Currently Active Carrier Air Wings
Carrier Air Wings were first established on 1 July 1938 when the aircraft squadrons assigned to the aircraft carriers USS Lexington (CV 2), USS Saratoga (CV 3), USS Ranger (CV 4), USS Yorktown (CV 5) and USS Enterprise (CV 6) were established as "Carrier Air Groups" assigned to each of those ships. Two of those Carrier Air Groups are still active today as Carrier Air Wings ONE and THREE. On 20 December 1963 all Carrier Air Groups which were then in existence were redesignated Carrier Air Wings (CVW). : ''Tail codes with a first letter "A" denote Atlantic Fleet airwings, while "N" denotes Pacific Fleet airwings.''Disestablished Carrier Air Wings
The "Carrier Air Wing (CVW)" designation was first used on 20 December 1963. Prior to that date "Carrier Air Wings" were titled "Carrier Air Groups". This section contains tables of disestablished Carrier Air Groups (Ship Named Groups, CVG, CVAG, CVBG, CVLG, CVEG, CVSG), Air Task Groups (ATG) and Carrier Air Wings (CVW).Ship named "carrier air groups"
Aircraft squadrons operating from the Navy's first Aircraft Carriers prior to WWII were assigned to that aircraft carrier and were organizationally grouped into that carrier's "air group". On 1 July 1938 the "Carrier Air Group" was formally established as a separate unit and the previously informally named air groups were titled "''name of ship'' Air Group". Air Groups were permanently assigned to a specific Aircraft Carrier and carried that Aircraft Carrier's name (Lexington Air Group, Saratoga Air Group etc...)WWII Carrier Air Groups (CVG, CVBG, CVLG, CVEG)
With the massive buildup of Aircraft Carriers and Carrier Air Groups in 1942 and 1943, a new Carrier Air Group designation scheme was adopted which dropped the name of the Aircraft Carrier to which the Air Group was assigned in favor of a numbering system. In March 1942 an air group was established for the soon to be commissioned USS Essex (CV 9). It was designated with the designation "CVG" meaning "Carrier Air Group" followed by the number 9 (CVG-9) meaning "Carrier Air Group NINE". Newly establishing air groups were assigned to corresponding CVs (CVG-10 to CV 10, CVG-11 to CV 11 etc...). In 1943 the Saratoga (CV 3) and Ranger (CV 4) Air Groups were redesignated CVG-3 and CVG-4 respectively and CV 6's "Enterprise Air Group" was disestablished and a new CVG-6 was established and assigned to the ship. Also in 1943 new CVGs 1, 2, 5, 7 and 8 were established with no corresponding CVs 1, 2, 5, 7 or 8 as CV 1 had been converted to a seaplane tender in 1936 and CV 2, 5, 7 and 8 had been sunk, and the practice of numbering CVGs with the hull number of the Aircraft Carrier to which they were assigned ceased. Subsequently CVGs were assigned to CVs or reassigned between CVs without regard to the CV hull number.Post WWII Carrier Air Groups (CVAG), (CVBG), (CVLG), (CVEG)
Carrier Air Groups (CVG) 1 Sep 1948 to 20 Dec 1963
Note: the parenthetical (1st), (2nd), (3rd) appended to some Carrier Air Group designations below are not a part of the Group's designation. They are added to indicate that the designation was used more than one time during the history of U.S. Naval Aviation and to specify which use of the designation is indicated. There is not necessarily any connection between Carrier Air Groups which shared the same designation.Air Task Groups (ATG)
Air Task Groups were formed beginning in 1951 to address a shortage of Carrier Air Groups (CVG)s due to involvement in the Korean War. The number of CVGs was statutorily limited but the Navy needed more of them. The solution was to form "temporary" task groups by reassigning some squadrons from existing CVGs and using them to form an "Air Task Group" (ATG). This reduced the number of squadrons in those CVGs from the then typical five total VF/VA squadrons to four total VF/VA squadrons but gave the Navy more "CVGs". They were carrier air group (CVG) equivalents in every respect but in name but as "temporary" units they were neither formerly "established" or "disestablished" instead they were "formed" and "disbanded." Though the ATG was created in response to the Korean War, they ended up outlasting that conflict. : ''Tail codes with a first letter "A" denote Atlantic Fleet Air Task Groups, while "N" denotes Pacific Fleet Air Task Groups.''Antisubmarine Carrier Air Groups (CVSG)
