USS Enterprise CV-6
The Most Decorated Ship of the Second World War

History: Prewar - 1941 - 1942 - 1943 - 1944 - 1945 - Postwar
The Ship - All Hands - Decorations - Remembrance

All Hands - Air Groups

Note: Each squadron is listed with its normal aircraft complement, insignia (if available), as well as its commanding officers.

Carrier-based air group naming conventions changed over the course of the war, reflecting changes in Navy command structure and security policies. Before World War II, air groups were named after the carrier on which they were stationed; hence, there was a Lexington Air Group, a Saratoga Air Group, an Enterprise Air Group, and so on. Squadrons in each air group were numbered with the hull number of the ship. For example, the Enterprise Air Group had four squadrons: VF-6 (fighters), VB-6 (bombers), VT-6 (torpedo bombers), and VS-6 (scout-bombers).

Particularly during the hectic first year of the war, squadrons were frequently deployed wherever they were most needed, be it another carrier or an airfield, such as Guadalcanal's Henderson Field. Squadrons from Saratoga CV-3 and Yorktown CV-5 were assigned to Enterprise for short periods. Air Group 10's Fighting Ten was formed around airmen of Lexington CV-2 Air Group's VF-2 after that great ship was sunk at Coral Sea (7-8 May 1942). After the Battle of the Eastern Solomons, four planes from Bombing Six were transferred to Wasp CV-7, while the remainder of Bombing Six and Scouting Five (formerly of Yorktown!) were stationed at Guadalcanal, as "Flight 300". As Jim Geyton (ARM 1/c) who served in Enterprise from December 1941 to August 1944, notes:

"One must remember that it was very hectic in the South Pacific. Pilots, crewmen, were moved between squadrons, squadrons were flying from other carriers, Flight 300 was on Guadalcanal, etc. There just were no paper records kept. There was no time for it. Flights and crewmembers were in chalk on the Ready Room boards and no printed record was ever made."

During the Guadalcanal campaign, most squadrons began receiving mail addressed to their own Fleet Post Office (FPO) address, and not in care of the ship on which they served. As this policy began to take effect, squadron designations changed from (for example) Enterprise Air Group to Air Group Six.

Later, for security reasons, squadron numbers were assigned at random, instead of by ship hull number. For example, the last three air groups to fly from Enterprise were Air Group Ten, Air Group Twenty, and Night Air Group Ninety. Enemy intelligence could no longer deduce a carrier's deployment from the squadrons it embarked.

Enterprise Air Group

1st Deployment: 7 December 1941 - 10 March 1942

CEAG: CDR Howard L. "Brigham" Young

Engagements: Pearl Harbor; Marshall, Wake and Marcus Islands Raids

	VB-6 18 SBD-2 Dauntlesses LCDR William Hollingsworth		VS-6 18 SBD-2 Dauntlesses LCDR Halstead Hopping M.I.A. off Roi, 1 February 1942 LT Earl Gallaher Eff. 5 February 1942
	VF-6 18 F4F-3 Wildcats LCDR C. Wade McClusky		VT-6 18 TBD Devastators LCDR Eugene Lindsey

2nd Deployment: 8 - 26 April 1942

CEAG: LCDR C. Wade McClusky

Engagements: Doolittle Raid

	VB-3 SBD-2/3 Dauntlesses LCDR Max Leslie		VF-6 F4F-4 Wildcats LT James Gray
	VB-6 SBD-2/3 Dauntlesses LT Richard H. Best		VT-6 TBD-1 Devastators LCDR Eugene Lindsey

3rd Deployment: 30 April - 26 May 1942

CEAG: LCDR C. Wade McClusky

Engagements: Delivered Marine Fighter Squadron to Efate. Proceeded to Coral Sea but arrived too late to engage in the Battle of the Coral Sea, 7-8 May 1942.

