound Naval Shipyard for an extensive overhaul in July 1943. She received improved anti-aircraft armament, anti-torpedo bulges, and the large numeral six on her flight deck. Large identification markings had mattered less when the fleet possessed only a handful of carriers and a returning pilot was likely looking at the sole carrier nearby. Multi-carrier task groups made rapid visual identification much more important. The refit records both physical improvements to Enterprise and the US Navy's shift from carrier scarcity to massed operations.