Constellation (CV 64) - Naval Cruise Book

Page 17 text:

CARRIER AIR WING FOURTEEN The awesome bite behind Constella- tion ' s bark, Carrier Air Wing 14 (CVW-14), is composed of nine squadrons of highly trained officers and enlisted men using the most advanced aircraft in the world. CVW-14 consists of two fighter and two strike fighter squadrons, one attack squadron, one airborne electronic warfare squadron, one air- borne early warning squadron, one fixed wing anti-submarine squadron, and one helicopter anti-submarine squadron. CVW-14 was established at Naval Air Sta- tion Miramar in July 1950 to meet the increas- ing demands placed upon aviation by the Ko- rean Conflict. In August 1964, while embarked in USS Constellation, CVW-14 conducted the first re- taliatory air strikes against North Vietnam. On 27 January 1973, CVW-14 squadrons flew the last combat sorties of the Vietnam Con- flict. In June 1973, CVW-14 became the first operational air wing to receive the F-14ATom- cat. During the spring of 1979, two U.S. Ma- rine Corps fighter squadrons joined the air- AIR WING FOURTEEN 13

Page 16 text:

An F-14A Tomcat prepares to launch off Catapult . FA-18 Hornets pass in review over Cy-64. 12 AIRWING FOURTEEN

Page 18 text:

AIR WING FOURTEEN wing team. This mariced the first time since World War II that two Marine fighter squad- rons comprised the fighter arm of a Navy air wing. Those two squadrons were eventually replaced by VF-21 and VF-154. CVW-14 deployed aboard USS Constella- tion on 21 February 1985 for the first oper- ational deployment of the FA- 1 8 Hornet and in 1987, while deployed in the Indian Ocean on Constellation, provided air cover for the first F-14A TOMCAT The F-14A Tomcat, the most sophisticated fighter in the world, is designed to protect the carrier battle group from hostile aircraft. The Tomcat is a twin engine, all weather aircraft capable of flying twice the speed of sound. It carries the air-to-air Phoenix, Sidewinder or Sparrow mis- siles and a 20mm Gatling gun. Fighter Squadrons 21 and 154, known as the Freelancers and Black Knights respectively fly the F-14A from Constellation. of many convoys of oil tankers in the Persian Gulf. The Constellation CWW- 4 team is an ex- tremely valuable national asset which enables the United States to carry out its maritime strategy around the globe twenty four hours a day, seven days a week. CVW-14 is homeported at Miramar Naval Air Station, Miramar, California. E-2C HAWKEYE The E-2C Hawkeye is an airborne early warning and con- trol aircraft capable of carrying out patrol on the battle group perimeters in all weather. The propeller-driven E- 2C assess any threat from approaching enemy aircraft at ranges greater than 250 nautical miles. The E-2C is capa- ble of automatically tracking more than 600 targets and control more than 40 intercepts. The E-2C is flown from Constellation by Carrier Airborne Early Warning Squad- ron 113, known as the Black Eagles. EA-6B PROWLER The EA-6B Prowler is a four-seat all-weather aircraft. It is the only U.S. Navy aircraft built specifically for tactical electronic warfare. The aircraft ' s crew of four (one pilot and three electron- ic counter-measure officers) uses sensitive receivers and high power jammers in an effective combination to sup- port air strike and fleet operations by deceiving, degrading or completely suppressing the enemy ' s radars and radios. The sophisticated electronic equipment used by the EA- 6B make it one of the most expensive aircraft in the Air Wing. Tactical Electronic Warfare Squadron 139, known as the Cougars, flies the Prowler from Constellation. 14 AIRWING FOURTEEN