| Unit Name: | 1st Carrier Air Group |
| Dates: | 30 June 1945 - 8 September 1945 October 1947 - May 1951 |
| Type: | Carrier Air Group |
| Size: | One plus support ships |
| Command Structure: | Fleet Air Arm |
| Battles: | World War II |
| Notable Commanders: | Commander Stanley Gordon Orr,, RN |
The 1st Carrier Air Group (1st 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 later that year, in the September. The group was embarked on (R38).
The 1st CAG reformed in October 1947, for embarkation on (R86). In late 1950 the group was transferred onto (92). The 1st Carrier Air Group disbanded in May 1951.
See also: List of Fleet Air Arm aircraft squadrons.
The 1st Carrier Air Group consisted of a number of squadrons of the Fleet Air Arm.
| Squadron | From | To | Aircraft |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 1945 | Sep 1945 | Grumman TBF Avenger | |
| Jun 1945 | Sep 1945 | Vought F4U Corsair | |
| Jun 1945 | Sep 1945 | Vought F4U Corsair | |
| Oct 1947 | May 1951 | de Havilland Sea Hornet | |
| Oct 1947 | May 1951 | Blackburn Firebrand | |
The 1st Carrier Air Group was formed on the 30 June 1945, for the, (R38), as part of the British Pacific Fleet. During July and August 1945, the latter part of the Second World War, it saw active service over Japan. The 1st Carrier Air Group contained 849 Naval Air Squadron, which operated the Grumman TBF Avenger torpedo bomber aircraft, 1834 Naval Air Squadron and 1836 Naval Air Squadron, which were both equipped with Vought F4U Corsair, an American Carrier-based fighter-bomber aircraft, 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.
The group embarked on Victorious in July 1945 for strikes against the Japanese mainland, near Tokyo, up until VJ-Day. Notably, an 849 NAS Avenger, from Victorious, located and scored the first bomb hit on the Japanese escort carrier Kaiyo, which resulted in severe damage, at Beppu Bay, in Kyūshū, on 24 July 1945, that kept the ship out of the remainder of the war.[1]
The 1st Carrier Air Group was disbanded on HMS Victorious’ and the group's return to the United Kingdom, on the 8 September 1945.
The 1st Carrier Air Group reformed in October 1947, for the name ship of her class, . The 1st CAG was made up of 801 Naval Air Squadron, which operated the Sea Hornet, twin engine, fighter aircraft, and 813 Naval Air Squadron, which was equipped with Firebrand, a British single-engine strike fighter aircraft. On the 12 September 1950, the 1st CAG transferred to the, . The 1st Carrier Air Group disbanded on the 31 May 1951.
Aircraft used by the naval air squadrons that formed the 1st Carrier Air Group 1945 and 1947-51:
List of commanding officers of the 1st Carrier Air Group, with date of appointment: