Carrier Air Wing Six
| Carrier Air Wing Six | |
|---|---|
| Decorations | Navy Unit Commendation (1968) Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal (3) |
Carrier Air Wing Six (CVW-6) was a United States Navy aircraft carrier air wing whose operational history spans from the middle of World War II to the end of the Cold War. Established in 1943 as Carrier Air Group Seventeen (CVG-17), it would be re-designated several times during its establishment, including Carrier Air Group Six (CVG-6) as the second unit to be so designated. The first Carrier Air Group Six served for just over two years during World War II, but drew on the history of the Enterprise Air Group established in 1938 and active in the early battles of the Pacific War, being disestablished after the first year of the conflict. During its time in USS Enterprise (CV-6), it was the Navy's only carrier-based air group to carry out three complete tours of duty during World War II.[1]
History
Carrier Air Wing 6 was established on 1 January 1943 as Carrier Air Group 17 (CVG-17).
Carrier Air Group 17 (CVG-17) and (CVBG-17) (1943–1946)
The Air Group served throughout WWII as CVG-17. After the war, on 22 January 1946 the group was redesignated CVBG-17, the "B" indicating it was configured to be assigned to one of the new Midway class aircraft carriers.
Battle Carrier Air Group 5 (1946–1948)
On 15 November 1946 the Navy instituted a new Carrier Air Group designation scheme and all air groups assigned to the smaller WWII Essex class carriers were designated CVAG and all configured for the larger Midway class carriers were designated CVBG. The three CVBGs were numbered from 1 through 5 with CVBG-17 becoming CVBG-5. CVBG-5 participated in the
Deployments
The Battle Carrier Air Group 5 deployments, 1946–1948
Table 3 denotes the deployments of CVBG-5.[2]
| Aircraft carrier | Deployment duration | Operational area | Operating force |
|---|---|---|---|
| USS Valley Forge (CV-45) | 24 January 1947 – 18 March 1947 | South Atlantic | Shakedown cruise |
| USS Coral Sea (CVB-43) | 19 January 1948 – 5 April 1948 | South Atlantic | Shakedown cruise |
Carrier Air Group 6 (1948–1963)
,_in_1957.jpg)
On 1 September 1948 the Navy again changed the Carrier Air Group designation scheme redesigning all CVAGs and CVBGs to CVGs and CVBG-5 became Carrier Air Group Six (CVG-6) (it was the second use of the CVG-6 designation, the first air group designated
The group flew on board the Navy's first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, the recently commissioned USS Enterprise (CVAN-65), on 22 June 1962. CVG-6 participated with the USS Forrestal (CVA-59) in LantFlex 2–62, a nuclear strike exercise from 6–12 July, providing eight "pre-planned" strikes and six call strikes while operating off the Virginia capes, against targets ranging from the Tidewater area to central Florida. The air group also participated in RipTide III from 3–5 August, which involved long-range simulated nuclear strikes against targets off the Portuguese and Spanish coasts, including 14 strikes and nine call strikes, all opposed.[7]
The group embarked on board the Enterprise during its first deployment to the Mediterranean, passing the
Carrier Air Group Six subsequently participated in the naval operations during the
Deployments
The deployments of CVG-6 are listed below.[6]
| Aircraft carrier | Deployment duration | Operational area | Operating force |
|---|---|---|---|
| USS Franklin D. Roosevelt (CVB-42) | 27 October 1949 – 23 November 1949 | North Atlantic | U.S. Second Task Fleet
|
| USS Franklin D. Roosevelt (CVB-42) | 10 January 1951 – 18 May 1951 | Mediterranean | U.S. Sixth Fleet
|
| USS Midway (CVB-41) | 9 January 1952 – 5 May 1952 | Mediterranean | U.S. Sixth Fleet
