Carrier Air Wing Six (CVW-6) was a United States Navy aircraft carrier air wing whose operational history spans from the years prior to World War II to the end of the Cold War, including participating in the Battle of Midway, the Battle of the Eastern Solomons, and the Vietnam War. It was based on 15 different carriers during its lifetime.

When the unit was named "Air Group Six" during its time on the Enterprise, it was the Navy’s only carrier-based air group to carry out three complete tours of duty during World War II.

Service History

The lineage of Carrier Air Wing Six can be traced to the Enterprise Air Group, created on 1 July 1938, which included the following squadrons and aircraft:

• Bombing Six (VB-6) — 18 Douglas SBD-2 Dauntless dive bombers
• Fighting Six (VF-6) — 18 Grumman F4F-3 Wildcat fighter
• Scouting Six (VS-6) — 18 Douglas SBD-2 Dauntless dive bomber
• Torpedo Six (VT-6) — 18 Douglas TBD Devastator torpedo bomber

This air group was embarked on board the Yorktown-class aircraft carrier at the time of the attack on Pearl Harbor.

World War II

Enterprise Air Group (1941 – 1942)

On 7 December 1941, eighteen SBD Dauntless scout bombers of squadrons VS-6 and VB-6 arrived over Pearl Harbor during the attack and, although surprised, immediately went into action in defense of the naval base. Scouting Six lost six planes during the attack, and Bombing Six lost one, killing eight airmen and wounding two others. Later that evening, six VF-6 Wildcats attempted to land at Ford Island, but five were accidentally shot down by friendly anti-aircraft fire, killing three pilots and wounding two others. Enterprise’s air group carried out search missions to locate the Japanese carrier task force that attacked Pearl Harbor, but was unable to locate that force. Enterprise aircraft did sink a Japanese submarine on 10 December, but was unable to relieve the U.S. Marine garrison on Wake Island that fell to the Japanese.

1942 was a critical period for the United States Navy, as they were forced to face the Japanese offensive in the Pacific War with the USS Enterprise and its air group being the only operational carrier in the Pacific due to battle losses. The Enterprise’s air group launched air strikes against Japanese shipping and military installations on Marshall and Gilbert island groups on 1 February 1942, followed by air raids on Wake Island on 24 February and Marcus Island on 4 March. Enterprise’s air group provided air cover for the Task Force 16 which launched the Doolittle Raid from the carrier on 18 April. This mission prevented Enterprise and Hornet from participating in the Battle of Coral Sea which saw the sunk and the heavily damaged.

The Battle of Midway was the climatic naval battle in 1942, with the Enterprise’s air group sinking the Japanese carriers Kaga and Akagi and contributed to the sinking of Hiryū. Torpedo Six (VT-6) lost ten TBD-1, Bombing Six (VB-6) lost eleven SBD-3, Scouting Six (VS-6) lost nine SBD-3, and Fighting Six (VF-6) lost a F4F-4. The Enterprise Air Group also participated in the Battle of the Eastern Solomons on 24 August 1942, which was a strategic and tactical victory that blunted the Japanese counteroffensive during Guadalcanal Campaign although the Enterprise sustained heavy damage. After returning to Pearl Harbor, the Enterprise Air Group was disbanded, and starting in September 1942, all U.S. Navy carrier air groups would be numbered.

Table 1: Enterprise Air Group deloyments, 1941 - 1942

Table 1 denotes the deployments of the Enterprise Air Group during 1942 following the attack on Pearl Harbor.

Aircraft Carrier	Deployment Duration	Operational Area	Operating Force
	7 December 1941 – 10 March 1942	Pearl Harbor; Marshall, Wake and Marcus Islands	Task Force 16
	8 – 26 April 1942	Doolittle Raid	Task Force 16
	30 April – 26 May 1942	Efate Island	Task Force 16
	28 May – 13 June 1942	Battle of Midway	Task Force 16
USS Enterprise (CV-6)	15 July – 25 August 1942	Guadalcanal, Battle of the Eastern Solomons	Task Force 16

Air Group Six (1943 – 1945)

The Enterprise Air Group was reconstituted as Air Group Six on 15 March 1943. While flying off the Enterprise, they provided close air support to the amphibious landing on Makin Atoll from 19 November to 21 November 1943. On the night of 26 November, carrier-based night fighters from the Enterprise broke up a large group of land-based bombers attacking Task Group 50.2. After a heavy strike by aircraft of Task Force 50 against Kwajalein on 4 December, Enterprise returned to Pearl Harbor on 9 December.

