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39th Air Division (United States)
Encyclopedia
The 39th Air Division is an inactive United States Air Force
organization. Its last assignment was with Fifth Air Force
, being stationed at Misawa Air Base
, Japan
. It was inactivated on 15 January 1968.
Squadrons
, which included northern Honshu
and Hokkaido
islands and the contiguous territorial waters.
In this role the 39th trained the assigned units and controlled aerial interception missions when Japanese air space was violated. The division also controlled air refueling and ECM missions, and trained personnel of the Japanese Air Self Defense Force in flying operations, radar operations and maintenance, and proper radio procedures.
After the Soviet Union
shot down an RB-29 aircraft on 7 November 1954, the 39th provided fighter escort for all friendly reconnaissance aircraft flying near Soviet territory and the Northern Air Defense Sector.
The division also supported combat operations during the Vietnam War
.
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
organization. Its last assignment was with Fifth Air Force
Fifth Air Force
The Fifth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Pacific Air Forces . It is headquartered at Yokota Air Base, Japan....
, being stationed at Misawa Air Base
Misawa Air Base
right|thumb|A US Navy C-2 at Misawa is a United States military facility located northeast of the railway station in Misawa, west of the Pacific Ocean, northeast of Towada, northwest of Hachinohe, and north of Tokyo, in Aomori Prefecture, in the Tōhoku region in the northern part of the...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. It was inactivated on 15 January 1968.
Lineage
- Designated 39th Air Division (Defense), and organized, on 1 March 1952
- Redesignated as: 39th Air Division on 18 March 1955
- Discontinued, and inactivated, on 15 January 1968.
Assignments
- Far East Air Forces (later Pacific Air Forces)
- Japan Air Defense Force, 1 March 1952
- Fifth Air ForceFifth Air ForceThe Fifth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Pacific Air Forces . It is headquartered at Yokota Air Base, Japan....
, 1 September 1954 – 15 January 1968.
Components
Wings- 4 Fighter Bomber (later, 4 Fighter Day)4th Fighter WingThe 4th Fighter Wing is a United States Air Force unit assigned to the Air Combat Command Ninth Air Force. It is stationed at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, North Carolina, where it is also the host unit....
- Attached March 1–7, 1955
- Assigned 8 March 1955 – 8 December 1957
- 12 Strategic Fighter12th Flying Training WingThe 12th Flying Training Wing is a United States Air Force unit assigned to the Air Education and Training Command Nineteenth Air Force. It is stationed at Randolph Air Force Base, Texas...
: Attached 18 May – 10 August 1953 and 10 May – 7 August 1954 - 21 Tactical Fighter21st Space WingThe 21st Space Wing is a unit of the Air Force Space Command based at Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado. The unit is tasked with the operation of early missile warning and space object detection equipment around the world in support of NORAD and USSTRATCOM through a network of command and control...
: 10 November 1958 – 18 June 1960 - 27 Fighter Escort (later, 27th Strategic Fighter): attached 13 October 1952 – c. 13 February 1953
- 31 Fighter Escort (later, 31 Strategic Fighter)31st Fighter WingThe 31st Fighter Wing is a United States Air Force unit assigned to the United States Air Forces in Europe Third Air Force. It is stationed at Aviano Air Base, Italy where it is also the host unit....
: attached 10 July – 11 October 1952 and 10 November 1953 – 12 February 1954 - 49 Fighter Bomber49th Fighter WingThe 49th Wing is an air combat unit of the United States Air Force and the host unit at Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico. The 49 WG is part of the Air Combat Command Twelfth Air Force....
- 12 Strategic Fighter
- Attached 7 November 1953 – 1 March 1955
- Assigned 1 March 1955 – 15 April 1957
- 407 Strategic Fighter407th Air Expeditionary GroupThe 407th Air Expeditionary Group is a provisional United States Air Force unit assigned to the United States Air Forces Central 321st Air Expeditionary Wing. It is stationed at Ali Air Base, Iraq...
: attached 8 August – 10 November 1954 - 506 Strategic Fighter506th Air Expeditionary GroupThe 506th Air Expeditionary Group is a provisional United States Air Force unit. The group is assigned to the United States Air Forces Central 332d Air Expeditionary Wing, stationed at Joint Base Balad, Iraq....
: attached 13 August – 7 November 1953 - 508 Strategic Fighter508th Aerospace Sustainment WingThe 508th Aerospace Sustainment Wing is a wing of the United States Air Force based out of Hill Air Force Base, Utah.The 508th Aerospace Sustainment Wing provides sustainment of existing systems as well as the acquisition of new and improved airpower capabilities. It serves all U.S. military...
: attached 18 February – 18 May 1953.