|
| USS Midway (CVB-41) | 25 February 1952 – 16 March 1952 | Operation Grand Slam
|
CINCAFSOUTH |
| USS Midway (CVB-41) | 26 August 1952 – 8 October 1952 | Operation Mainbrace
|
SACLANT |
| USS Midway (CVA-41) | 1 December 1952 – 19 May 1953 | Mediterranean | U.S. Sixth Fleet
|
| USS Midway (CVA-41) | 9 January 1954 – 4 August 1954 | Mediterranean | U.S. Sixth Fleet
|
| USS Lake Champlain (CVA-39) | 9 October 1955 – 3 April 1956 | Mediterranean | U.S. Sixth Fleet
|
| USS Intrepid (CVA-11) | 3 September 1957 – 22 October 1957 | Operation Strikeback
|
SACLANT |
| USS Intrepid (CVA-11) | 13 February 1959 – 20 August 1959 | Mediterranean | U.S. Sixth Fleet
|
| USS Intrepid (CVA-11) | 4 August 1960 – 17 February 1961 | Mediterranean | U.S. Sixth Fleet
|
| USS Intrepid (CVA-11) | 3 August 1961 – 1 March 1962 | Mediterranean | U.S. Sixth Fleet
|
| USS Enterprise (CVAN-65) | 3 August 1962 – 11 October 1962 | Mediterranean | U.S. Sixth Fleet
|
| USS Enterprise (CVAN-65) | 19 October 1962 – 6 December 1962 | Caribbean | Task Force 135 |
| USS Enterprise (CVAN-65) | 6 February 1963 – 4 September 1963 | Mediterranean | U.S. Sixth Fleet
|
Air group composition
Operation Grand Slam (1952)
Carrier Air Group Six embarked on USS Midway (CVB-41) during NATO
|
|
Operation Mainbrace (1952)
Carrier Air Group Six embarked on USS Midway (CVB-41) during NATO
|
|
Operation Strikeback (1957)
Carrier Air Group Six embarked on USS Intrepid (CVA-11) during NATO
|
|
Cuban Missile Crisis (1962)
Carrier Air Group Six embarked on USS Enterprise (CVAN-65) during the Cuban Missile Crisis:[6]
|
|
Carrier Air Wing 6 (1963–1993)
,_USS_Long_Beach_(CGN-9)_and_USS_Bainbridge_(DLGN-25)_underway_in_the_Mediterranean_Sea_during_Operation_Sea_Orbit,_in_1964.jpg)
,_in_1968_(6432035).jpg)
On 20 December 1963 all Carrier Air Groups were redesignated Carrier Air Wings and Carrier Air Group Six became Carrier Air Wing Six (CVW-6).[6][11] The air wing participated in Operation Sea Orbit, the first around-the-world voyage made by nuclear-powered surface ships, in 1964 (pictured).[9]
CVW-6 embarked on the new
Carrier Air Wing Six made its first combat deployment in 1968 upon the America. During this deployment, CVW-6 spent a total of 112 days at
CVW-6 then left the America for another carrier, the
Beginning in 1986, Carrier Air Wing Six embarked on board the
During its final overseas deployment, CVW-6 participated in three multi-lateral exercises (Harmonie Sud Est, Iles D'Or, and Display Determination '91), and also provided air support for Operation Provide Comfort.[18] Carrier Air Group Six received the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal for Provide Comfort. (see Table 5 below).[17]
Deployments
The deployments of CVW-6 are listed below.[6][11]
| Aircraft carrier | Deployment duration | Operational area | Operating force |
|---|---|---|---|
| USS Enterprise (CVAN-65) | 8 February 1964 – 31 July 1964 | Mediterranean | U.S. Sixth Fleet
|
| USS Enterprise (CVAN-65) | 31 July 1964 – 3 October 1964 | Operation Sea Orbit | Task Force One |
| USS America (CVA-66) | 1 May 1965 – 1 July 1965 | South Atlantic/Caribbean | Shakedown cruise |
| USS America (CVA-66) | 29 November 1965 – 10 July 1966 | Mediterranean | U.S. Sixth Fleet
|
| USS America (CVA-66) | 10 January 1967 – 20 September 1967 | Mediterranean | U.S. Sixth Fleet
|
| USS America (CVA-66) | 10 April 1968 – 16 December 1968 | Yankee Station | Task Force 77
|
| USS Franklin D. Roosevelt (CVA-42) | 2 January 1970 – 27 July 1970 | Mediterranean | U.S. Sixth Fleet
|
| USS Franklin D. Roosevelt (CVA-42) | 29 January 1971 – 18 July 1971 | Mediterranean | U.S. Sixth Fleet
|
| USS Franklin D. Roosevelt (CVA-42) | 15 February 1972 – 11 December 1972 | Mediterranean | U.S. Sixth Fleet