Air Group Six then embarked onboard the new Essex-class aircraft carrier to provide air support for the amphibious landings on Kwajalein Atoll from 31 January to 3 February 1944. They also participated in a massive air strike against the Japanese naval base at Truk. The air group destroyed fifty-five enemy planes (twelve in the air and forty-two on the ground) as well as sinking five Japanese ships. Nine planes were lost, with nine pilots and four crewmen dead or missing.

On 9 March 1945, Air Group Six switched to the new Essex-class aircraft carrier and carried out air strikes against Kyūshū airfields, southwestern Honshū, and shipping in the Inland Sea of Japan on 18 March. From 23 march to 27 March, they struck the Nansei-shoto islands. Their last strikes in March came on the 31st, when they hit Minami Daito Jima and Kyushu.

Air Group Six subsequently provided air support for the U.S invasion of Okinawa beginning on 1 April until a suicide plane hit the Hancock on 7 April. This forced the carrier off the battle line for repairs. Hancock and Air Group Six returned to action on 13 June and remained at sea until the end of World War II.

Table 2: Air Group Six deloyments, 1943 - 1945

Table 2 denotes the deployments of Air Group Six during World War Two following its activation.

Aircraft Carrier	Deployment Duration	Operational Area	Operating Force
	10 November – 9 December 1943	Operation Galvanic	Task Force 50
	3 December 1943 – 22 March1944	Operation Flintlock; Operation Hailstone	Task Force 58
	9 March – 11 April 1945	Operation Iceberg	Task Force 58
	13 June – 20 June 1945	Wake Island	ComAirPac
	1 July – 15 August 1945	Air raids on Japan	Task Force 38

Photo Gallery - World War II Service

Cold War

Battle Carrier Air Group Five (1946 – 1948)

Post-war service for Carrier Wing Six began when Carrier Air Group Seventeen (CVG-17) was re-designated as Battle Carrier Air Group Seventeen (CVBG-17) on 22 January 1946 and subsequently re-designated as Battle Carrier Air Group Five (CVBG-5) on 16 November 1946. CVBG-5 participated in the shakedown cruises for Essex-class fleet carrier and the Midway-class battle aircraft carrier .

Table 3: Battle Carrier Air Group Five deloyments, 1946 - 1948

Table 3 denotes the deployments of CVBG-5.

Aircraft Carrier	Deployment Duration	Operational Area	Operating Force
	24 Jan 1947 - 18 Mar 1947	South Atlantic	Shakedown cruise
	19 Jan 1948 – 5 Apr 1948	South Atlantic	Shakedown cruise

Carrier Air Group Six (1948 – 1963)

Battle Carrier Air Group Five was re-designated Carrier Air Group Six (CVG-6) effective 27 July 1948. CVG-6 participated in two major NATO naval exercises, 1952's Operation Mainbrace and 1957's Operation Strikeback,as well as as making ten deployment to the Mediterranean Sea (see Table 4 below).

Carrier Air Group Six flew onboard the Navy's first nuclear-powered aicrat 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 iin 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.

Carrier Air Group Six embarked onboard the Enterprise during its first deployment to the Mediterranean, passing the Rock of Gibraltar on 16 August 1962. CVG-6 participated n 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 18ºN, Longitude 74º30”W. CAG-6 was augmented with ten addtional 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 Groups Six received the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal.

Table 4: Carrier Air Group Six deloyments, 1948 - 1963

Table 4 denotes the deployments of CVG-6.

Aircraft Carrier	Deployment Duration	Operational Area	Operating Force
	27 Oct 1949 – 23 Nov 1949	North Atlantic	U.S. Second Task Fleet
	10 Jan 1951 – 18 May 1951	Mediterranean	U.S. Sixth Fleet
	9 Jan 1952 – 5 May 1952	Mediterranean	U.S. Sixth Fleet
	26 Aug 1952 – 8 Oct 1952	Operation Mainbrace	SACLANT
	1 Dec 1952 – 19 May 1953	Mediterranean	U.S. Sixth Fleet
	9 Jan 1954 – 4 Aug 1954	Mediterranean	U.S. Sixth Fleet
USS Lake Champlain (CVA-39)	9 Oct 1955 – 3 Apr 1956	Mediterranean	U.S. Sixth Fleet
	3 Sep 1957 – 22 Oct 1957	Operation Strikeback	SACLANT
	13 Feb 1959 – 20 Aug 1959	Mediterranean	U.S. Sixth Fleet
	4 Aug 1960 – 17 Feb 1961	Mediterranean	U.S. Sixth Fleet
	3 Aug 1961 – 1 Mar 1962	Mediterranean	U.S. Sixth Fleet
	3 Aug 1962 – 11 Oct 1962	Mediterranean	U.S. Sixth Fleet
	Oct.19, 1962 – Dec.6, 1962	Caribbean	Task Force 135
	6 Feb 1963 – 4 Sep 1963	Mediterranean	U.S. Sixth Fleet

Carrier Air Wing Six (1963 – 1993)

Carrier Air Group Six was re-designated Carrier Air Wing Six (CVW-6) on 20 December 1963. The air wing participated in Operation Sea Orbit, the first first around-the-world voyage made by nuclear-powered surface ships, in 1964.