	VB-6 SBD-2/3 Dauntlesses LT Richard H. Best		VS-6 SBD-2/3 Dauntlesses LT Earl Gallaher
	VF-6 F4F-4 Wildcats LT James Gray		VT-6 TBD-1 Devastators LCDR Eugene Lindsey

4th Deployment: 28 May - 13 June 1942

CEAG: LCDR C. Wade McClusky

Engagements: Battle of Midway

	VB-6 18 SBD-2/3 Dauntlesses LT Richard H. Best		VS-6 18 SBD-2/3 Dauntlesses LT Earl Gallaher
	VF-6 27 F4F-4 Wildcats LT James Gray		VT-6 14 TBD-1 Devastators LCDR Eugene Lindsey
(June 4-13, 1942, from Yorktown CV-5)
	VB-3 LT Dave Shumway		VB-5 LT Wallace Short

5th Deployment: 15 July - 25 August 1942

CEAG: LCDR Max Leslie

Engagements: Occupation of Guadalcanal, Battle of the Eastern Solomons

	VB-6 18 SBD-3 Dauntlesses LT Ray Davis		VS-5 18 SBD-3 Dauntlesses LT Turner F. Caldwell
	VF-6 36 F4F-4 Wildcats LT Louis H. Bauer		VT-3 15 TBF-1 Avengers LCDR C. M. Jett

Air Group 10

1st Deployment: 16 October 1942 - 10 May 1943

CAG: LCDR Richard K. Gaines

Engagements: Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands, Naval Battle of Guadalcanal, Rennell Island

	VB-10 18 SBD-3 Dauntlesses LCDR J. A. Thomas		VS-10 (Redesignated VB-20, 1 March 1943) 18 SBD-3 Dauntlesses LCDR James R. Lee LT William I. Martin Eff. 1 March 1943
	VF-10 36 F4F-4 Wildcats LCDR James Flatley LCDR William R. "Killer" Kane Eff. 13 February 1943		VT-10 15 TBF-1 Avengers LCDR John A. Collett K.I.A. 26 October 1942 LT Albert P. Coffin Eff. 26 October 1942

Air Group 6

10 November - 9 December 1943

CAG: LCDR Edward "Butch" O'Hare (M.I.A. 26 November 1943)
CAG: LCDR John C. Phillips (Eff. 4 December 1943)

Engagements: Makin Island, Tarawa, Kwajalein Atoll

	VB-6 SBD-3 Dauntlesses LT William M. Hampton		VT-6 TBF-1 Avengers LCDR John C. Phillips
	VF-2 F6F-3 Hellcats LCDR William A. Dean

Air Group 10

2nd Deployment: 16 January - 15 July 1944

CAG: CDR Roscoe L. Newman (CV-6 Air Officer, eff. 23 February 1944)
CAG: CDR William R. "Killer" Kane (Eff. 23 February 1944)

Engagements: Marshall Islands Occupation, Truk Raids, Palau Raid, Hollandia Occupation, Marianas Occupation, Battle of the Philippine Sea

	VB-10 SBD-3 Dauntlesses LCDR Richard L. Poor To Air Dept. 1 June 1944 LCDR James D. 'Jig Dog' Ramage Eff. 1 June 1944		VF(N)-101 4 F4U-2(N) Corsairs LCDR Richard E. Harmer
	VF-10 F6F-3 Hellcats LCDR William R. "Killer" Kane LCDR R. W. Schumann Jr. Eff. 23 February 1944		VT-10 TBF-1 Avengers LCDR William I. Martin

Air Group 20

16 August - 23 November 1944

CAG: CDR Daniel "Dog" Smith

Engagements: Bonin Islands Raid, Palau Occupation, Nansei Shoto and Formosa Raids, Leyte Landings, Battle of Leyte Gulf, Philippine Islands Raids

	VB-20 20 SB2C Helldivers CDR R. Emmett Riera LCDR Raymond E. Moore Eff. 10 November 1944		VF(N)-78 4 F6F-3(N) Hellcats CDR James Gray
	VF-20 32 F6F-5 Hellcats CDR Fred Bakutis		VT-20 16 TBM-1C Avengers LCDR Samuel L. Prickett

Night Air Group 90

24 December 1944 - 31 May 1945

CAG: CDR William I. Martin

Engagements: Luzon Invasion, Tokyo Raids, Iwo Jima, Okinawa

VF(N)-90 34 F6F-5(N) Hellcats LCDR Robert J. McCullough

VT(N)-90 21 TBM-3D Avengers LT Russell F. Kippen K.I.A. 21 January 1945 LT "C" "B" Collins Eff. 22 January 1945 K.I.A. 22 February 1945 LT C. E. Henderson Eff. 22 February 1945

Air Group chronology and insignia courtesy Arnold Olson, Public Affairs Officer, USS Enterprise CV-6 Association.

Sources:

Morison, Samuel Eliot. Supplement and General Index.

St. John, Philip A. USS Enterprise (CV-6).

USS Enterprise CV-6 Association. Squadron Chronology.