Five carrier air wings and more than 30 squadrons flew from Bon Homme Richard's deck over 26 years.
Bon Homme Richard commissioned with Carrier Air Group 16 (CVG-16) embarked for shakedown in the Gulf of Paria off Trinidad. After post-shakedown work at Bayonne, she transited to the Pacific, but CVG-16 was detached before she reached the combat zone. Instead, she was assigned Night Air Group CVG(N)-91, formed around F6F Hellcat night fighters and TBM Avengers specially equipped for night operations.
The reassignment came directly from the loss of USS Enterprise, the Fleet's only dedicated night carrier, to kamikaze damage at Okinawa in May 1945. Bon Homme Richard was redesignated CV(N)-31 and sailed to join Task Force 38. She arrived 4 June 1945 and flew strikes against Hokkaido, Honshu, and Shikoku through the Japanese surrender in August.
Embarked for shakedown operations in the Atlantic. Detached at San Diego before the ship's deployment to the western Pacific. Did not see combat aboard Bon Homme Richard.
The ship's combat air group for World War II. Formed for night carrier operations, CVG(N)-91 flew 379 night sorties and 113 day sorties before reaching the operating area with TF-38. Ens. P.T. MacDonald of VF(N)-91 shot down three aircraft and damaged two more in a single dusk CAP on 13 August 1945, two days before Japan's surrender announcement. Total confirmed kills: 9 enemy aircraft.
Recommissioned in January 1951 for the Korean War, Bon Homme Richard made two combat deployments to the western Pacific. She deployed with CVG-102 for her first Korean cruise (1951), then with Carrier Air Group 7 (CAG-7) for her second (1952–53).
On 6 June 1951, during her first Korean deployment, the air wing flew 149 sorties in a single day, a Fleet record at the time. The ship earned the Navy Unit Commendation for operations with CVG-7 during the second cruise, which included the Kojo feint and coordination with Fleet Air Wing 6 strikes.
A recalled reserve air group activated for Korea. Embarked aboard Bon Homme Richard for her first Korean War deployment. First Panthers (F9F jets) launched 31 May 1951. Flew the record 149-sortie day on 6 June 1951. First MiG-15 encounter occurred 27 November 1951 over the Yalu River area.
Embarked for Bon Homme Richard's second Korean War deployment. CAG-7 participated in the Kojo feint, a coordinated deception operation in October 1952, and in major strikes against North Korean infrastructure through the armistice. The ship and air group were awarded the Navy Unit Commendation for this deployment.
Bon Homme Richard made six combat deployments to Vietnam between 1964 and 1971, operating with three different carrier air wings: CVW-19, CVW-21, and CVW-5. No other carrier matched her six deployments to Southeast Asia. She earned the nickname "The Ace Carrier" after the 1967 cruise with CVW-21, during which her pilots shot down 9 MiG aircraft in a single deployment.
Her Vietnam record includes 12 confirmed enemy aircraft downed across all deployments, more than any other carrier in the conflict. On 1 May 1967, Lt. Cdr. Ted Swartz of VA-76 used an unguided Zuni rocket to down a MiG-17 over Kep airfield.
Bon Homme Richard's air wing for her first two Vietnam deployments. CVW-19 flew her into the Gulf of Tonkin during the early escalation of the war, conducting strikes against North Vietnamese targets in support of Rolling Thunder. Also deployed with the ship during Task Force 90 operations in the Indian Ocean, 31 March – 16 May 1964, before the main Vietnam commitment.
The "Ace Carrier" deployments. CVW-21 flew with Bon Homme Richard on the 1967 and 1968–69 deployments. The 1967 cruise saw 9 MiG kills; the combined CVW-21 total across both deployments accounts for the majority of the ship's 12 confirmed enemy aircraft downed in Southeast Asia. On 1 May 1967, Lt. Cdr. Ted Swartz (VA-76) downed a MiG-17 over Kep with a Zuni rocket, the only such kill of the war.
Bon Homme Richard's final air wing, embarked for her last two Vietnam deployments. CVW-5 flew interdiction missions and close air support through the last years of active US carrier operations over North Vietnam. The ship decommissioned on 2 July 1971 at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, 26 years and 7 months after commissioning.