U.S. Navy

Naval Aviation

From the SBD Dauntless dive bombers that turned the tide at Midway to the F-35C Lightning II that brings stealth to the carrier deck, naval aviation has projected American power from the sea for over a century. Fighters, attack aircraft, patrol planes, electronic warfare jets, and helicopters — the air wing is the striking arm of the fleet. Every sortie launches from a flight deck. Every mission ends with a trap.

World War II — Carrier Air Power 1941 – 1945

HELLCATS · CORSAIRS

Fighting Squadrons (VF)

Hellcats · Corsairs · Wildcats

The Hellcat and Corsair broke the back of Japanese naval aviation. From the Thach Weave over Midway to the Great Marianas Turkey Shoot, Navy fighters went from parity to absolute dominance in three years. The F6F Hellcat alone produced 305 aces and a 19:1 kill ratio — the most devastating fighter record of the war. Read more

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MIDWAY · CORAL SEA

Bombing Squadrons (VB)

SBD Dauntless Dive Bombers

CHANGED THE WAR

At 10:22 AM on June 4, 1942, SBD Dauntless dive bombers from Enterprise and Yorktown plunged on three Japanese carriers in five minutes — Kaga, Akagi, and Soryu were burning wrecks by 10:27. A fourth, Hiryu, was sunk hours later. The Battle of Midway turned on the Dauntless. Read more

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Torpedo Squadrons (VT)

Torpedo Squadrons (VT)

TBD Devastators · TBF Avengers

Survivor (VT-8)

TBDs LOST AT MIDWAY

Torpedo Eight flew TBD Devastators straight into the Japanese fleet at Midway without fighter escort. All 15 aircraft were shot down. One man survived — Ensign George Gay. Their sacrifice drew the Zeros down to wave-top level, leaving the sky open for the dive bombers that won the battle. Read more

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Patrol Squadrons (VP)

PBY Catalina · Black Cats

Catalinas Built

PBY Catalinas found the Japanese fleet at Midway, spotted Bismarck in the Atlantic, and hunted U-boats across two oceans. Black Cat squadrons flew night missions in all-black PBYs, attacking Japanese shipping with radar-guided runs. The most versatile aircraft of the war. Read more

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Korea — The Jet Transition 1950 – 1953

Jet Fighters (VF)

F9F Panther · F2H Banshee

ENS JESSE BROWN

The Navy went to war in jets for the first time over Korea. The F9F Panther and F2H Banshee flew from straight-deck carriers in every weather. ENS Jesse Brown — the first Black naval aviator — was shot down over the Chosin Reservoir. His wingman, LTJG Thomas Hudner, intentionally crash-landed to try to save him. Both earned their place in history. Read more

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The Skyraider (VA)

AD Skyraider · "The Spad"

KOREA TO VIETNAM

The AD Skyraider carried more bombs than a B-17 on a single engine. Pilots called it "the Spad" and "Able Dog." In Korea it flew more attack sorties than any other aircraft. It was so good that it kept flying combat in Vietnam a decade after jets were supposed to replace it. The most effective close air support aircraft of its generation. Read more

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Vietnam — Yankee Station 1964 – 1975

MiG Killers (VF)

F-8 Crusader · F-4 Phantom II

The kill ratio over Vietnam was unacceptable — too many missiles, not enough training. The Navy's answer was TOPGUN, stood up in 1969 at Miramar with a trailer and stolen desks. After TOPGUN, the kill ratio went from 2.5:1 to 12:1. The F-8 Crusader was "the last of the gunfighters." The F-4 Phantom carried the war. Read more

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Attack Squadrons (VA)

A-4 Skyhawk · A-6 Intruder · A-7 Corsair II

Three jets carried the Navy's war over North Vietnam. The A-4 Skyhawk — "Heinemann's Hot Rod" — was small, fast, and cheap. The A-6 Intruder flew all-weather night strikes when nothing else could. The A-7 Corsair II brought precision and endurance. Carrier aviators flew from Yankee Station into the heaviest air defenses on earth. Read more

