Aerospace Defense Command
Encyclopedia
Aerospace Defense Command is an inactive United States Air Force
Major Command. Established in 1946 under the United States Army Air Forces
, its mission was to organize and administer the integrated air defense system of the Continental United States (CONUS), exercise direct control of all active measures, and coordinate all passive means of air defense.
The command was inactivated on 31 March 1980.
warned about the possibility of airship raids on the United States. For the next 25 years, experts studied the problem of air defense and lay the foundation for the future.
The War Department
established an "Air Defense Command" as part of the Army Air Corps
on 26 February 1940. This command, operating under the control of the United States First Army Commander from 2 March 1940, to 9 September 1941, engaged in planning for air defense of the Continental United States.
Before the United States entered World War II
, air defense was divided among the four GHQ Air Force districts later, First, Second, Third, and Fourth Air Forces based in the United States. Initially, there was a sizeable effort to defend the country from aerial attack, In mid-1944, when the threat of air attack seemed negligible, this air defense organization was disbanded.
Subsequently, no real air defense organization existed until the second Air Defense Command was established in 1946 as a major command of the Army Air Forces (AAF). However political issues within the Pentagon were not to be overlooked. There was concern within the Air Force that funds to create an "impenetrable air defense" would be obtained by siphoning money away from Strategic Air Command's mission of nuclear deterrence. Apart from the intramural disputes, The Air Force battles with the Army over control of Surface-to-Air missiles and other issues were particularly intense.
The initial mission of Air Defense Command was to stop a handful of conventionally armed piston engine-powered bombers on a one-way mission, flying a predictable course. The threat swiftly grew to the prospect of an attack by hundreds of turboprop and jet bombers armed with thermonuclear weapons and attacking from different directions. Meeting such a threat required the creation of a huge system. It consumed billions of dollars. It required leadership, foresight, and brilliant science.
In the early 1960s, however, aircraft air defense was overtaken by events, as USAF shifted its emphasis away from intercepting bombers and toward the detection of Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBM)s. Robert S. McNamara, Secretary of Defense in the Kennedy and Johnson Administrations, concluded that the ICBM problem was so overwhelming that it rendered relatively inconsequential the threat of Soviet bomber attack. With the rise of the ICBM, emphasis on air defense against bombers went into a sharp decline. Air Defense Command was redesignated as Aerospace Defense Command (ADCOM) in 1968 to reflect that fundamental mission change.
The Aerospace Defense Command declined after 1979 when its resources were divided between Tactical Air Command
and Strategic Air Command
. Under TAC, the Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve gradually assumed more and more of the air defense mission. In 1980, ADCOM was inactivated. Some functions of the command passed to the Aerospace Defense Center, a direct reporting unit assigned to Headquarters, NORAD that inactivated on 1 October 1986.
Today, ADC's proud heritage is maintained by NORAD, Air Combat Command
, the Air National Guard
, and the Air Force Reserve.
In spite of the outbreak of World War II
in Europe
during September 1939, the War Department
did not consider air defense of the United States a major concern. This was because military planners did not envisage a large-scale bomber assault on this country if the United States became involved in active combat. Most airmen agreed with General George C. Marshall when he said in May 1940 that the defense of the country could be assured by denying a potential enemy bases in the Western Hemisphere.
Nevertheless, on the recommendation of General Henry H. Arnold
, the Chief of the United States Army Air Corps
, the War Department established an "Air Defense Command" on February 26, 1940. As a component of the U.S. First Army
, its mission was to plan for and execute the air defense of the continental United States
. It consisted of personnel from the Air Corps, the Coast Guard
and Army Signal Corps.
At a conference held in February 1941, General Marshall assigned theresponsibility for air defense to the new continental Air Forces being developed under GHQ Air Force, each of which contained an "Interceptor Command". The Interceptor Commands were charged with air defense of their areas, but were subject to the overall supervision of four new Numbered Air Forces, which were aligned with the four Army defense areas, which were vested with overall defense responsibility. These districts were:
(radio detection and ranging) technology in the 1930s made effective air defense possible. By December 1936 the Signal Corps successfully tracked an aircraft to a distance of seven miles using short-pulse emission of radio waves. Air Corps representatives saw the value of the device for early warning. Service trials of the first early warning RADAR, the SCR-270, were held late in 1939, with the device being officially adopted in May 1940.
