1st Carrier Air Group

1st Carrier Air Group
White Ensign
Active	30 June 1945 - 8 September 1945 October 1947 - May 1951 [1]
Country	United Kingdom
Branch	Royal Navy
Type	Carrier Air Group
Size	2 x fighter squadron 1 x TBR squadron
Part of	Fleet Air Arm
Formed for	Illustrious-class aircraft carrier
Engagements	World War II Pacific War Air raids on Japan
Commanders
Notable commanders	Commander Stanley Gordon Orr, DSC & Two Bars , AFC , RN

1st Carrier Air Group (1st CAG) was a Fleet Air Arm (FAA) carrier air group of the Royal Navy (RN). The establishment of the group occurred in June 1945, with the purpose of being deployed within the British Pacific Fleet. Nevertheless, it was dissolved later that same year, in September. The unit was allocated to the Illustrious-class aircraft carrier HMS Victorious. ^[2]

The Group was re-established in October 1947, embarking in the lead ship of her class, HMS Implacable. In late 1950, the group was reassigned to the Illustrious-class aircraft carrier HMS Indomitable. The 1st Carrier Air Group was disbanded for the second time in May 1951. ^[1]

Naval air squadrons

See also: List of Fleet Air Arm aircraft squadrons

1st Carrier Air Group consisted of a number of squadrons of the Fleet Air Arm. ^[1]

Squadron	Aircraft	From	To
849 Naval Air Squadron	Grumman Avenger Mk.I, II	June 1945	September 1945
1834 Naval Air Squadron	Vought Corsair Mk II, IV	June 1945	September 1945
1836 Naval Air Squadron	Vought Corsair Mk II, IV	June 1945	September 1945
801 Naval Air Squadron	de Havilland Sea Hornet F.20	October 1947	May 1951
813 Naval Air Squadron	Blackburn Firebrand TF.5	October 1947	May 1951

History

The squadrons of the Fleet Air Arm, embarked in the Royal Navy’s Fleet and Light Fleet aircraft carriers, were organised into Air Groups in alignment with United States Navy policy following the conclusion of World War II in Europe. This reorganisation aimed to facilitate operations in the Pacific Theater against Japanese forces in 1945. ^[3]

1945

Vought F4U Corsair of 1834 Naval Air Squadron and 1836 Naval Air Squadron, fitted with extra petrol tanks and ranged ready for attack on the carrier's flight deck on board HMS Victorious

The 1st Carrier Air Group was formed on the 30 June 1945, for the Illustrious-class aircraft carrier, HMS Victorious, as part of the British Pacific Fleet. ^[2] During July and August 1945, the latter part of the Second World War, it saw active service over Japan. ^[3] The 1st Carrier Air Group consisted of 849 Naval Air Squadron, which operated the Grumman Avenger, an American torpedo bomber aircraft, along with 1834 and 1836 Naval Air Squadrons, which were both equipped with Vought Corsair, an American carrier-based fighter-bomber aircraft, ^[2] the latter two squadrons previously made up the Fleet Air Arm's 47th Naval Fighter Wing which was absorbed into the 1st Carrier Air Group on its formation. ^[4]

The group embarked in HMS Victorious in July 1945 for strikes against the Japanese mainland, near Tokyo, up until Victory over Japan Day. Notably, an 849 Naval Air Squadron Grumman Avenger from HMS Victorious, located and scored the first bomb hit on the Japanese escort carrier Kaiyo, at Beppu Bay, in Kyūshū, on 24 July 1945, which resulted in severe damage that kept the ship out of the remainder of the war. ^[5]

The 1st Carrier Air Group was disbanded on HMS Victorious upon the group's return to the United Kingdom, on the 8 September 1945. ^[2]

1947–1951

The 1st Carrier Air Group reformed in October 1947, for the name ship of her class, HMS Implacable. The 1st CAG was made up of 801 Naval Air Squadron, which operated the de Havilland Sea Hornet, twin engine, fighter aircraft, and 813 Naval Air Squadron, which was equipped with Blackburn Firebrand, a British single-engine strike fighter aircraft. On the 12 September 1950, the 1st CAG transferred to the Illustrious-class aircraft carrier, HMS Indomitable. The 1st Carrier Air Group disbanded on the 31 May 1951. ^[1]

Aircraft carriers

Aircraft carriers which the 1st Carrier Air Group was assigned to:

• HMS Victorious (June - September 1945)
• HMS Implacable (October 1947 - September 1950)
• HMS Indomitable (September 1950 - May 1951)

Aircraft used

Aircraft used by the naval air squadrons that formed the 1st Carrier Air Group in 1945 and between 1947-51:

• Grumman Avenger, an American torpedo bomber
• Vought Corsair, an American fighter aircraft
• de Havilland Sea Hornet, a navalised version of the de Havilland Hornet for service on British aircraft carriers
• Blackburn Firebrand, a British single-engine strike fighter

Air group commanders

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

1945

• Commander J.C.N. Shrubsole, RN, from 30 June 1945
• disbanded - 8 September 1945

1947–1951

• Lieutenant Commander D.B. Law, MBE , DSC , RN, from 3 November 1948 ^[1]
• Lieutenant Commander S.G. Orr, DSC , AFC , RN, from 21 November 1949 ^[1]
• disbanded - 31 May 1951

See also

• List of Fleet Air Arm groups
• List of aircraft carriers of the Royal Navy
• List of aircraft of the Fleet Air Arm
• List of Fleet Air Arm aircraft in World War II

References

Citations

1. Ballance 2016, p. 306.
2. Wragg 2019, p. 203.
3. Ballance 2016, p. 305.
4. Wragg 2019, p. 202.
5. "849 Squadron". Fleet Air Arm Archive. 2000–2001. Archived from the original on 30 March 2009. Retrieved 1 December 2008.

Bibliography

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