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UNARMED · UNAFRAID

Reconnaissance (RVAH)

RA-5C Vigilante

Loss Rate/Sortie

ALONE, FAST, LOW

RVAH squadrons flew the RA-5C Vigilante on photo reconnaissance over the most heavily defended targets in North Vietnam — alone, unarmed, at low altitude. They had the highest loss rate per sortie of any community in the war. No guns, no missiles, no wingman. The unofficial motto said it all: "Unarmed and Unafraid." Read more

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HAL-3 Seawolves

Navy's Only Attack Helicopter Squadron

Navy Attack Helo Sqdn

The Navy's only dedicated attack helicopter squadron. Seawolves flew UH-1B Hueys in the Mekong Delta, providing fire support for SEALs, PBRs, and river patrol forces. They scrambled in minutes, flew at night over terrain that killed daytime pilots, and put ordnance within meters of friendlies. The most decorated helicopter squadron in naval history. Read more

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Cold War — Fleet Air Defense 1975 – 1991

F-14 Tomcat (VF)

Variable-Sweep Fleet Defender

Phoenix Missile

The Tomcat defined naval aviation for a generation. Variable-sweep wings, the AIM-54 Phoenix with 100+ mile range, and a two-man crew that could defend the fleet against Soviet bomber regiments. VF-41 shot down two Libyan Su-22s over the Gulf of Sidra in 1981. VF-84's Jolly Rogers skull and crossbones became the most recognized squadron insignia in the world. Read more

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ELECTRONIC ATTACK

EA-6B Prowler (VAQ)

Tactical Electronic Warfare

CONFLICT SINCE VN

The Prowler jammed enemy radar and communications for nearly five decades. No major strike package — Navy, Marine Corps, or Air Force — launched without Prowler support. In Desert Storm, Prowlers blinded Iraq's air defenses. The most demanded asset in every joint operation from Vietnam to Afghanistan. Read more

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EYES OF THE FLEET

E-2 Hawkeye (VAW)

Carrier Airborne Early Warning

Advanced Hawkeye

The E-2 Hawkeye has managed the airspace above every carrier battle group for sixty years. Nothing launches, nothing recovers, nothing flies without Hawkeye controlling it. The E-2D Advanced Hawkeye's AN/APY-9 radar tracks targets at ranges and resolutions the enemy can't counter. The most quietly essential aircraft on the flight deck. Read more

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Rotary Wing — From Frogmen to Seahawks 1948 – Present

APOLLO RECOVERY

Helicopter Anti-Submarine (HS)

SH-3 Sea King Legacy

Recovery Missions

PRIMARY MISSION

The SH-3 Sea King plucked every Apollo crew from the Pacific — including Armstrong, Aldrin, and Collins. HS squadrons hunted Soviet submarines with dipping sonar and torpedoes, then pivoted to combat search and rescue. The community redesignated to HSC in 2011 but the Sea King legacy remains the most iconic in rotary wing aviation. Read more

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Helicopter Maritime Strike (HSM)

Sonobuoys + Torps

HELLFIRE + RADAR

HSM squadrons fly the MH-60R — the world's most capable maritime helicopter. Submarine hunting with sonobuoys and dipping sonar. Surface warfare with Hellfire missiles and radar. Every destroyer and cruiser in the fleet deploys with an HSM detachment. They are the ship's organic eyes, ears, and teeth beyond the horizon. Read more

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Helicopter Sea Combat (HSC)

MH-60S Knighthawk

Search & Rescue

MINE COUNTERMEAS.

