15th_Carrier_Air_Group

15th Carrier Air Group

15th Carrier Air Group

Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm Carrier Air Group

The 15th Carrier Air Group (15th CAG) was an aircraft carrier air group of the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm. It was initially formed in June 1945, for service in the British Pacific Fleet, until disbanding in March 1947. The group was embarked on the Colossus-class aircraft carrier, HMS Venerable (R63).

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The 15th CAG reformed in May 1947, at RNAS Eglinton (HMS Gannet), in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland, for embarkation on another Colossus-class aircraft carrier, HMS Vengeance (R71). In late 1951 the group was deployed on HMS Theseus (R64), a Colossus-class aircraft carrier. The 15th Carrier Air Group disbanded in January 1952, at RNAS Culdrose (HMS Seahawk), in Cornwall, England.

See also: List of Fleet Air Arm aircraft squadrons

The 15th Carrier Air Group consisted of a number of squadrons of the Fleet Air Arm.[1]

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History

1945 - 1947

The 15th Carrier Air Group was formed on 30 June 1945 and was based on the light aircraft carrier, HMS Venerable (R63), a Colossus-class aircraft carrier. The group initially consisted 814 Naval Air Squadron, flying the Fairey Barracuda, a carrier-borne torpedo and dive bomber aircraft, and 1851 Naval Air Squadron, flying the Vought F4U Corsair, an American fighter aircraft.[2] 814 NAS replaced its Fairey Barracuda with Fairey Firefly, a carrier-borne fighter aircraft, in December 1945. Then, in June 1946 1851 NAS transferred to another Colossus-class aircraft carrier, HMS Vengeance (R71), and 802 Naval Air Squadron replaced it in the CAG, bringing its Supermarine Seafire aircraft, a navalised version of the Supermarine Spitfire fighter.[1] The 15th CAG was disbanded in 1947.[2]

1947 - 1952

The 15th Carrier Air Group reformed on 16 May 1947 at RNAS Eglinton (HMS Gannet), located 1.3 miles (2.1 km) north east of Eglinton, in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland, this time for the Colossus-class aircraft carrier, HMS Vengeance (R71), with 802 and 814 Naval Air Squadrons. Here, 802 NAS replaced its Supermarine Seafire aircraft with Hawker Sea Fury fighter aircraft. In April 1950, 802 NAS left the group and was replaced with 809 Naval Air Squadron, which brought with it de Havilland Sea Hornet twin-engined fighter aircraft, however, in the following September, 802 NAS returned and 809 NAS left the group.

In November 1950, only 802 NAS remained in the group as 814 NAS departed. It wasn't until June 1951 that the group was back to initial strength, when 825 Naval Air Squadron arrIves, which operated Fairey Firefly aircraft. However, 825 NAS only stayed for around three months and left in September 1951. It was replaced with 814 NAS, which re-joined the 15th CAG and the group embarked on another Colossus-class aircraft carrier, HMS Theseus (R64). The 15th Carrier Air Group disbanded on 15 January 1952, at RNAS Culdrose (HMS Seahawk) in Cornwall, England.[1]

Air Group Commanders

List of the commanding officers of the 15th Carrier Air Group, with date of appointment:[2][1]

1945 - 1947

  • Lt Cdr P. D. Gick, DSC, RN, 30 June 1945
  • Lt Cdr T. G. V. Percy, DSC, RN, 14 January 1946

1947 - 1952

  • Lt Cdr W. R. J. MacWhirter, DSC, RN, 16 May 1947
  • Lt Cdr J. G. Baldwin, DSC, RN, 15 March 1948
  • Lt Cdr J. N. Ball, DSC, RN, 16 May 1949
  • Lt Cdr J. O. Armour, RN, 19 April 1950
  • none, 22 November 1950
  • disbanded, 15 January 1952

See also

References

Citations

  1. [1]
    Ballance 2016, p. 306.
  2. [2]
    Wragg 2019, p. 203.

Bibliography

  • Sturtivant, R; Ballance, T (1994). The Squadrons of The Fleet Air Arm. Tonbridge, Kent, UK: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd. ISBN 0-85130-223-8.
  • Ballance, Theo (2016). The Squadrons and Units of the Fleet Air Arm. Air-Britain. ISBN 978-0-85130-489-2.
  • Wragg, David (2019). The Fleet Air Arm Handbook 1939-1945. Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, UK: The History Press. ISBN 978-0-7509-9303-6.
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