The entry of the United States in World War II resulted in a major expansion of air defense facilities, especially on the two ocean coasts. Ninety-five radar stations were eventually completed: 65 on the Pacific Coast and 30 on the Atlantic, although about 75 was the maximum number operational at any one time. The principal radars (known as: Signal Corps Radio
) in use during the war were the SCR-270 (mobile) and the SCR-271 (fixed), with ground control intercept radar (SCR-588) being added during 1943 for close-in coverage (up to 50 miles) for tracking and controlling fighters from the ground.
which greatly facilitated the War Department's organization of the AAF Ground Observer Corps in 1942. The information network grew-during the war to a maximum of 15 information centers along both coasts and four standby centers along the Gulf of Mexico coastline, with a total of 14,000 observation posts and an estimated 1,500,000 civilian volunteers enrolled.
However, the situation improved during 1942 and 1943 with the availability in quantity of the P-38 Lightning
and P-47 Thunderbolt
, which equipped units which were attached to Air Defense Fighter Wings over major cities along the east and west coasts as part of their training for overseas combat duty.
Still, until the introduction of the P-61 Black Widow
, the lack of all-weather day/night aircraft made the success of interception at night, or in inclement weather, highly doubtful. The P-61 however, was not made available for air defense operations in the United States during the war, it's need in the overseas combat theaters taking priority.
This elaborate air defense system fortunately never had to deal with a major air attack. Until the Battle of Midway
in June 1942, air defenses remained on a high alert, but after the naval battle, only occasional alerts were called: As the threat decreased, the defenses gradually reduced, with the focus on the four Air Forces in the United States (Zone of Interior "ZI") being the organization and training of combat units and replacement personnel for deployment to overseas theaters.
The ADC Air District structure was abolished in April 1944 along with Air Defense Command. The numbered air forces and their training mission was turned over to the USAAF Continental Air Forces training command. The Ground Observer Corps was dissolved, the radar net reduced in size, and the Air Defense Fighter Wings being reduced to administrative units, not equipped or manned. By war's end on the east coast three control centers and nine radar stations remained. On the west coast three control centers and 22 radars were active.
With demobilization in 1945, the air defenses of the United States had virtually ceased to exist.
First Air Force air defense fighter wings:
Fourth Air Force air defense fighter wings:
. General Carl Spaatz had undertaken a major reorganization of the Army Air Forces after the end of World War II to incorporate many of the lessons learned. His reorganization included the establishment of three new combat commands in the United States: Strategic Air Command
(soon known everywhere as SAC), to provide a long-range striking force capable of bombardment operations in any part of the world: Tactical Air Command
(TAC), to support the operations of ground forces, and Air Defense Command (ADC), to provide for the air defense of the United States.
, California, were assigned to ADC. Two numbered air forces, the First Air Force
(Mitchel) and Fourth Air Force
(Hamilton) were allocated.
Shortly afterwards, on 10 June, the ADC mission was expanded to the extent that ADC was required to coordinate within the United States the means available from other services for air defense, such as Naval and Marine aircraft units temporarily shore-based.
In 1947, the 505th Aircraft Control and Warning Group, the first postwar aircraft control and warning organization, was activated at McChord Field, Washington on 21 May. The newly-established United States Air Force granted ADC the authority to use the fighter and radar forces of SAC, TAC and the Air National Guard
in the event of a national emergency. Most air defense units at the time were part of the Air National Guard. Four additional numbered air forces, the Second
(Fort Crook
, Nebraska); Tenth
(Brooks Field
, Texas); Eleventh (Olmstead Field, Pennsylvania), and the Fourteenth Air Force
(Orlando Air Base, Florida) were assigned. (Eleventh Air Force was inactivated on 1 July 1948. It has no relationship to the current or previous 11th Air Force).
At the end of World War II a number of factors operated to belittle the need for elaborate air defenses. The result was that the construction of a modern air defense system lagged. However, with the Cold War
breaking out between the United States and the Soviet Union
in 1948, a more urgent note was struck in air defense. Radars were removed from storage and deployed along the Atlantic and Pacific coasts.