HSC squadrons fly the MH-60S on the broadest mission set in naval aviation — combat search and rescue, vertical replenishment, medical evacuation, naval special warfare support, and airborne mine countermeasures. If something needs to be lifted, delivered, rescued, or swept, HSC flies it. Read more

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Helicopter Mine Countermeasures (HM)

MH-53E Sea Dragon

Dangerous Flying

Towing MCM Gear

CLEARED FOR FLEET

HM squadrons fly the MH-53E Sea Dragon — the largest and heaviest helicopter in the U.S. military — towing massive mine countermeasures sleds through minefields at low altitude. The most physically demanding and dangerous flying in naval aviation. When a fleet needs to transit a strait or approach a hostile port, HM clears the way. Read more

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Strike Fighter Era 1991 – Present

EVERY MISSION · ONE JET

Strike Fighter Squadrons (VFA)

F/A-18E/F Super Hornet

Fighter + Attack

When the Navy merged fighter and attack communities into Strike Fighter, the F/A-18 Hornet became the one jet that does everything — air-to-air, air-to-ground, SEAD, tanking, reconnaissance. The Super Hornet carries the air wing today. From Desert Storm through every carrier deployment since, VFA has put bombs on target and missiles on bandits. Read more

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Electronic Attack (VAQ)

Tactical EW in DoD

The EA-18G Growler replaced the Prowler and became the only dedicated tactical electronic attack aircraft in the entire Department of Defense. Every joint strike package — Navy, Air Force, Marines, coalition — requests Growler support. If you're flying into contested airspace, you want a Growler on your wing. Read more

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F-35C Lightning II (VFA)

5th Generation Carrier Fighter

FIRST DEPLOYMENT

The F-35C brings fifth-generation stealth and sensor fusion to the carrier deck for the first time. Where legacy Hornets relied on jamming and tactics to survive, the F-35C is designed to be invisible. VFA-147 "Argonauts" made the first operational deployment in 2021 aboard USS Carl Vinson. Read more

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Patrol & Reconnaissance 1946 – Present

Patrol Squadrons (VP)

P-3C Orion → P-8A Poseidon

From hunting Soviet boomers in the Atlantic to tracking submarines and surface vessels across the Indo-Pacific, VP squadrons are the Navy's long-range maritime patrol force. The P-8A Poseidon — a modified Boeing 737 — replaced the venerable P-3C Orion and brought jet speed, altitude, and networked sensors to the mission. Read more

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Fleet Support & Training Pipeline to Fleet

CARRIER DELIVERY

Fleet Logistics (VRC → VRM)

C-2A Greyhound → CMV-22B Osprey

Carrier Onboard

The Greyhound was the carrier's lifeline for decades — the only way to get parts, passengers, and mail to the ship at sea. The CMV-22B Osprey replaces it with tiltrotor speed and range that transform carrier logistics. VRM squadrons ensure the fleet never waits for what it needs. Read more

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PENSACOLA · MERIDIAN

Naval Aviation Training Command

Every naval aviator earns their Wings of Gold through the same pipeline — primary in the T-6B Texan II, then advanced training in the T-45C Goshawk for strike, the TH-57 for rotary wing, or the T-44 for multi-engine. Eighteen months of the most demanding flight training in the world, ending with the moment every aviator remembers forever: the winging ceremony. Read more

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U.S. Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron

Wingtip Separation

Formed in 1946 to boost public confidence in naval aviation, the Blue Angels are the oldest formal flight demonstration team in the world. Six jets fly in formations at 18 inches of wingtip separation at speeds approaching 700 mph. They transitioned to the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet in 2021. Every pilot is a fleet-experienced tactical aviator. Read more

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Next Generation Unmanned Carrier Aviation

MQ-25A Stingray

Carrier-Based Unmanned Aerial Vehicle

Aerial Refueling

The MQ-25A Stingray will be the first operational carrier-based unmanned aircraft — designed primarily as an aerial refueling tanker to extend the range of the carrier air wing. By offloading the tanking mission from Super Hornets, the Stingray frees manned fighters to do what they were built for. Unmanned carrier aviation begins here. Read more

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100+

Active Squadrons

3,700+

Naval Aircraft

114

Years (Since 1911)

Wings

of Gold