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 , it was the Navy's only carrier-based air group to carry out three complete tours of duty during World War II.
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 shakedown cruises for Essex-class fleet carrier and the Midway-class battle aircraft carrier"Battle aircraft carrier" was used to refer to the new 'big' carriers that came out after the Essex class carriers. .;
Deployments The Battle Carrier Air Group 5 deployments, 1946–1948 Table 3 denotes the deployments of CVBG-5.
Aircraft carrier Deployment duration Operational area Operating force 24 January 1947 – 18 March 1947 South Atlantic Shakedown cruise 19 January 1948 – 5 April 1948 South Atlantic Shakedown cruise
Carrier Air Group 6 (1948–1963)
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 CVG-6 was a WWII air group which existed from March 1943 to October 1945). CVG-6 participated in three major NATO naval exercises, 1952's Operation Grand Slam, 1952's Operation Mainbrace and 1957's Operation Strikeback (pictured). as well as making ten deployments to the Mediterranean Sea (see Table 4 below). VF-33 joined CVG-6 aboard Midway in 1954.
The group flew on board the Navy's first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, the recently commissioned , on 22 June 1962. CVG-6 participated with the 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.
The group embarked on board the Enterprise during its first deployment to the Mediterranean, passing the Rock of Gibraltar on 16 August 1962. CVG-6 participated in Lafayette II, 7 September, which involved 14 scheduled conventional strikes coordinated with aircraft from against multiple targets in southern France, with opposition provided by French air force and naval aircraft. The air group was involved in Indian Summer from 7–8 September, comprising three long-range, simulated nuclear strikes, with fighter escort by F-4Bs from VF-102, against Spanish targets defended by USAF and Spanish commands assigned to NATO. Carrier Air Group Six also provided air support during FallEx/High Heels II from 6–20 September as well as Fall Trap from 23–27 September, which was a NATO amphibious exercise. Enterprise arrived back at Norfolk Naval Station on 11 October 1962.
Carrier Air Group Six subsequently participated in the naval operations during the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962 as part of Task Force 135, a two-carrier strike force consisting of CAG-6's home carrier, the Enterprise, and the supercarrier , operating south of the Windward Passage, between Cuba and the island of Hispaniola and southward, in the vicinity of latitude 18°N, longitude 74°30'W. CAG-6 was augmented with ten additional A4D-4N Skyhawks of Attack Squadron 34 (VA-34) during the night of 26/27 October 1962. For its participation in the Cuban Missile Crisis, Carrier Air Group Six received the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal.
Deployments The deployments of CVG-6 are listed below.
Aircraft carrier Deployment duration Operational area Operating force 27 October 1949 – 23 November 1949 North Atlantic U.S. Second Task Fleet 10 January 1951 – 18 May 1951 Mediterranean U.S. Sixth Fleet 9 January 1952 – 5 May 1952 Mediterranean U.S. Sixth Fleet 25 February 1952 – 16 March 1952 Operation Grand Slam CINCAFSOUTH 26 August 1952 – 8 October 1952 Operation Mainbrace SACLANT 1 December 1952 – 19 May 1953 Mediterranean U.S. Sixth Fleet 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 3 September 1957 – 22 October 1957 Operation Strikeback SACLANT 13 February 1959 – 20 August 1959 Mediterranean U.S. Sixth Fleet 4 August 1960 – 17 February 1961 Mediterranean U.S. Sixth Fleet 3 August 1961 – 1 March 1962 Mediterranean U.S. Sixth Fleet 3 August 1962 – 11 October 1962 Mediterranean U.S. Sixth Fleet 19 October 1962 – 6 December 1962 Caribbean Task Force 135 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 Grand Slam: Fighter Squadron 61 (VF-61) Fighter Squadron 41 (VF-41) Fighter Squadron 21 (VF-21) Attack Squadron 25 (VA-25) Marine Fighter Squadron 225 (VMF-225): Vought F4U-4 Corsair Fleet Composite Squadron 12 (VC-12) Detachment 41 Fleet Composite Squadron 33 (VC-33) Detachment 41 Fleet Composite Squadron 62 (VC-62) Detachment 41 Utility Helicopter Squadron 2 (HU-2) Detachment 41