ADC activated two Divisions, the 25th Air Division at Silver Lake Air Warning Station
, Washington on 25 October 1948 and the 26th Air Division at Roslyn Air Warning Station
, New York 16 November. Both of these organizations were active for over 40 years in the air defense of the United States, being inactivated after the end of the Cold War
. Their successor organizations became the current Eastern
(EADS) and Western Air Defense Sector
(WADS) of today's Continental United States NORAD Region
(CONR).
On 1 December 1948 Continental Air Command
(ConAC) was created and given the mission of air defense. Both ADC and Tactical Air Command were reduced to operating agencies under ConAC which consisted of a small staff of planners. TAC fighter units while in the United States assumed an air defense mission which augmented the meager resources of ADC.
In March 1949, the six numbered air forces inherited from ADC were relieved of their air defense responsibilities. Two new units, the Eastern and Western Air Defense Liaison Groups were created in their place. In September, these provisional units were re-designated as the Eastern Air Defense Force
and Western Air Defense Force
, under which all atmospheric air defense units (Radar and Interceptor) were placed, divided by the 103rd meridian west
.
During 1949 and early 1950, steady strides were made in air defense. In March 1949, Congress authorized the construction of a "permanent" radar system along the coasts and land borders of the United States. Following the explosion of a nuclear weapon by the Soviet Union
in August 1949, the Air Force issued requirements for an operational air defense system by 1952, and the building of the permanent radar network was accelerated.
The outbreak of the Korean War
in June 1950 underlined the need for increased air defense precautions. In addition, the perceived threat of an airborne atomic attack by the Soviet Union with its Tu-4 copy of the B-29 or Tu-95 strategic bomber force led to the separation of Air Defense Command from ConAC, and its re-establishment as an Air Force major command to counter the perceived Soviet threat.
Air Defense Command was officially re-established as a major air command on 1 January 1951 at Mitchel AFB, New York. The command headquarters was moved to Ent AFB, Colorado on 8 January 1951. ConAC transferred to ADC 21 active-duty fighter squadrons and 37 Air National Guard fighter squadrons operationally gained by ADC if activated. It was also assigned the 25th, 26th 27th and 28th Air Divisions (Defense)
With the reestablishment ADC as a major command (as well as TAC), ConAC's misson became one of administering the Air Force Reserve.
Early-warning radars are a fundamental necessity of the United States air defense system. As the Soviet Cold War threat became generally recognized, so did a requirement for adequate early warning. In the earliest effort to provide it, the USAF came up with a system in 1947 known as "Radar Fence Plan," which called for 411 radar stations and 18 control centers and was projected to cost $600 million.
The cost of the plan clearly exceeded the Air Force ability to pay, and planners tried to develop a less expensive version. The answer was something that became known as the "Permanent System." It was to consist of 85 radar stations and 11 control centers, in the United States and Alaska. The cost was estimated to be about $116 million, spread over the period 1949-50. It became fully operational in April 1953.
However, the Air Force was loath to ignore the immediate threat, and it built a temporary system, sarcastically but aptly called "Lashup." It comprised 43 sites by 1950. The system used World War II AN/CPS-5 search radar systems that were deficient in range and in low-altitude detection capability. In addition, 36 Air National Guard fighter units were called to active duty for the mission.
Lashup had the great value of introducing the US again to the concept of a radar air defense system. ADC was reinstated as a full major command in January 1951, and ADC headquarters established at Ent AFB, Colorado. By 1953, a modern United States continental system of Ground Control Interception (GGI) Radar stations had been completed and additional radar units were programmed to blanket the country with medium and high-altitude radar cover. Domestically the gaps were filled by additional Federal Aviation Administration
(FAA) radar stations and the organization of a million American men and women into the Ground Observer Corps (GOC) which served the nation until it was disbanded in 1959.
Work was begun in 1953 to erect a number of off-shore radars platforms bristling with radar equipment and embedded in the ocean bed known as Texas Towers
to extend the range of RADAR into the Atlantic Ocean to cover the northern approach routes far out to sea. One of the Texas Towers (TT-4) collapsed into the Atlantic Ocean with significant loss of life in January 1961. The tragedy of TT-4, as much as anything else, sealed the fate of the others. While both remaining towers were immediately checked for safety and structural strength, and pronounced sound in this regard, their days were numbered. The entire project was ended in 1963, and the remaining facilities were decommissioned and sunk in 1964.