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's 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 Group Six made its only combat deployment in 1968 upon the America. During this deployment, CVW-6 spent a total of 112 days at Yankee Station, 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 17 miles (27.4 km) 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 1985 invasion of Grenada (Operation Urgent Fury) while embarked onboard 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 onboard 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 Gulf of Mexico 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).

Table 5: '''Carrier Air Wing Six deloyments, 1963 - 1993

Table 5 denotes the deployments of CVW-6.

Aircraft Carrier	Deployment Duration	Operational Area	Operating Force
	8 Feb 1964 – 31 Jul 1964	Mediterranean	U.S. Sixth Fleet
	31 Jul 1964 – 3 Oct 1964	Operation Sea Orbit	Task Force One
	1 May 1965 – 1 Jul 1965	South Atlantic/Caribbean	Shakedown cruise
	29 Nov 1965 – 10 Jul 1966	Mediterranean	U.S. Sixth Fleet
	10 Jan 1967 – 20 Sep 1967	Mediterranean	U.S. Sixth Fleet
	10 Apr 1968 – 16 Dec 1968	Yankee Station	Task Force 77
	2 Jan 1970 – 27 Jul 1970	Mediterranean	U.S. Sixth Fleet
	29 Jan 1971 – 18 Jul 1971	Mediterranean	U.S. Sixth Fleet
	15 Feb 1972 – 11 Dec 1972	Mediterranean	U.S. Sixth Fleet
	14 Sep 1973 – 17 Mar 1974	Mediterranean/Operation Nickel Grass	U.S. Sixth Fleet
	3 Jan 1975 – 16 Jul 1975	Mediterranean	U.S. Sixth Fleet
	15 Apr 1976 – 25 Oct 1976	Mediterranean	U.S. Sixth Fleet
	10 Jun 1977 – 19 Jul 1977	South Atlantic	Task Group 20.4
	25 Sep 1977 – 25 Apr 1978	Mediterranean	U.S. Sixth Fleet
	28 Jun 1979 – 14 Dec 1979	Mediterranean	U.S. Sixth Fleet
	19 Nov 1980 – 10 Jun 1981	Mediterranean/Indian Ocean	COMUSNAVEUR
	7 Jun 1982 – 21 Dec 1982	Mediterranean	U.S. Sixth Fleet
	25 Oct 1984 – 2 Nov 1984	Operation Urgent Fury	U.S. Second Fleet
	18 Oct 1983 – 11 Apr 1984	Mediterranean	U.S. Sixth Fleet
	16 Oct 1984 – 19 Feb 1985	Mediterranean/Indian Ocean	COMUSNAVEUR
	4 Jun 1986 – 10 Nov 1986	Mediterranean	U.S. Sixth Fleet
	28 Aug 1987 – 8 Oct 1987	Ocean Safari '87	SACLANT
	25 Apr 1988 – 7 Oct 1988	Mediterranean/Indian Ocean	NAVCENT
	4 Nov 1989 – 12 Apr 1990	Mediterranean	U.S. Sixth Fleet
	30 May 1991 - 21 Dec 1991	Operation Provide Comfort	NAVCENT

Photo Gallery - Post-war Service

Decommissioning

Carrier Air Wing Six shifted to the USS Forrestal (CV-59) when the USS Independence (CV-62) underwent its Service Life Extension Program (SLEP) overhaul at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard in 1986. Following the completion of its SLEP, the Independence sailed to its new homeport at the San Diego Naval Base with Carrier Air Wing 5. With the shifting of the Forrestal to a naval aviation training role as AVT-59, plus post-Cold War budget cutbacks, Carrier Air Wing Six (CVW-6) was decommissioned on 1 April 1993.

