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| Carrier Air Wing Fifteen | |
|---|---|
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| Active | 20 December 1963 – 31 March 1995 (As CVW-15) |
| Country | United States |
| Branch | United States Navy |
| Type | Carrier air wing |
| Engagements | Korean War (as CVG-15) Vietnam War Cold War Operation Formation Star Operation Earnest Will Operation Restore Hope January 1993 airstrikes on Iraq 1994 North Korean nuclear crisis |
Carrier Air Wing Fifteen (CVW-15) is a formerUnited States Navy aircraft carrier air wing that was decommissioned on 31 March 1995. It was previously known as Carrier Air Group Fifteen (CVG-15) before 1963 before being renamed in December of that year.
Carrier Air Group 15 was established on 5 April 1951, and was deployed to theKorean War in September of that year on board theUSS Antietam. The squadron was made up of reserve squadrons during the two cruises during the Korean War. Starting in 1960, CVG-15 would begin a two decade long attachment with theUSS Coral Sea that would continue when in 1963,[citation needed] all CVGs were re-designated as Carrier Air Wings.[1] With this, CVG-15 became Carrier Air Wing 15. CVW-15 however did deploy with theUSS Constellation only once in 1966 during theVietnam War. During the evacuation ofSaigon in 1975, CVW-15's aircraft covered the helicopters used to rescue the civilians fleeing theInvasion.
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CVW-15 made their final deployment on board the Coral Sea in 1977. This cruise was the only time that the F-4J Phantom and EA-6A Electric Intruder part of CVW-15. After this, in 1979, CVW-15 deployed for the first on a different carrier than Coral Sea in around 13 years when they deployed withUSS Kitty Hawk and with newF-14A Tomcat andS-3A Viking.
In 1983, CVW-15 deployed on the newNimitz-class carrierUSS Carl Vinson's first post-shakedown cruise.[citation needed] This cruise was significant as it was an around the world cruise that involved stops inSt. Thomas,Monaco,Abidjan,Perth,Subic Bay,British Hong Kong,Sasebo,Pusan,Pearl Harbor and the moving the Vinson's homeport fromNorfolk, Virginia on the west coast toAlameda, California, in theSan Francisco Bay Area.[2] During their time with theCarl Vinson, they took part in RIMPAC 84' and 86'.[citation needed] During the 1986-to-1987 cruise in the North Pacific,VF-51 andVF-111 carried the multiple tail codes of other carrier air wings to confuse Soviet Naval Aviation patrols which carrier VF-51 and 111 was assigned to.[3]
In July 1988, during theOlympics in Seoul, CVW-15 embarked on boardCarl Vinson and operated off the coast ofSouth Korea for the ship's fourth overseas deployment.[4] While on station, the carrier supportedOperation Earnest Will, the escort of U.S. flaggedtankers in thePersian Gulf. The carrier returned to the States on 16 December 1988 and was awarded the Admiral Flatley Memorial Award for aviation safety for 1988. In 1989, they also took part in the large naval exercise PACEX 89.[citation needed]
In 1990, CVW-15 made their last cruise with theCarl Vinson before moving back to theKitty Hawk for the rest of their remaining service in the US Navy. This cruise was also the last cruise for theA-7 Corsair in CVW-15 beforeVA-27 andVA-97 converted to theF/A-18A as well for theSH-3H Sea King which was replaced by theSH-60F Oceanhawk/HH-60H Rescuehawk in the case of HS-4. While on deployment,Kitty Hawk spent nine days off the coast ofSomalia supportingU.S. Marines and coalition forces involved inOperation Restore Hope.
On 13 January 1993, VFA-97's CDR. Kevin J. Thomas led a night air strike of 110 coalition aircraft, including 35 aircraft from theKitty Hawk, against Iraq SAM Command and Control sites in Southern Iraq. This in response to Iraqi violations of U.N. resolutions. On the 18th, an airstrike made of 29 aircraft including F/A-18As and F-14As andE-2Cs in support from CVW-15 was called off when Iraq moved mobile SAM sites into Southern Iraq.[5]
On the 23rd, another incident occurred when Iraqi AAA fired on an A-6E SWIP Intruder fromVA-52 and two F/A-18As from CVW-15 over Southern Iraq. In response, the Intruder attacked the AAA site with a 1,000 pound bomb.[5]
Between June and December 1994, CVW-15 made their last deployment before being inactivated in 1995 along with many squadrons that were part of CVW-15.[citation needed] During that deployment, the air wing participated in the "first anti-submarine warfare prosecution of ChineseHan class sub contact" as well as the tracking of the largerOscar II Class Submarine between 7 and 8 July,[5] of which were designed to attack AmericanCarrier Battlegroups. The Oscar II Submarine was most likely theK-442 of the Russian Pacific Fleet.
| Carrier Air Wing Fifteen -NL (1994) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Cruise Date | Squadrons | Aircraft | Area |
| 24 June 1994 to 22 December 1994 | VF-51 Screaming Eagles | F-14A Tomcat | Western Pacific |
| VF-111 Sundowners | F-14A Tomcat | ||
| VFA-97 Warhawks | F/A-18A Hornet | ||
| VFA-27 Chargers | F/A-18A Hornet | ||
| VA-52 Knightriders | A-6E SWIP Intruder | ||
| VAW-114 Hormel Hogs | E-2C Hawkeye | ||
| HS-4 Blacknights | SH-60F/HH-60H Oceanhawk | ||
| VAQ-134 Garudas | EA-6B Prowler | ||
| VS-37 Sawbucks | S-3B Viking | ||
| VQ-5 Seashadows Detachment C | ES-3A Shadow | ||