During the mid-1950s, the nation's defense planners devised the idea of extending the wall of powerful land-based radar seaward with Airborne early warning and control units. This was done by equipping two wings of Lockheed RC-121 Warning Star aircraft, the 551st Airborne Early Warning and Control Wing
, based at Otis Air Force Base, Massachusetts
, and the 552nd AEWCW
, based at McClellan Air Force Base
, California
, one wing stationed on each coast. The RC-121s, EC-121s and Texas Towers, it was believed, would contribute to extending contiguous east-coast radar coverage some 300 to 500 miles seaward. In terms of the air threat of the 1950s, this meant a gain of at least 30 extra minutes warning time of an oncoming bomber attack.
As the USAF prepared to deploy the Tactical Air Command
E-3 Sentry
in the later 1970s, active-duty units were phased out EC-121 operations by the end of 1975. All remaining EC-121s were transferred to the Air Force Reserve, which formed the 79th AEWCS at Homestead Air Force Base, Florida in early 1976. The active duty force continued to provide personnel to operate the EC-121s on a 24-hour basis, assigning Detachment 1, 20th Air Defense Squadron to Homestead AFB as associate active duty crews to fly the Reserve-owned aircraft. Besides monitoring Cuban waters, these last Warning Stars also operated from NAS Keflavik, Iceland. Final EC-121 operations ended in September 1978.
The growth and development of the ADC air defense system grew steadily throughout the Cold War
era. From four day-type fighter squadrons (FDS) in 1946, the ADC interceptor force grew to ninety-three (93) active Air Force fighter interceptor squadrons, seventy-six (76) Air National Guard
fighter interceptor squadrons, several Naval fighter squadrons, USAF and USN airborne early warning squadrons, radar squadrons, training squadrons and numerous support units that have played important roles in our nation's defense.
When the Cold War began, bomber technology was ascendant and would continue to be so for more than a decade. The first ADC interceptor, the P-61 Black Widow
did not have the capabilities to engage the Soviet Tu-4 bomber. Its successor, the F-82 Twin Mustang
, was even more disappointing. It took a long time to get into production and did not perform well in inclement weather.
The early jet fighters, such as the F-80 Shooting Star and F-84 Thunderjet
, lacked all-weather capability and were deemed useless for air defense purposes. Much hope was placed on two jet-powered interceptors, the XP-87 Blackhawk and the XP-89 Scorpion. (Designations changed to XF-87 and XF-89.) They, in their turn, proved to be inadequate. The XF-87 was cancelled and the Scorpion had to undergo extensive redesign.
The first-generation jets gave way to all-weather dedicated interceptor jets. The F-94 Starfire
was pressed into service as an "interim" interceptor. North American in 1949 pushed an interceptor version of the Sabre, the F-86D. Despite the demands its complexity made upon a single pilot, the F-86D was backed by senior Air Force officials. Some 2,504 would be built and it would in time be the most numerous interceptor in the Air Defense Command fleet, with more than 1,000 in service by the end of 1955
The F-86D was not ideal, however, for its afterburner consumed a great deal of fuel in getting it to altitude, and the pilot was overburdened by cockpit tasks. The F-89D was modified to accept AIM-4 Falcon
guided missiles (F-89H) and AIR-2 Genie
atomic warhead rockets (F-89J) as armament. The F-86D was modified (F-86L) to include the SAGE data link, thereby permitting more precise automatic control from the ground. The F-86L and F-89H became available in 1956, the F-89J in 1957.
Even more advan6ed were the Century Series supersonic interceptors. First was the F-102A Delta Dagger, which appeared in 1956. The F-104A Starfighter came along in 1958. The F-101B Voodoo and F-106 Delta Dart
were first received by ADC during the first half of 1959. By 1960, the ADC interceptor force was composed of the F-101, F-104, F-106, and the F-102.