|
| USS Franklin D. Roosevelt (CVA-42) | 14 September 1973 – 17 March 1974 | Mediterranean/Operation Nickel Grass | U.S. Sixth Fleet
|
| USS Franklin D. Roosevelt (CV-42) | 3 January 1975 – 16 July 1975 | Mediterranean | U.S. Sixth Fleet
|
| USS America (CV-66) | 15 April 1976 – 25 October 1976 | Mediterranean | U.S. Sixth Fleet
|
| USS America (CV-66) | 10 June 1977 – 19 July 1977 | South Atlantic | Task Group 20.4
|
| USS America (CV-66) | 25 September 1977 – 25 April 1978 | Mediterranean | U.S. Sixth Fleet
|
| USS Independence (CV-62) | 28 June 1979 – 14 December 1979 | Mediterranean | U.S. Sixth Fleet
|
| USS Independence (CV-62) | 19 November 1980 – 10 June 1981 | Mediterranean/Indian Ocean | COMUSNAVEUR
|
| USS Independence (CV-62) | 7 June 1982 – 21 December 1982 | Mediterranean | U.S. Sixth Fleet
|
| USS Independence (CV-62) | 25 October 1983 – 2 November 1983 | Operation Urgent Fury
|
U.S. Second Fleet
|
| USS Independence (CV-62) | 18 October 1983 – 11 April 1984 | Mediterranean | U.S. Sixth Fleet
|
| USS Independence (CV-62) | 16 October 1984 – 19 February 1985 | Mediterranean/Indian Ocean | COMUSNAVEUR
|
| USS Forrestal (CV-59) | 4 June 1986 – 10 November 1986 | Mediterranean | U.S. Sixth Fleet
|
| USS Forrestal (CV-59) | 28 August 1987 – 8 October 1987 | Ocean Safari '87 | SACLANT |
| USS Forrestal (CV-59) | 25 April 1988 – 7 October 1988 | Mediterranean/Indian Ocean | NAVCENT
|
| USS Forrestal (CV-59) | 4 November 1989 – 12 April 1990 | Mediterranean | U.S. Sixth Fleet
|
| USS Forrestal (CV-59) | 30 May 1991 – 21 December 1991 | Operation Provide Comfort | NAVCENT
|
Air wing composition
Operation Sea Orbit (1964)
Carrier Air Wing Six embarked on USS Enterprise (CVAN-65) during Operation Sea Orbit:[11]
|
|
Six-Day War (1967)
Carrier Air Wing Six embarked on USS America (CVA-66) during the Six-Day War:[11]
|
|
Vietnam War (1968)
Carrier Air Wing Six embarked on USS America (CVA-66) during the Vietnam War:[11]
|
|
Yom Kippur War (1973)
Carrier Air Wing Six embarked on USS Franklin D. Roosevelt (CVA-42) during the Yom Kippur War:[11]
|
|
Operation Urgent Fury (1983)
Carrier Air Wing Six embarked on USS Independence (CV-62) during
|
|
Ocean Safari 1987
Carrier Air Wing Six embarked on USS Forrestal (CV-59) during NATO exercise Ocean Safari 1987:[11]
|
|
Operation Earnest Will (1988)
Carrier Air Wing Six embarked on USS Forrestal (CV-59) during Operation Earnest Will:[11]
|
|
Operation Provide Comfort (1991)
Carrier Air Wing Six embarked on USS Forrestal (CV-59) during Operation Provide Comfort:[11]
|
|
Disestablishment
Carrier Air Wing Six shifted to
Final composition
Carrier Air Wing Six embarked in USS Forrestal (CV-59):[19]
|
|
Awards and commendations
- Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal
- Cuban Missile Crisis (1962)[20]
- Operation Urgent Fury (1983)[15]
- Operation Earnest Will (1988)[17]
Other groups associated with the CVG-6 designation
On 15 March 1943 the first Carrier Air Group to bear the designation Carrier Air Group SIX (CVG-6) was established. It served through the remainder of WWII and was disestablished on 29 October 1945, that air group replaced the Enterprise Air Group aboard USS Enterprise (CV-6). The Enterprise Air Group had been established on 1 July 1938 and disestablished on 1 September 1942. Due to the manner in which the United States Navy determines unit lineage, in which a unit's lineage begins at establishment and ends at disestablishment, the Enterprise Air Group, Carrier Air Group SIX, and Carrier Air Wing SIX are three separate and distinct units and do not share lineages.[21]
See also
Notes
- Essex classcarriers.
References
- This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.
- ISBN 978-1-56311-420-5.