Operation Mainbrace (1952) Carrier Air Group Six embarked on USS Midway (CVB-41) during NATO Operation Mainbrace: Fighter Squadron 61 (VF-61) Fighter Squadron 42 (VF-42) Fighter Squadron 41 (VF-41) Fighter Squadron 21 (VF-21) Attack Squadron 25 (VA-25) Fleet Composite Squadron 8 (VC-8) Fleet Composite Squadron 12 (VC-12) Detachment 41 Fleet Composite Squadron 33 (VC-33) Detachment 41 Fleet Composite Squadron 62 (VC-62) Detachment 41 Utility Helicopter Squadron 2 (HU-2) Detachment 41
Operation Strikeback (1957) Carrier Air Group Six embarked on USS Intrepid (CVA-11) during NATO Operation Strikeback: Fighter Squadron 71 (VF-71) Fighter Squadron 33 (VF-33) Attack Squadron 66 (VA-66) Attack Squadron 25 (VA-25) Heavy Attack Squadron 11 (VAH-11) All-Weather Attack Squadron 33 (VA(AW)-33) Detachment 33 Light Photographic Squadron 62 (VFP-62) Detachment 33 Airborne Early Warning Squadron 12 (VAW-12) Detachment 33 Utility Helicopter Squadron 2 (HU-2) Detachment 33
Cuban Missile Crisis (1962) Carrier Air Group Six embarked on USS Enterprise (CVAN-65) during the Cuban Missile Crisis: Fighter Squadron 102 (VF-102) Fighter Squadron 33 (VF-33) Attack Squadron 76 (VA-76) Attack Squadron 66 (VA-66) Attack Squadron 65 (VA-65) Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 225 (VMA-225) Heavy Attack Squadron 7 (VAH-7) Airborne Early Warning Squadron 12 (VAW-12) Detachment 65 Light Photographic Squadron 62 (VFP-62) Detachment 65 Utility Helicopter Squadron 2 (HU-2) Detachment 65
Carrier Air Wing 6 (1963–1993)
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). The air wing participated in Operation Sea Orbit, the first around-the-world voyage made by nuclear-powered surface ships, in 1964 (pictured).
CVW-6 embarked on the new supercarrier for its 1965 shakedown cruise, and during that ship's second deployment to the Mediterranean Sea, CVW-6 was operating with the U.S. Sixth Fleet when the Six-Day War broke out between Israel and its Arab neighbors on 5 June 1967. America escorting destroyers detected an unknown submarine contact on 7 June, and a Sikorsky SH-3A Sea King from Helicopter Antisubmarine Squadron (HS-9) assisted in tracking this contact. CVW-6 aircraft provided air cover for the stricken , which had been attacked by Israeli military forces, and it also dispatched two helicopters to evacuate the seriously injured to the America.
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 Yankee Station off the coast of Vietnam, attacking roads, waterways, trucks, bridges, as well as lighters, barges, and other logistical support watercraft. They also attacked petroleum storage areas, truck parks, and cave storage areas to impede the flow of men and war materials to the south during the Tet Offensive. On 10 July 1968, Lt. Roy Cash Jr. (pilot) and Lt. (j.g.) Joseph E. Kain Jr. (radar intercept officer), flying in an F-4J Phantom from Fighter Squadron 33 (VF-33), downed a MiG-21 about northwest of Vinh, North Vietnam. This was the first MiG "kill" in the Vietnam War for CVW-6. America and Carrier Air Wing Six were awarded the Navy Unit Commendation for this deployment.
CVW-6 then left the America for another carrier, the . This carrier, along with and , stood by to execute the possible evacuation of foreign civilians during the Yom Kippur War in October 1973. CVW-6 provided air cover during the 1983 invasion of Grenada (Operation Urgent Fury) while embarked on board the . During that ship's subsequent deployment to the Mediterranean Sea, CVW-6 conducted air strikes against Syrian positions that were attacking U.S. Marine positions in Lebanon. Carrier Air Group Six received the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal for Operation Urgent Fury.
Beginning in 1986, Carrier Air Wing Six embarked on board the . It participated in a joint U.S.-Egyptian training exercise (Operation Sea Wind) and Display Determination '86, which featured low-level coordinated strikes and air combat maneuvering training over Turkey. CVW-6 subsequently participated in Ocean Safari '87, a six-week cruise in the North Atlantic which was highlighted by operations with NATO forces posing as aggressors lurking in Norwegian fjords. A year later, the air wing participated in Ocean Venture '88 in the Atlantic, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Caribbean, and then provided air support for Operation Earnest Will.
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. Carrier Air Group Six received the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal for Provide Comfort. (see Table 5 below).
Deployments The deployments of CVW-6 are listed below.