The North American F-108 Rapier was the first proposed successor to the F-106. It was to be capable of Mach 3 performance and was intended to serve as a long-range interceptor that could destroy attacking Soviet bombers over the poles before they could get near US territory. It was also to serve as the escort fighter for the XB-70 Valkyrie
Mach-3 strategic bomber, also to be built by North American. The Air Force expected that the first F-108A would be ready for service by early 1963. An order for no less than 480 F-108s was anticipated.
However, by mid 1959, the Air Force was already beginning to experience some doubts about the high cost of the Rapier program. The primary strategic threat from the Soviet Union was now perceived to be its battery of intercontinental ballistic missiles instead of its force of long-range bombers. Against intercontinental ballistic missiles, the F-108A interceptor would be completely useless. In addition, the Air Force was increasingly of the opinion that unmanned intercontinental ballistic missiles could accomplish the mission of the B-70 Valkyrie/F-108 Rapier combination much more effectively and at far lower cost. Consequently, the F-108A project was cancelled in its entirety on September 23, 1959, before any prototypes could be built.
The work on the F-108 Rapier did not entirely go to waste. The work that Hughes did on the AN/ASG-18 radar was later transferred over to the Lockheed YF-12
A interceptor project, and the GAR-9 Falcon (redesignated AIM-47A in 1962) missile originally developed for the F-108A was used to arm the YF-12A. The Lockheed F-12 Mach 3 interceptor of the mid-1960s was the final interceptor planned by Air Defense Command for purchase and deployment. It had its origin in the top-secret A-12 reconnaissance aircraft which had been designed by Lockheed at Central Intelligence Agency
request as a successor to the U-2. Three prototype YF-12As served initially with the 4786th Test Squadron at Edwards AFB. The USAF was sufficiently impressed with the performance of the YF-12A that on 14 May 1965 they ordered a total of 93 definitive F-12B aircraft into production and Congress voted $90 million toward the project. However, Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara
saw no need for the F-12B due to the development of ICBMs and the diminishing threat of Soviet bombers attacking United States cities. Another reason given by McMamara for cancelling the F-12 was that the expanding war in Southeast Asia was consuming all available funds in the USAF budget. This was, of course, before the Soviets developed the Tupolev Tu-22M
and Tupolev Tu-160
supersonic strategic bombers which were at least an even match to the fastest ADC F-106 Delta Dart.
The YF-12As served primarily in various and sundry operational evaluation projects throughout the remainder of the 1960s. In February 1963, Lockheed undertook redesign of the basic A-12 with additional fuel tankage, broader forward nose chines, and the provision for inflight refueling and a seat for a second crewman. This eventually emerged as the SR-71 Blackbird
.
In 1968, ADCOM began the phaseout of the F-101 and F-102 interceptors from active duty units. George W. Bush
, later President of the United States, flew the F-102 as part of his Air National Guard service in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The F-106 Delta Dart remained, as it was considered by many as being the finest all-weather interceptor ever built. It was the primary air defense interceptor aircraft for the US Air Force during the 1970s through the early 1980s. It was also was the last dedicated interceptor in U.S. Air Force service to date. It was gradually retired during the 1980s, though the QF-106 drone conversions of the aircraft were used until 1998 as aerial targets under the FSAT program.
The development of effective Ground Intercept Radar stations, and the deployment of interceptor squadrons was soon augmented by more-effective systems whose inputs would be fed to one of the bigger gambles of the period—the Semi Automatic Ground Environment
(SAGE) system, designed to control fighters and fight the air defense battle.
As the performance of radars and weapons improved, the reflexes of the men who operated them proved much too slow, By 1953, steps had been taken develop an electronic command and control network. SAGE had begun as a concept in the Air Defense Systems Engineering Committee, headed by eminent Massachusetts Institute of Technology scientist George E. Valley. Valley foresaw that computers would develop to the point that they could be used to control an air defense system. He was right, and he was backed by ADC commanders throughout the years.
SAGE was the nerve center of continental air defense until replaced in the early 1980s. It was an automated control system linking Air Force (and later FAA) General Surveillance Radar stations into a centralized center for Air Defense, intended to provide early warning and response for a Soviet nuclear attack. This automated control system was used by NORAD for tracking and intercepting enemy bomber aircraft.
In later versions, the system could automatically direct aircraft to an interception by sending commands directly to the aircraft's autopilot. SAGE was tremendously important. It led to huge advances in online systems and interactive computing, real-time computing, and data communications using modems. It is generally considered to be one of the most advanced and successful large computer systems ever developed.
