| Unit Name: | 15th Carrier Air Group |
| Dates: | 30 June 1945 to 30 March 1947 16 May 1947 - 15 January 1952 |
| Country: | United Kingdom |
| Type: | Carrier Air Group |
| Size: | One plus support ships |
| Command Structure: | Fleet Air Arm |
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, (R63).
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, (R71). In late 1951 the group was deployed on (R64), a Colossus-class aircraft carrier. The 15th Carrier Air Group disbanded in January 1952, at RNAS Culdrose (HMS Seahawk), in Cornwall, England.
See also: List of Fleet Air Arm aircraft squadrons.
The 15th Carrier Air Group consisted of a number of squadrons of the Fleet Air Arm.
| Squadron | From | To | Aircraft | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 1945 | Mar 1947 | |||
| Jun 1945 | Jun 1946 | Transferred to | ||
| Jun 1946 | Mar 1947 | |||
| May 1947 | Apr 1950 | 15th CAG reformed at RNAS Eglinton | ||
| May 1947 | Nov 1950 | 15th CAG reformed at RNAS Eglinton | ||
| Apr 1950 | Sep 1950 | replaced 802 NAS | ||
| Sep 1950 | Jan 1952 | returned and replaced 809 NAS | ||
| Jun 1951 | Sep 1951 | |||
| Sep 1951 | Jan 1952 | rejoined | ||
The 15th Carrier Air Group was formed on 30 June 1945 and was based on the light aircraft carrier, (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. 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, (R71), and 802 Naval Air Squadron replaced it in the CAG, bringing its Supermarine Seafire aircraft, a navalised version of the Supermarine Spitfire fighter. The 15th CAG was disbanded in 1947.
The 15th Carrier Air Group reformed on 16 May 1947 at RNAS Eglinton (HMS Gannet), located north east of Eglinton, in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland, this time for the Colossus-class aircraft carrier, (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, (R64). The 15th Carrier Air Group disbanded on 15 January 1952, at RNAS Culdrose (HMS Seahawk) in Cornwall, England.
List of the commanding officers of the 15th Carrier Air Group, with date of appointment:
1945 - 1947
1947 - 1952