- ^ "U. S. Navymen Work on NATO Team" (PDF). All Hands (427). BuPers: 35. September 1952. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 November 2004. Retrieved 7 August 2009.
- ^ "Operation Mainbrace". Time. 22 September 1952. Archived from the original on 5 January 2008. Retrieved 21 October 2008.
- ^ "Intrepid". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Navy Department, Naval History and Heritage Command. Retrieved 5 October 2008.
- ^ a b c "Enterprise". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Navy Department, Naval History and Heritage Command. Retrieved 14 April 2008.
- Naval Historical Center. Retrieved 4 October 2008.
- ^ Naval Historical Center. Retrieved 4 October 2008.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Carrier Air Wing Six". GoNavy.jp. Retrieved 5 September 2008.
- ^ a b c "America". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Navy Department, Naval History and Heritage Command. Retrieved 5 October 2008.
- ^ "USS Franklin D. Roosevelt (CVA-42)". A Brief History of Aircraft Carriers. United States Navy. Archived from the original on 23 September 2008. Retrieved 4 October 2008.
- ^ "USS Independence (CV-62)". A Brief History of Aircraft Carriers. United States Navy. Archived from the original on 19 October 2008. Retrieved 4 October 2008.
- ^ Naval Historical Center. Retrieved 28 September 2008.
- ^ "Yearly Chronologies of the United States Marine Corps – 1988". The Patriot Files. Retrieved 30 October 2008.
- ^ a b c "The 80s (page 1 of 2)". USS Forrestal Association. Retrieved 29 September 2008.
- ^ "USS Forrestal (CV-59)". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Navy Department, Naval History and Heritage Command. [dead link]
- ^ ISBN 978-1-55750-675-7.
- Naval Historical Center. Retrieved 28 September 2008.
- ^ Grossnick, Roy A. United States Naval Aviation 1910–1920 Volume II Statistics. Naval History and Heritage Command.
Other sources
- Francillon, René (1988). Tonkin Gulf Yacht Club US Carrier Operations off Vietnam. Annapolis, Maryland: United States Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-0-87021-696-1.
- —— (1978). US Navy Carrier Air Group: Pacific 1941-1945. Oxford: ISBN 978-0-85045-291-4.
- Lundstrom, John B. (1976). The First South Pacific Campaign: Pacific Fleet Strategy, December 1941 – June 1942. Annapolis, Maryland: United States Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-0-87021-185-0.
- —— (1976). The First Team: Pacific Naval Air Combat from Pearl Harbor to Midway. Annapolis, Maryland: United States Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-0-87021-189-8.
- —— (1994). The First Team and the Guadalcanal Campaign Naval Fighter Combat from August to November 1942. Annapolis, Maryland: United States Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1-59114-472-4.
- Nichols, John B. (Cmdr., USN ret.) (1987). On Yankee Station; the Naval Air War Over Vietnam. Annapolis, Maryland: United States Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1-85310-008-6.)
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link - Reynolds, Clark G. (2001). The Fast Carriers: The Forging of an Air Navy. Annapolis, Maryland: United States Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1-55750-998-7.
- Smith, Douglas V. (2006). Carrier Battles: Command Decision in Harm's Way. Annapolis, Maryland: United States Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1-59114-794-7.
- St. John, Philip A. (2004). USS Hancock CV/CVA-19: Fighting Hannah. Nashville, Tennessee: Turner Publishing Company. ISBN 978-1-56311-420-5.
- Stafford, Edward P. (1962). The Big E: The Story of the USS Enterprise. Annapolis, Maryland: United States Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1-55750-998-7.
- USS Wasp CV 18. Turner Publishing Company. 1999. ISBN 978-1-56311-404-5.
- Utz, Curtis A. (2005). Cordon of Steel: The US Navy And the Cuban Missile Crisis. Honolulu, Hawaii: University Press of the Pacific. ISBN 978-1-4102-2123-0.
- Wise, Harold Lee (2007). Inside the Danger Zone: The U.S. Military in the Persian Gulf, 1987–1988. Annapolis, Maryland: United States Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1-59114-970-5.
External links
- USS Enterprise CV-6 Association — Air Groups
- USS Intrepid Association
- USS Hancock CV/CVA-19 Official Association Web Site — War History, April 1944 – October 1945
- USS Hancock Tribute Site
- USS Forrestal Association
- USS Independence CV-62 Association Inc. — CVW-6 Page
- USS America Veterans Association — Air Wing History
