Carrier Air Wing Five

Carrier Air Wing Five (CVW-5) is a United States Navy aircraft carrier air wing based at Naval Air Facility Atsugi, Japan. The air wing is attached to the aircraft carrier USS George Washington (CVN-73). It was initially formed in 1943. It has participated in the Second World War, the Korean War, the Gulf War, Operation Southern Watch, the War in Afghanistan, and the War in Iraq.

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-5 consists of 9 Squadrons



History
Originally commissioned as Carrier Air Group Five (CVG-5) in 1943, the new air group rapidly became embroiled in the war in the Pacific. Homeported in San Diego, California, after the war, Air Group Five quickly recorded a number of firsts, including the first squadron to land a jet aircraft aboard a carrier (1948), the first jet aircraft in the Navy to shoot down enemy aircraft when Cmdr. Lamb VF-52 shot down a Yak fighter of 3 July 1950, the first to arrive in Yellow Sea, the first to launch jet aircraft against enemy, and the first to include both jet squadrons VF-51, VF-52 with F9F1 Panther jets, VF-53 with F4U Corsairs, VA-54 and VA-55 with AD-1 Skyraiders.

CVG-5 was the first air group to enter the Korean War, and after serving 18 months in the combat zone, had compiled more combat time than any other air group in the Korean War. CVG-5 was renamed CVW-5 in 1963 when the Navy reclassified its air groups.

Vietnam War
In 1964, CVW-5 was called to action in the Gulf of Tonkin for a total of eight combat cruises.

On 5 December 1965, a Broken Arrow incident occurred aboard the USS Ticonderoga (CV-14), upon which CVW-5 was embarked. A Douglas A-4E Skyhawk attack aircraft of VA-65 carrying a nuclear weapon fell into the sea. On the 31st day after departing Subic Bay, the attack jet fell over the side during a training exercise while being rolled from the number 2 hangar bay to the number 2 elevator. The pilot, Lieutenant (junior grade) Douglas M. Webster, the aircraft, A-4E BuNo 151022, (a re-designated A4D-5), of VA-56 Champions, and the B43 nuclear bomb were never recovered from the 16000 ft depth. The accident occurred 80 mi from Okinawa.

In 1973, CVW-5 embarked on USS Midway (CVA-41) to become part of the first carrier/air wing team permanently forward deployed, to Yokosuka, Japan. The wing completed 111 continuous days on station in the North Arabian Sea in 1984, which the wing's official site describes as 'guarding the Straits of Hormuz and guaranteeing the continued flow of vital oil to Japan and Western Europe.'

Gulf War
CVW-5 began its final cruise aboard the Midway in October 1990 as part of Operation Desert Shield. From November to January 1991, the air wing participated in numerous multinational exercises and operated continuously in the Persian Gulf. On 17 January 1991, Operation Desert Storm began as CVW-5 aircraft launched a night strike deep into Iraq. For the next 43 days the air wing flew 3,383 combat sorties and expended more than four million pounds of ordnance.

In August 1991, the USS Independence (CV-62) replaced the Midway. Also, in 1991, in consideration of the surrounding communities the field carrier landing practices, known in Japan as NLP’s, was moved to the island of Iwo Jima, 650 mi away as an interim measure until another landing field could be situated within 100 nmi of the base.

USS Independence (CV 62) deployed to the Persian Gulf in mid-1992 and started the Southern Watch operation, a multi-national mission to monitor Iraqi compliance with the "no-fly zone" below the 32nd parallel north. In August 1995, Independence and Carrier Air Wing 5 deployed to The Persian Gulf for a third time in support of Operation Southern Watch.

In July 1998, CVW-5 moved again, to USS Kitty Hawk (CV-63). The Kitty Hawk left its berth at Fleet Activities Yokosuka in early April 2000 to begin a routine deployment to the Western Pacific. The carrier had spent the previous five weeks in Yokosuka following a 12-day sea trial in February and March. She first journeyed to Guam to rendezvous with the air wing, which was participating in the Strike Fighter Advanced Readiness Program at Andersen Air Force Base until 18 April 2000. In addition to Guam, the ship made port calls throughout the Western Pacific and participated in Exercise Cobra Gold with the Royal Thai Armed Forces.