Air Group/Air Wing composition

World War II

Battle of Midway and Doolittle Raid (1942)

Enterprise Air Group embarked on USS Enterprise (CV-6) during the Battle of Midway and Doolittle Raid:

• Bombing Six (VB-6)
• Fighting Six (VF-6)
• Scouting Six (VS-6)
• Torpedo Six (VT-6)

Battle of the Eastern Solomons (1942)

Enterprise Air Group embarked on USS Enterprise (CV-6) during the Battle of the Eastern Solomons:

• Bombing Six (VB-6)
• Fighting Six (VF-6)
• Scouting Five (VS-5)
• Torpedo Three (VT-3)

Operation Galvanic (1943)

Air Group Six embarked on USS Enterprise (CV-6) during Operation Galvanic:

• Bombing Six (VB-6)
• Fighting Two (VF-2)
• Torpedo Six (VT-6)

Operation Flintlock (1944)

Air Group Six embarked on USS Intrepid (CV-11) during Operation Flintlock:

• Bombing Six (VB-6)
• Fighting Six (VF-6)
• Scouting Six (VS-6)
• Night Fighting Seventy-eight (VF(N)-78)

Cold War

Operation Mainbrace (1952)

Carrier Air Group Six embarked on USS Midway (CVB-41) during NATO Operation Mainbrace: >

Fighter Squadron 61 (VF-61) Fighter Squadron 61 (VF-42) Fighter Squadron 61 (VF-41) Fighter Squadron 33 (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)	Attack Squadron 64 (VA-64) 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

Operation Sea Orbit (1964)

Carrier Air Wing Six embarked on USS Enterprise (CVAN-65) during Operation Sea Orbit: >

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) Attack Squadron 64 (VA-64)	Heavy Attack Squadron 7 (VAH-7) Airborne Early Warning Squadron 33 (VAW-33) Detachment 65 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

Operation Urgent Fury (1984)

Carrier Air Wing Six embarked on USS Independence (CVA-62) during Operation Urgent Fury: >

Fighter Squadron 32 (VF-32) Fighter Squadron 14 (VF-14) Attack Squadron 176 (VA-176) Attack Squadron 87 (VA-87) Attack Squadron 15 (VA-15)	Airborne Early Warning Squadron 122 (VAW-122) Tactical Electronic Warfare Squadron 131 (VAQ-131) Helicopter Anti-submarine Squadron 15 (HS-15) Air Anti-submarine Squadron 28 (VS-28)

Ocean Safari 1987

Carrier Air Wing Six embarked on USS Forrestal (CVA-59) during NATO exercise Ocean Safari 1987: >

Fighter Squadron 31 (VF-31) Fighter Squadron 11 (VF-11) Attack Squadron 176 (VA-176) Attack Squadron 105 (VA-105) Attack Squadron 37 (VA-37)	Airborne Early Warning Squadron 122 (VAW-122) Tactical Electronic Warfare Squadron 132 (VAQ-132) Helicopter Anti-submarine Squadron 15 (HS-15) Air Anti-submarine Squadron 28 (VS-28)

Middle East and Persian Gulf conflicts

Six Day War (1967)

Carrier Air Wing Six embarked on USS America (CVA-66) during the Six Day War: >

Fighter Squadron 104 (VF-104) Fighter Squadron 33 (VF-33) Attack Squadron 66 (VA-66) Attack Squadron 64 (VA-64) Attack Squadron 36 (VA-36) Reconnaissance Attack Squadron 5 (RVAH-5) Heavy Attack Squadron 10 (VAH-10 ) Detachment 66	Carrier Airborne Early Warning Squadron 122 (VAW-122) Detachment 66 Carrier Airborne Early Warning Squadron 33 (VAW-33) Detachment 66 Carrier Airborne Early Warning Squadron 12 (VAW-12) Detachment 66 Helicopter Anti-submarine Squadron 9 (HS-9) Detachment 66 Helicopter Combat Support Squadron 2 (HC-2) Detachment 66

Yom Kippur War (1973)

Carrier Air Wing Six embarked on USS Franklin D. Roosevelt (CVA-42) during the Yom Kippur War: >

Fighter Squadron 41 (VF-41) Attack Squadron 176 (VA-176) Attack Squadron 87 (VA-87) Attack Squadron 15 (VA-15)	Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron 63 (VFP-63) Detachment 42 Carrier Airborne Early Warning Squadron 121 (VAW-122) Helicopter Combat Support Squadron 2 (HC-2) Detachment 42

Operation Earnest Will (1988)

Carrier Air Wing Six embarked on USS Forrestal (CVA-59) during Operation Earnest Will: >

Fighter Squadron 31 (VF-31) Fighter Squadron 11 (VF-11) Attack Squadron 176 (VA-176) Attack Squadron 105 (VA-105) Attack Squadron 37 (VA-37)	Airborne Early Warning Squadron 122 (VAW-122) Tactical Electronic Warfare Squadron 132 (VAQ-132) Helicopter Anti-submarine Squadron 15 (HS-15) Air Anti-submarine Squadron 28 (VS-28)