In the 1960s some WWII Essex class aircraft carriers were designated as "Anti-Submarine Carriers" (CVS) and were paired with newly established "Anti-Submarine Carrier Air Groups" (CVSG). CVSGs consisted of Helicopter Antisubmarine (HS) squadrons of SH-3 Sea Kings and Air Antisubmarine (VS) squadrons of S-2 Trackers along with a detachment of airborne early warning E-1 Tracers from Airborne Early Warning (VAW) squadrons and a detachment A-4 Skyhawks from Anti-Submarine Fighter (VSF) squadrons for self defense. The CVSGs were not included in the redesignation of Carrier Air Groups (CVG)s to Carrier Air Wings (CVW)s in 1963 and therefore they were the last "Carrier Air Groups" to exist in the U.S. Navy. : ''Tail codes with a first letter "A" denoted Atlantic Fleet air groups, while "N" denoted Pacific Fleet air groups.''Carrier Air Wings (CVW)
On 20 December 1963 all Carrier Air Groups (CVG) then in existence (but not the Anti-Submarine Carrier Air Groups (CVSG)) were redesignated to Carrier Air Wings (CVW) : ''Tail codes with a first letter "A" denote Atlantic Fleet airwings, while "N" denotes Pacific Fleet airwings.'' =Type and Functional Wings= Type Wings are non-deploying "force provider" wings which supply combat ready squadrons or detachments to Carrier Air Wings or for land based or shipboard (non-aircraft carrier) detachment deployments. Type Wing squadrons which deploy as part of a Carrier Air Wing (CVW) are based with their Type Wing when not deployed, not with their Carrier Air Wing. The exception are those squadrons assigned to the Carrier Air Wing which is forward deployed to Japan, those squadrons are based in Japan with their Carrier Air Wing, not with their Type Wings which are all based in the United States. Type Wings also operate their aircraft's Fleet Replacement Squadrons. Functional Wings are organized to perform a specific function such as logistics, flight test, or patrol and reconnaissance and may include squadrons of various aircraft which perform that specific function. Type and Functional Wings are not assigned Tail Codes except for the Navy Reserve's Tactical Support Wing which retains the code "AF" from its former existence as Carrier Air Wing Reserve TWENTY and Electronic Attack Wing, U.S. Pacific Fleet (VAQWINGPAC) which adopted the code "NL" from the disestablished CVW-15 for use by the wing's land based "expeditionary" squadrons only. Type Wing squadrons which deploy as a part of a Carrier Air Wing wear the tail code of that Carrier Air Wing. Type Wing squadrons which do not deploy as part of a Carrier Air Wing and Functional Wing squadrons are all assigned tail codes unique to each squadron (except for the aforementioned expeditionary VAQ squadrons). See U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps Aircraft Tail Codes.Currently Active Type and Functional Wings
There have been numerous Type and Functional Wings throughout the history of the U. S. Navy. Type and Functional Wings have been established, disestablished or re-designated as the Navy has operated different aircraft through the years. The tables below list the Type and Functional Wings which are active as of April 2022.Disestablished Type and Functional Wings
Included in the table of disestablished wings below are no longer used former designations of disestablished or currently active wings. For example the currently active Helicopter Maritime Strike Wing Atlantic Fleet (HSMWINGLANT) was previously designated Helicopter Anti-Submarine (Light) Wing Atlantic Fleet (HSLWINGLANT), before that it was designated Helicopter Anti-Submarine (Light) Wing ONE (HSLWING ONE) and before that it was designated Helicopter Sea Control Wing THREE (HELSEACONWING THREE). HELSEACONWING THREE, HSLWING ONE and HSLWINGLANT are not disestablished wings as the wing still exists as HSMWINGLANT, they are former designations of the currently active wing which are no longer used. =Training Air Wings (TAW)= SeeCurrently Active Training Air Wings
Disestablished Training Air Wings
=See also= *