The first SAGE Direction Center opened at McGuire AFB, New Jersey on 1 July 1958, and was rapidly joined by others in the eastern and northern United States during 1959 and 1960. By the end of the decade the blockhouses of the SAGE System could be seen across the nation.
By the time it was fully operational the Soviet bomber threat had been replaced by the Soviet missile threat, for which SAGE was entirely inadequate. However, as long as the Soviet Union maintained an active intercontinental bomber force, the system was active, and ready to respond to any incursion of North American airspace. SAGE was inactivated and replaced in 1983 by the Joint Surveillance System
(JSS).
Alongside the manned interceptors was the CIM-10 Bomarc supersonic surface-to-air missile
which-first entered the ADC inventory in September 1959. The BOMARC was a joint United States of America
-Canada
effort between 1957 and 1971 to protect against the USSR
bomber threat. It involved the deployment of tactical stations armed with Bomarc missiles along the east and west coasts of North America
and the central areas of the continent.
The supersonic Bomarc missiles were the first long-range anti-aircraft missiles in the world. They were capable of carrying conventional or nuclear
warheads. Their intended role in defence was in an intrusion prevention perimeter. Bomarcs aligned on the eastern and western coasts of North America would theoretically launch and destroy enemy bombers before the bombers could drop their payloads on industrial regions.
The BOMARC interceptor missile was deployed to a number of sites along the eastern seaboard and northern border. When the BOMARC missile was phased out in the late 1960s, the SAGE guidance system (TDDL, Time-Division Data Link) continued to be used for sending commands to Army Nike-Hercules Integrated Fire Control (IFC) centers and interceptor autopilots.
The Royal Canadian Air Force
proved to be a boon partner with the United States, both in the responsibilities it assumed in the construction of the warning systems and in the provision of effective air defense squadrons. In some respects, the air defense mission was to RCAF what the nuclear deterrent mission was to USAF -its No. 1 reason for being
In the early 1950s, the two North American air forces launched construction of the Pinetree Line
and completed it in June 1954. Consisting of 33 stations, it extended on both sides of the international border and provided warning and ground-control-intercept activities. The United States paid for 22 of the stations and provided personnel for 18.
Canada then constructed the Mid-Canada Line
, building it entirely with its own resources. Built along the 55th parallel, the early warning system was also called the McGill Line, after the scientists at McGill University who planned and designed it. Not so much a radar warning line as an unmanned microwave fence, the line signaled when something-anything-flew over it. The Mid-Canada Line became operational in 1957 and cost approximately $220 million.
By 1954 it became apparent that the command and control of the massive North American air defense system was a significant challenge. Coordination in the United States was accomplished by a new joint-service agency of Air Force, Army and Navy personnel reporting directly to the Joint Chiefs of Staff
and called the Continental Air Defense Command (CONAD).
The command and control of the massive North American air defense system was a significant challenge. Discussions and studies of joint systems between the United States and Canada had been ongoing since the early 1950s and culminated on 1 August 1957, when an agreement was made with Canada
to partner in the joint effort to defend the North America
n continent which resulted in the North American Air Defense Command (NORAD), in which ADC continued to be the major United States component.
On 12 September joint operations commenced at Ent AFB, Colorado. A formal NORAD agreement between the two governments was signed on 12 May 1958.
The Alaskan Air Command
was established in 1946 with a mission of air defense of Alaska and the Aleutian Islands. With the Soviet Union less than 50 miles to the west across the Bearing Straits, Alaska was the "front line" of North American air defense. A series of Ground Control Intercept and surveillance radar stations and interceptor bases were established there in the 1950s to provide for the defense of northwest North America.
Working with Canada, USAF planners began to entertain the prospect of building a warning line in the far north, inside the Arctic Circle
. High cost projections disturbed Air Force leaders, who believed the money could be better spent on bomb shelters and base dispersal efforts. However, USAF conducted experiments in conjunction with the Lincoln Laboratory of MIT and became convinced that a Distant Early Warning Line
(DEW Line) was feasible. Once again working in cooperation with the RCAF, USAF in December 1954 placed a contract for the construction of the DEW Line.