- 407 Strategic Fighter
Squadrons
- 4 Fighter Interceptor4th Fighter SquadronThe 4th Fighter Squadron is part of the 388th Fighter Wing at Hill Air Force Base, Utah. It operates the F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft conducting air superiority missions.-History:...
- Attached 10 August 1954 – 1 March 1955
- Assigned 1 March 1955 – 20 June 1965
- 45 Tactical Reconnaissance45th Reconnaissance SquadronThe 45th Reconnaissance Squadron is a United States Air Force unit. It is assigned to the 55th Operations Group and stationed at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska.-Overview:...
: 25 April 1960 – 15 January 1968 - 67 Tactical Fighter67th Fighter SquadronThe 67th Fighter Squadron "Fighting Cocks" are part of the 18th Operations Group at Kadena Air Base, Japan.-Mission:The 67th Fighter Squadron is one of two F-15 Eagle squadrons in the Asian-Western Pacific area of operations, conducting air superiority missions.-World War II:Continually active...
: 15 December 1967 – 15 January 1968 - 339 Fighter Interceptor339th Flight Test SquadronThe 339th Flight Test Squadron is a United States Air Force unit based at Robins AFB, Georgia. It is part of the Warner Robins Air Logistics Center, with a mission to certify aircraft as worthy to return to service...
: 1 March 1955 – 15 January 1958 - 356th Tactical Fighter Squadron356th Tactical Fighter SquadronThe 356th Tactical Fighter Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force fighter squadron. Its last assignment was with the 354th Fighter Wing, being stationed at Myrtle Beach AFB, South Carolina...
: 29 November 1965 – 15 January 1968 - 416 Tactical Fighter: 18 June 1960 – 16 June 1964
- 418 Fighter Day: 10 December 1957 – 25 March 1958
- 531 Tactical Fighter: 18 June 1960 – 16 June 1964
- 612 Tactical Fighter: 3 November 1965 – 15 January 1968.
- 45 Tactical Reconnaissance
Aircraft
- F-84 ThunderjetF-84 ThunderjetThe Republic F-84 Thunderjet was an American turbojet fighter-bomber aircraft. Originating as a 1944 United States Army Air Forces proposal for a "day fighter", the F-84 flew in 1946...
, 1952 – 1954, 1958 – 1959; - KB-29 Superfortress, 1953 – 1954;
- F-86 SabreF-86 SabreThe North American F-86 Sabre was a transonic jet fighter aircraft. Produced by North American Aviation, the Sabre is best known as America's first swept wing fighter which could counter the similarly-winged Soviet MiG-15 in high speed dogfights over the skies of the Korean War...
, 1954 – 1960; - F-100 Super SabreF-100 Super SabreThe North American F-100 Super Sabre was a supersonic jet fighter aircraft that served with the United States Air Force from 1954 to 1971 and with the Air National Guard until 1979. The first of the Century Series collection of USAF jet fighters, it was the first USAF fighter capable of...
, 1957 – 1964; - F-102 Delta DaggerF-102 Delta DaggerThe Convair F-102 Delta Dagger was a US interceptor aircraft built as part of the backbone of the United States Air Force's air defenses in the late 1950s. Entering service in 1956, its main purpose was to intercept invading Soviet bomber fleets...
, 1960 – 1965; - RF-101, 1958 – 1968;
- F-105 ThunderchiefF-105 ThunderchiefThe Republic F-105 Thunderchief, was a supersonic fighter-bomber used by the United States Air Force. The Mach 2 capable F-105 conducted the majority of strike bombing missions during the early years of the Vietnam War; it has the dubious distinction of being the only US aircraft to have been...
, 1967 – 1968.
Operational history
Throughout the 1950s and 1960s the 39th Air Division controlled all of the units responsible for the air defense of north JapanJapan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, which included northern Honshu
Honshu
is the largest island of Japan. The nation's main island, it is south of Hokkaido across the Tsugaru Strait, north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea, and northeast of Kyushu across the Kanmon Strait...
and Hokkaido
Hokkaido
, formerly known as Ezo, Yezo, Yeso, or Yesso, is Japan's second largest island; it is also the largest and northernmost of Japan's 47 prefectural-level subdivisions. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaido from Honshu, although the two islands are connected by the underwater railway Seikan Tunnel...
islands and the contiguous territorial waters.
In this role the 39th trained the assigned units and controlled aerial interception missions when Japanese air space was violated. The division also controlled air refueling and ECM missions, and trained personnel of the Japanese Air Self Defense Force in flying operations, radar operations and maintenance, and proper radio procedures.
After the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
shot down an RB-29 aircraft on 7 November 1954, the 39th provided fighter escort for all friendly reconnaissance aircraft flying near Soviet territory and the Northern Air Defense Sector.
The division also supported combat operations during the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
.