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Old February 17th 05, 11:03 AM
Ralph Savelsberg
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Default Up-to-date USN carrier wing composition?

Recently I was surprised to see a picture of VF-211 F-14A sporting the
"AB" (CVW-1) tailcode, a Super Hornet assigned to VFA-106, and a picture
of a VFA-22 Super Hornet with the "NK" (CVW-14) tailcode.

I haven't been following naval aviation in detail in the last year or
so, and find that I've pretty much lost track of the changes in the
USN's carrier wings mainly associated with the retirement of the last
remaining Tomcats and Vikings and the increasing numbers of Super Hornet
squadrons. I pretty much know which squadron operates what aircraft
(with a few exceptions, see below), but air wing assignments are another
question altogether.
Can anyone point me to an up-to-date overview of the USN's carrier wings?

Barring that, I have a few specific questions that I am sure some of you
can answer:
Is VFA-106, the East Coast Hornet FRS also going to be the East Coast
FRS for the Super Hornet, or will this role go to a reinstated/new
squadron like VFA-174 for instance?
Does VF-211 still operate F-14As, or have they transitioned to a later
model as newer airframes became available from other squadrons that have
already transitioned to the Super Hornet (for instance ex VF-2 F-14Ds)?
What happened to VFA-97? Are they still the only USN front-line squadron
operating F/A-18As, have they recieved F/A-18Cs from one of the other
squadrons that have transitioned to the Super Hornet or have they
transitioned to Super Hornets themselves?

Thanks in advance,
Ralph Savelsberg