The DEW Line, built along an irregular path extending from Cape Lisburne AFS, Alaska, to the west coast of Greenland, with auxiliary stations situated even further east, was a mammoth undertaking. It was the largest construction project ever attempted in the Arctic, and it required the movement of hundreds of shiploads of material and thousands of sorties by American transport airplanes. The workforce toiled day and night, seven days a week, to make the 31 July 1957, date when responsibility was to be transferred to USAF. Twenty-five lives were lost in the process. The Pinetree, Mid-Canada, and DEW Lines all were integrated into the SAGE system.
The "White Alice" communications system
was built to link airborne warning and control aircraft with the DEW Line radar. Ultimately, 49 sites were built, extending along the Aleutian archipelago out to Shemya, Alaska.
The success of the DEW Line for atmospheric defense of North America from an Arctic attack by Soviet aircraft smoothed the way for the development of an effective defense against the Intercontinental Ballistic Missile
(ICBM) and Submarine-launched ballistic missile
(SLBMs).
The Ballistic Missile Early Warning System
(BMEWS), which was completed in 1963 after five years of intensive effort provided a capability of detecting missiles in flight, deep in the Soviet Union
or in other similarly distant territory. The BMEWS sites included Thule AB in Greenland, Clear AFS in Alaska, and RAF Fylingdales
in England. In addition, the number of radar stations had increased dramatically during the decade of the 1950s, with 300 small automatic radar sites adding coverage.
Additional radars came into being for the sole purpose of detecting, identifying, tracking, and sending back data on any SLBM. All man-made objects in earth orbit became numbers in the United States Space Surveillance Network
(SPACETRACK) operated by ADC's Fourteenth Aerospace Force.
BOMARC, for example, was dropped from the weapons inventory, and the F-101 and F-102 passed from the regular Air Force inventory into the National Guard. To save funds and manpower, drastic reductions were made in the number of long range radar stations, the number of interceptor squadrons, and in the organizational structure. By 1968 the DOD was making plans to phase down the current air defense system and transition to a new system which included an Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS), Over-the-Horizon Backscatter (OTH-B) radar, and an improved F-106 interceptor aircraft.
The changing emphasis in the threat away from the manned bomber and to the ballistic missile brought reorganization and reduction in aeropace defense resources and personnel and almost continuous turmoil in the management structure. The headquarters of the Continental Air Defense Command (CONAD) and ADC were combined on 1 July 1973. Six months later in February 1973, ADC was reduced to 20 fighter squadrons and a complete phaseout of air defense missile batteries.
Continental Air Command was disestablished on 1 July 1975 and Aerospace Defense Command became a specified command by direction of the JCS. Reductions and reorganizations continued into the last half of the 1970s, but while some consideration was given to closing down the major command headquarters altogether and redistributing field resources to other commands, such a move lacked support in the Air Staff.
ADCOM, as a specified command, continued as the United States component of NORAD, but the major air command was inactivated on 31 March 1980. The unit designation of the MAJCOM reverted to the control of the Department of the Air Force.
), New York
December 1, 1948 : The United States Air Force establishes the Continental Air Command
(ConAC) under both the Air Defense Command and Tactical Air Command
June 27, 1950 : United States air defense systems begins 24-hour operations two days after the start of the Korean War
July 1, 1950 : Air Defense Command deactivated because the Continental Air Command gradually assumed full charge of United States air defense
January 1, 1951 : Air Defense Command re-established, again at Mitchel Field
January 8, 1951 : Air Defense Command headquarters moves from Mitchel Field to Ent Air Force Base, Colorado
July 14, 1952 : Air Defense Command begins 24-hour Ground Observer Corps operations
October 1, 1953 : The 4701st Airborne Early Warning and Control Squadron, the first AEW&C system, was activated at McClellan AFB, California.
September 1, 1954 : The Continental Air Defense Command (CONAD) is established at Ent Air Force Base as a joint-service force, taking control of Air Force Air Defense Command forces, Army Anti-Aircraft Command forces, and Naval air defense forces (NAVFORCONAD)
April 15, 1957 : Air Defense Command assigned operational control of the DEW Line and all atmospheric defense units of the inactivated Northeast Air Command.