Afghanistan and Iraq
The Kitty Hawk/CVW-5 team got under way 1 October 2001 with a mere 24-hour turnaround, after an accelerated sea trials and carrier qualifications period, carried out on short notice following the events of 11 Sept.. The Air Wing contingent included eight F/A-18 Hornets with pilots and aircraft from VFA-192, VFA-27 and VFA-195, three S-3 Vikings from VS-21, and two SH-60 Seahawks from HS-14. The initial plan for CVW-5 was to provide air defense during the Kitty Hawk’s transit to station. The Air Wing was able to work around the Special Operations mission, however, and established a more offensive mission for themselves. Air Wing aviators flew 600 missions over Afghanistan in support of the United States’ War on Terrorism, including more than 100 combat sorties during this at sea period.

At the same time, two C-2A Greyhounds from VRC-30 Detachment 5 were shore based out of Bahrain providing logistical support to all four carriers on station, the Kitty Hawk, the USS Enterprise (CVN-65), USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71), and the USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70). The Providers from VRC-30’s Detachment 5 were the only C-2A squadron in the region qualified for night operations. The Providers lived up to their name, supplying the four carrier battle groups with 1500 passengers and 350,000 pounds of cargo.

From 30 October through 16 November 2001, the strike element of the Air Wing participated in a weapons training detachment at Kadena Air Base in Okinawa. The Air Wing completed 50 sorties per day for the entire three-week period with a 98% sortie completion rate. In all there were 640 sorties flown for a total of 1040 flight hours and over 250 tons of ordnance dropped. In spite of this rigorous training schedule, there were no mishaps or incidents of foreign object damage (FOD), and no liberty incidents. All this was done despite being uncoupled from the Air Wing’s maintenance support, housed on the Kitty Hawk.

In 2003, the final cruise with the F-14A Tomcat. CVW-5 deployed to the Persian Gulf and supported Operation Iraqi Freedom flying from the USS Kitty Hawk. VF-154 Black Knights deployed several aircraft to Al Udeid in Qatar and supported Special Operations Forces in Iraq alongside the USAF and Royal Air Force aircraft deployed to that airbase. Later that year, VF-154 departed NAF Atsugi to transition to the F/A-18F Super Hornet, and VFA-27 transitioned to the F/A-18E Super Hornet while VFA-102 became part of CVW-5, flying the F/A-18F.

Recent operations
On 1 December 2005, the United States Navy announced that USS George Washington (CVN-73) would replace USS Kitty Hawk (CV-63) in 2008 as the forward-deployed carrier in Japan and that it would also assume host carrier duties for forward deployed Carrier Air Wing 5.

On 21 August 2008, USS George Washington (CVN-73) departed NAS North Island with CVW-5 embarked for the first time. The George Washington arrived in Japan on 25 September 2008.

During fall 2010, VFA-195 Dambusters started transition to the Super Hornet at NAS Lemoore, CA. Carrier Air Wing Five will be the first wing totally equipped with Super Hornets and no legacy Hornets. In March 2012, the VAQ-136 Gauntlets were replaced by VAQ-141 Shadowhawks, equipped with the EA-18G Growler.

In 14 September 2012, the United States Navy announced that squadron HSM-51 would receive MH-60R Seahawk helicopters, replacing its current inventory of older SH-60B and SH-60F models. Also, squadron HSM-77 will be transferred to Carrier Air Wing Five, and squadron HSC-12 will replace squadron HS-14. These transfer will completed by December 2013.

Fixed-wing aircraft

 * F/A-18E/F Super Hornet
 * EA-18G Growler
 * E-2 Hawkeye
 * C-2 Greyhound

Rotary wing aircraft

 * MH-60S Seahawk
 * MH-60R Seahawk