Carrier Air Wing Six (CVW-6) was a

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

aircraft carrier An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and hangar facilities for supporting, arming, deploying and recovering carrier-based aircraft, shipborne aircraft. Typically it is the ...

air wing In military aviation, a wing is a unit of command. In most military aviation services, a wing is a relatively large formation of planes. In Commonwealth countries a wing usually comprises three squadrons, with several wings forming a group (ar ...

whose operational history spans from the middle of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

to the end of the

Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

. 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 The Pacific War, sometimes called the Asia–Pacific War or the Pacific Theatre, was the Theater (warfare), theatre of World War II fought between the Empire of Japan and the Allies of World War II, Allies in East Asia, East and Southeast As ...

, 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 For military personnel, a tour of duty is usually a period of time spent in combat or in a hostile environment. In an army, for instance, soldiers on active duty serve 24 hours a day, seven days a week for the length of their service commitment. ...

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 cruise Shakedown cruise is a nautical term in which the performance of a ship is tested. Generally, shakedown cruises are performed before a ship enters service or after major changes such as a crew change, repair, refit or overhaul. The shakedown ...

s 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.

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 The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

naval exercises, 1952's

Operation Grand Slam Operation Grand Slam was a key military operation of the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965. It refers to a plan drawn up by the Pakistan Army in May 1965, that consisted of an attack on the vital Akhnoor Bridge in Jammu and Kashmir, India. The br ...

, 1952's

Operation Mainbrace Exercise Mainbrace was the first large-scale naval exercise undertaken by the newly established Allied Command Atlantic (ACLANT), one of the two principal military commands of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). It was part of a serie ...

and 1957's

Operation Strikeback Exercise Strikeback aka Operation Strikeback was a major naval exercise of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) that took place over a ten-day period in September 1957. As part of a series of exercises to simulate an all-out Soviet att ...

(''pictured''). as well as making ten deployments to the Mediterranean Sea (see Table 4 below).

VF-33 Fighter Squadron 33 (VF-33) was an aviation unit of the United States Navy. Originally established on 11 October 1948 it was disestablished on 1 October 1993. It was the second U.S. Navy squadron to be designated VF-33. VF-33 History Korean War ...

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 The Rock of Gibraltar (from the Arabic name Jabal Ṭāriq , meaning "Mountain of Tariq ibn Ziyad, Tariq") is a monolithic limestone mountain high dominating the western entrance to the Mediterranean Sea. It is situated near the end of a nar ...

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 Naval Station Norfolk is a United States Navy base in Norfolk, Virginia, that is the headquarters and home port of the U.S. Navy's Fleet Forces Command. The installation occupies about of waterfront space and of pier and wharf space of the Ha ...

on 11 October 1962. Carrier Air Group Six subsequently participated in the naval operations during the

Cuban Missile Crisis The Cuban Missile Crisis, also known as the October Crisis () in Cuba, or the Caribbean Crisis (), was a 13-day confrontation between the governments of the United States and the Soviet Union, when American deployments of Nuclear weapons d ...

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 An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and hangar facilities for supporting, arming, deploying and recovering shipborne aircraft. Typically it is the capital ship of a ...

, operating south of the

Windward Passage Windward Passage (; ) is a strait in the Caribbean Sea, between the islands of Cuba and Hispaniola. The strait specifically lies between the easternmost region of Cuba and the northwest of Haiti. wide, the Windward Passage has a threshold depth ...

, between Cuba and the island of

Hispaniola Hispaniola (, also ) is an island between Geography of Cuba, Cuba and Geography of Puerto Rico, Puerto Rico in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean. Hispaniola is the most populous island in the West Indies, and the second-largest by List of C ...

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 The Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal (AFEM) is a military award of the United States Armed Forces, which was first created in 1961 by Executive Order of President John F. Kennedy. The medal is awarded to members of the U.S. Armed Forces who, a ...

Deployments

The deployments of CVG-6 are listed below.

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

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 Operation Sea Orbit was the 1964 circumnavigation of Task Force One of the United States Navy, consisting of the aircraft carrier USS ''Enterprise'' (CVAN-65) and her escorts, the cruisers USS ''Long Beach'' (CGN-9), and USS ''Bainbridge'' (D ...

'', the first around-the-world voyage made by nuclear-powered surface ships, in 1964 (''pictured''). CVW-6 embarked on the new

for its 1965

, and during that ship's second deployment to the Mediterranean Sea, CVW-6 was operating with the

U.S. Sixth Fleet The Sixth Fleet is a numbered fleet of the United States Navy operating as part of United States Naval Forces Europe and Africa. The Sixth Fleet is headquartered at Naval Support Activity Naples, Italy. The officially stated mission of the Si ...

when the

Six-Day War The Six-Day War, also known as the June War, 1967 Arab–Israeli War or Third Arab–Israeli War, was fought between Israel and a coalition of Arab world, Arab states, primarily United Arab Republic, Egypt, Syria, and Jordan from 5 to 10June ...

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 Yankee Station (officially Point Yankee) was a fixed coordinate off the coast of Vietnam where U.S. Navy aircraft carriers and support ships operated in open waters over a nine-year period during the Vietnam War. The location was used primari ...

off the coast of Vietnam, attacking roads, waterways, trucks, bridges, as well as

lighters A lighter is a portable device which uses mechanical or electrical means to create a controlled flame, and can be used to ignite a variety of flammable items, such as cigarettes, butane gas, fireworks, candles, or campfires. A lighter typica ...

barges A barge is typically a flat-bottomed vessel which does not have its own means of mechanical propulsion. Original use was on inland waterways, while modern use is on both inland and marine water environments. The first modern barges were pull ...

