Carrier Air Wing One

Mission

To conduct carrier air warfare operations and assist in the planning, control, coordination and integration of seven air wing squadrons in support of carrier air warfare including; Interception and destruction of enemy aircraft and missiles in all-weather conditions to establish and maintain local air superiority. All-weather offensive air-to-surface attacks, Detection, localization, and destruction of enemy ships and submarines to establish and maintain local sea control. Aerial photographic, sighting, and electronic intelligence for naval and joint operations. Airborne early warning service to fleet forces and shore warning nets. Airborne electronic countermeasures. In-flight refueling operations to extend the range and the endurance of air wing aircraft and Search and rescue operations.

Subordinate units

CVW-1 consists of 9 Squadrons

History

Carrier Air Wing One has been in existence longer than any other Navy carrier air wing. Since its establishment on 1 July 1938, CVW-1 has served aboard twenty different aircraft carriers, made 42 major deployments, and had a majority of the East Coast squadrons as members of the Navy’s "First and Foremost." CVW-1 was originally the "Ranger Air Group", serving aboard USS Ranger during the early years of carrier aviation. The air wing also operated aboard all three carriers in commission at that time - USS Langley, USS Lexington, and USS Saratoga.

World War II

After the commencement of World War II, and until 1943, The air wing participated in the North African Campaign and operated in all parts of the Atlantic and Pacific. The air wing saw action against Japan from the Philippines to Tokyo, earning two Presidential Unit Citations in addition to having nurtured many Naval Aviation heroes.

Suez Crisis & Vietnam

From 1946 and 1957, Air Wing ONE served aboard nine different carriers, including the first "Super Carrier", USS Forrestal, during the 1956-57 Suez Crisis. Between June 1966 and February 1967, CVW-1 conducted combat operations off the coast of Vietnam aboard USS Franklin D. Roosevelt. In 1975 onboard USS John F. Kennedy, CVW-1 introduced the Navy’s newest tactical aircraft, the F-14A Tomcat and the S-3A Viking, to the Mediterranean.

1980s

CVW-1 was assigned to USS America in mid-1982, forming a partnership which ended with the ship’s decommissioning in August 1996. During that time, the USS America/CVW-1 team conducted combat operations during the attack on Libya in 1986.

Gulf War

The USS America/CVW-1 team was the only carrier battle group to launch strikes in support of Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm from both the Red Sea and Persian Gulf.

With America’s decommissioning in August 1996, the air wing joined the USS George Washington battle group. CVW-1 and USS George Washington returned on 3 April 1998 from their first deployment in their 2-year association.

Following their deployment with USS George Washington, CVW-1 returned to USS John F. Kennedy after a 24-year absence, and then deployed to the Mediterranean Sea and Persian Gulf.

21st Century

During its 2006 deployment, Carrier Air Wing One delivered 65,000 pounds (29,483.50 kilograms) of ordnance, including 137 precision weapons, to provide air support of Operation Enduring Freedom - Afghanistan and Operation Iraqi Freedom. Its aircraft completed more than 8,300 sorties, of which 2,186 were combat missions, while flying more than 22,500 hours and making 6,916-day and night arrested landings. Carrier Air Wing One provided the first combat air support to Operation Enduring Freedom from an aircraft carrier in more than three years which also included Operation Medusa and Operation Mountain Fury. Carrier Strike Group Twelve also conducted a two-month deployment with the U.S. Seventh Fleet in the Western Pacific which included training exercises with Carrier Strike Group Five. This was the first time that an East Coast-based carrier air wing had operated in the western Pacific in 18 years. Finally, during its 2006 deployment, Carrier Air Wing One was the first U.S. Navy carrier air wing to use the Joint Mission Planning System (JMPS), a new computer system replacing the legacy mission planning computer system, Tactical Automated Mission Planning System (TAMPS).

During its 2007 deployment to the U.S. Fifth Fleet, aircraft from Carrier Air Wing One flew more than 7,500 missions, which included 1,676 combat missions, and made more than 6,500 arrested landings for a total of 20,300 hours. Aircraft dropped 73 air-to-ground weapons and fired 4,149 rounds of 20-mm ammunition in support of ground forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. Also during this deployment, Carrier Air Wing One was the second U.S. Navy carrier air wing to deploy with the new ASQ-228 Advanced Targeting Forward Looking Infrared (ATFLIR) targeting system for its embarked F/A-18 strike fighters. This new system allows its pilots to use their weapon systems at higher altitude with greater accuracy and enhanced safety. Finally, the 2007 deployment marked the final cruise for squadron VS-32 and its S-3 Viking aircraft.

During its 2011 deployment, aircraft from Carrier Air Wing One flew more than 1,450 sorties in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan and Operation New Dawn in Iraq.

With the decommissioning of the USS Enterprise (CVN-65) on 1 December 2012, Carrier Air Wing One was reassigned to the USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71) that was undergoing its mid-life Refueling and Complex Overhaul at Newport News Shipbuilding.

On 11 March 2015, the Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group departed Naval Station Norfolk for around the world tour with deployments to the U.S. 5th, 6th and 7th Fleets, before arriving in the carrier's new homeport of San Diego, California.

Fixed-wing aircraft

Rotary wing aircraft