Operation Provide Comfort (1991)

Carrier Air Wing Six embarked on USS Forrestal (CVA-59) during Operation Provide Comfort: >

Fighter Squadron 31 (VF-31) Fighter Squadron 11 (VF-11) Attack Squadron 176 (VA-176) Attack Squadron 137 (VA-137) Attack Squadron 132 (VA-132)	Airborne Early Warning Squadron 122 (VAW-122) Tactical Electronic Warfare Squadron 133 (VAQ-133) Helicopter Anti-submarine Squadron 15 (HS-15) Air Anti-submarine Squadron 28 (VS-28)

Vietnam War (1968)

Carrier Air Wing Six embarked on USS America (CVA-66) during the Vietnam War: >

Fighter Squadron 102 (VF-102) Fighter Squadron 33 (VF-33) Attack Squadron 76 (VA-76) Attack Squadron 66 (VA-66) Attack Squadron 64 (VA-64)	Heavy Attack Squadron 7 (VAH-7) Airborne Early Warning Squadron 33 (VAW-33) Detachment 66 Airborne Early Warning Squadron 12 (VAW-12) Detachment 66 Light Photographic Squadron 62 (VFP-62) Detachment 66 Utility Helicopter Squadron 2 (HU-2) Detachment 66

Decommissioning

Carrier Air Wing Six embarked on USS Forrestal (CV-59): >

Strike Fighter Squadron 176 (VFA-176) Strike Fighter Squadron 137 (VFA-137) Strike Fighter Squadron 132 (VFA-132) Fighter Squadron 31 (VF-31) Fighter Squadron 11 (VF-11)	Airborne Early Warning Squadron 122 (VAW-122) Tactical Electronic Warfare Squadron 133 (VAQ-133) Helicopter Anti-submarine Squadron 15 (HS-15) Air Anti-submarine Squadron 28 (VS-28)

Awards and commendations

Presidential Unit Citation

For consistently outstanding performance and distinguished achievement during repeated action against enemy Japanese forces in the Pacific war area, December 7, 1941, to November 15, 1942. Participating in nearly every major carrier engagement in the first year of the war, the Enterprise and her air group, exclusive of far-flung destruction of hostile shore installations throughout the battle area, did sink or damage on her own a total of 35 Japanese vessels and shoot down a total of 185 Japanese aircraft. Her aggressive spirit and superb combat efficiency are fitting tribute to the officers and men who so gallantly established her as an ahead bulwark in the defense of the American nation.

Other awards and commendations

• Navy Unit Commendation (1968)
• Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal
• Cuban Missile Crisis (1962)
• Operation Urgent Fury (1983)
• Operation Earnest Will (1988)

See also

• List of United States Navy Carrier air wings
• Wade McClusky
• Edward “Butch” O'Hare
• VF-33

Notes

Other sources

• Francillon, René (1988). Tonkin Gulf Yacht Club US Carrier Operations off Vietnam. Annapolis, Maryland: United States Naval Institute Press.
• Lundstrom, John B. (1976). The First South Pacific Campaign: Pacific Fleet Strategy, December 1941 – June 1942. Annapolis, Maryland: United States Naval Institute Press.
• Lundstrom, John B. (1976). The First Team: Pacific Naval Air Combat from Pearl Harbor to Midway. Annapolis, Maryland: United States Naval Institute Press.
• Lundstrom, John B. (1994). The First Team and the Guadalcanal Campaign Naval Fighter Combat from August to November 1942. Annapolis, Maryland: United States Naval Institute Press.
• Nichols, John B. (Cmdr., USN ret.) (1987). On Yankee Station; the Naval Air War Over Vietnam. Annapolis, Maryland: United States Naval Institute Press.
• Reynolds, Clark G. (2001). The Fast Carriers: The Forging of an Air Navy. Annapolis, Maryland: United States Naval Institute Press.
• Smith, Douglas V. (2006). Carrier Battles: Command Decision in Harm's Way. Annapolis, Maryland: United States Naval Institute Press.
• St. John, Philip A. (2004). USS Hancock CV/CVA-19: Fighting Hannah. Nashville, Tennessee: Turner Publishing Company.
• Stafford, Edward P. (1962). The Big E: The Story of the USS Enterprise. Annapolis, Maryland: United States Naval Institute Press.
• ; USS Wasp Veterans (1999). U. S. S. Wasp CV 18. Turner Publishing Company.
• Utz, Curtis A. (2005). Cordon of Steel: The US Navy And the Cuban Missile Crisis. Honolulu, Hawaii: University Press of the Pacific.
• 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.

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