, 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 The Tet Offensive was a major escalation and one of the largest military campaigns of the Vietnam War. The Viet Cong (VC) and North Vietnamese People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) launched a surprise attack on 30 January 1968 against the forces of ...

. 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 The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 (; NATO reporting name: Fishbed) is a supersonic jet aircraft, jet fighter aircraft, fighter and interceptor aircraft, designed by the Mikoyan, Mikoyan-Gurevich OKB, Design Bureau in the Soviet Union. Its nicknames in ...

about northwest of

Vinh Vinh () is the capital of Nghệ An province and an economic and cultural center of North-Central Vietnam. A key point in the East–West economic corridor linking Myanmar, Thailand, Laos and Vietnam, the city is situated in the Southeast of ...

North Vietnam North Vietnam, officially the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV; ; VNDCCH), was a country in Southeast Asia from 1945 to 1976, with sovereignty fully recognized in 1954 Geneva Conference, 1954. A member of the communist Eastern Bloc, it o ...

. 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 The Navy Unit Commendation (NUC) is a United States Navy and United States Coast Guard unit award that was established by order of the Secretary of the Navy James Forrestal on 18 December 1944. History Navy A navy, naval force, military m ...

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 The Yom Kippur War, also known as the Ramadan War, the October War, the 1973 Arab–Israeli War, or the Fourth Arab–Israeli War, was fought from 6 to 25 October 1973 between Israel and a coalition of Arab world, Arab states led by Egypt and S ...

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

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 This list of Norwegian fjords shows many of the fjords in Norway. In total, there are about 1,190 fjords in Norway and the Svalbard islands. The sortable list includes the lengths and locations of those fjords. Fjords See also

* List of ...

. 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 Operation Earnest Will (24 July 1987 – 26 September 1988) was an American military protection of Kuwaiti-owned tankers from Iranian attacks in 1987 and 1988, three years into the Tanker War phase of the Iran–Iraq War. It was the largest na ...

. 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 Operation Provide Comfort and Provide Comfort II were military operations initiated by the United States and other Coalition nations of the Persian Gulf War, starting in April 1991, to defend Kurdish refugees fleeing their homes in northern ...

''. Carrier Air Group Six received the

for ''Provide Comfort''. (see Table 5 below).

Deployments

The deployments of CVW-6 are listed below.

Air wing composition

=Operation Sea Orbit (1964)

= Carrier Air Wing Six embarked on USS ''Enterprise'' (CVAN-65) during

=Six-Day War (1967)

= Carrier Air Wing Six embarked on USS ''America'' (CVA-66) during the

=Vietnam War (1968)

= Carrier Air Wing Six embarked on USS ''America'' (CVA-66) during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

=Yom Kippur War (1973)

= Carrier Air Wing Six embarked on USS ''Franklin D. Roosevelt'' (CVA-42) during the

=Operation Urgent Fury (1983)

= Carrier Air Wing Six embarked on USS ''Independence'' (CV-62) during

Operation Urgent Fury The United States and a coalition of Caribbean countries invaded the small island nation of Grenada, north of Venezuela, at dawn on 25 October 1983. Codenamed Operation Urgent Fury by the U.S. military, it resulted in military occupation with ...

=Ocean Safari 1987

= Carrier Air Wing Six embarked on USS ''Forrestal'' (CV-59) during NATO exercise Ocean Safari 1987:

=Operation Earnest Will (1988)

= Carrier Air Wing Six embarked on USS ''Forrestal'' (CV-59) during

=Operation Provide Comfort (1991)

= Carrier Air Wing Six embarked on USS ''Forrestal'' (CV-59) during

Disestablishment

Carrier Air Wing Six shifted to USS ''Forrestal'' (CV-59) when USS ''Independence'' (CV-62) underwent its Service Life Extension Program (SLEP) overhaul at the

Philadelphia Naval Shipyard The Philadelphia Naval Shipyard was the first United States Navy shipyard and was historically important for nearly two centuries. Construction of the original Philadelphia Naval Shipyard began during the American Revolution in 1776 at Front ...

in 1986. Following the completion of its SLEP, ''Independence'' sailed to its new home port at the

Naval Air Station North Island Naval Air Station North Island or NAS North Island , at the north end of the Coronado peninsula on San Diego Bay in San Diego, California, is part of the largest aerospace-industrial complex in the United States Navy – Naval Base Coronado (N ...

with

Carrier Air Wing 5 Carrier Air Wing Five (CVW-5) is a United States Navy aircraft carrier air wing based at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni. The air wing is attached to the aircraft carrier . It was initially formed in 1943. It has participated in the Second World ...

. With the shifting of ''Forrestal'' to a naval aviation training role as AVT-59, plus post-Cold War budget cutbacks, Carrier Air Wing Six (CVW-6) was disestablished on 1 April 1993.

Final composition

Carrier Air Wing Six embarked in USS ''Forrestal'' (CV-59):

Awards and commendations

* Navy Unit Commendation (1968)

** Cuban Missile Crisis (1962) ** Operation Urgent Fury (1983) ** Operation Earnest Will (1988)

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 The Enterprise Air Group was established on 1 July 1938, encompassing all squadrons embarked in . The group was divided into four squadrons, each with eighteen aircraft dedicated to a particular role. The squadrons were designated according to ...

aboard USS ''Enterprise'' (CV-6). The

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

, Carrier Air Group SIX, and Carrier Air Wing SIX are three separate and distinct units and do not share lineages.

Notes

References

Other sources

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

External links

USS ''Enterprise'' CV-6 Association
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USS ''Hancock'' CV/CVA-19 Official Association Web Site
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USS ''Hancock'' Tribute Site

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USS ''America'' Veterans Association
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{{United States Navy Carrier air wings CVW-06 1943 establishments in the United States 1993 disestablishments in the United States Military units and formations established in 1943 Military units and formations disestablished in 1993