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).
| 15th Carrier Air Group | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Active | 30 June 1945 to 30 March 1947 16 May 1947 - 15 January 1952[1] |
| Country |  United Kingdom |
| Branch |  Royal Navy |
| Type | Carrier Air Group |
| Size | One Colossus-class aircraft carrier plus support ships |
| Part of | Fleet Air Arm |
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.
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The 15th Carrier Air Group consisted of a number of squadrons of the Fleet Air Arm.[1]
| Squadron | From | To | Aircraft | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 814 Naval Air Squadron | Jun 1945 | Mar 1947 | Fairey Barracuda to Dec 1945, then Fairey Firefly |
|
| 1851 Naval Air Squadron | Jun 1945 | Jun 1946 | Vought F4U Corsair | Transferred to HMS Vengeance |
| 802 Naval Air Squadron | Jun 1946 | Mar 1947 | Supermarine Seafire | |
| 802 Naval Air Squadron | May 1947 | Apr 1950 | Hawker Sea Fury | 15th CAG reformed at RNAS Eglinton |
| 814 Naval Air Squadron | May 1947 | Nov 1950 | Fairey Firefly | 15th CAG reformed at RNAS Eglinton |
| 809 Naval Air Squadron | Apr 1950 | Sep 1950 | de Havilland Sea Hornet | replaced 802 NAS |
| 802 Naval Air Squadron | Sep 1950 | Jan 1952 | Hawker Sea Fury | returned and replaced 809 NAS |
| 825 Naval Air Squadron | Jun 1951 | Sep 1951 | Fairey Firefly | |
| 814 Naval Air Squadron | Sep 1951 | Jan 1952 | Fairey Firefly | rejoined |
History edit
1945 - 1947 edit
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 edit
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 edit
List of the commanding officers of the 15th Carrier Air Group, with date of appointment:[2][1]
1945 - 1947
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 edit
References edit
Citations edit
- ^ a b c d e Ballance 2016, p. 306.
- ^ a b c Wragg 2019, p. 203.
Bibliography edit
- 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.