September 12, 1957 : The North American Air Defense Command is established at Ent Air Force Base as an international organization, taking operational control of Canadian Air Defense Command air defense units and United States Continental Air Defense Command air defense units
December 1, 1958 :SAGE Combat Center No 1 at Hancock Field, New York (26th Air Division) became operational
January 1, 1959: The first BOMARC squadron, the 46th Air Defense Missile Squadron was activated at McGuire AFB, New Jersey.
July 31, 1959 : The Ground Observer Corps, active since July 1952, is abolished because of improvements in radar technology
October 1, 1960 : BMEWS Site I, at Thule AB, Greenland, reached initial operational capability; the first Ballistic Missile Early Warning System
February 1, 1961 : The 1st Aerospace Surveillance and Control Squadron established at Ent AFB, Colorado by Air Defense Command to operate the SPADATS Center. This marks the beginning of Air Defense Command's aerospace defense operations.
July 1, 1962 : Control of Air Forces Iceland transferred from Military Air Transport Service to Air Defense Command.
September 3, 1965 : Space Defense Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado activated
January 15, 1968 : Air Defense Command is redesignated as Aerospace Defense Command (ADCOM)
October 31, 1972 : Final BOMARC unit inactivated at Langley AFB, Virginia; BOMARC interceptor activity ended.
July 1, 1973 : Continental Air Defense Command and Aerospace Defense Command headquarters begins consolidation and streamlining
February 4, 1974 : The Department of Defense announces plans for cutbacks in air defense forces showing increasing emphasis on ballistic missile attack warning and decreasing emphasis on bomber defense
June 30, 1974 : Continental Air Defense Command dis-established
July 1, 1975 : Aerospace Defense Command designated a "Specified Command" taking over Continental Air Defense Command roles and responsibilities
October 1, 1975 : Alaskan ADCOM Region established, Aerospace Defense Command assumes control of missile warning and space surveillance forces of Alaskan Air Command
October 1, 1979 : Transfer of ADCOM atmospheric defense resources (interceptors and warning radars) to Tactical Air Command (TAC); Air Defense, Tactical Air Command (ADTAC) established as a Numbered Air Force equivalent under Tactical Air Command
March 31, 1980: Aerospace Defense Command inactivated at Colorado Springs, Colorado.
Oct 1, 1985 :ADTAC redesignated 1st Air Force, with US-Only ADCOM responsibilities under CONAD (COMTAC).
.Note: Assigned to Olmsted AFB, Pennsylvania
, but never equipped or manned. Not to be confused with Eleventh Air Force
, which was assigned to Alaskan Air Command
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...
Major Command. Established in 1946 under the United States Army Air Forces
United States Army Air Forces
The United States Army Air Forces was the military aviation arm of the United States of America during and immediately after World War II, and the direct predecessor of the United States Air Force....
, its mission was to organize and administer the integrated air defense system of the Continental United States (CONUS), exercise direct control of all active measures, and coordinate all passive means of air defense.
The command was inactivated on 31 March 1980.
Overview
The mission of air defense is a major foundation of the United States Air Force. In 1916, no less a visionary than Alexander Graham BellAlexander Graham Bell
Alexander Graham Bell was an eminent scientist, inventor, engineer and innovator who is credited with inventing the first practical telephone....
warned about the possibility of airship raids on the United States. For the next 25 years, experts studied the problem of air defense and lay the foundation for the future.
The War Department
United States Department of War
The United States Department of War, also called the War Department , was the United States Cabinet department originally responsible for the operation and maintenance of the United States Army...
established an "Air Defense Command" as part of the Army Air Corps
United States Army Air Corps
The United States Army Air Corps was a forerunner of the United States Air Force. Renamed from the Air Service on 2 July 1926, it was part of the United States Army and the predecessor of the United States Army Air Forces , established in 1941...
on 26 February 1940. This command, operating under the control of the United States First Army Commander from 2 March 1940, to 9 September 1941, engaged in planning for air defense of the Continental United States.
Before the United States entered World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, air defense was divided among the four GHQ Air Force districts later, First, Second, Third, and Fourth Air Forces based in the United States. Initially, there was a sizeable effort to defend the country from aerial attack, In mid-1944, when the threat of air attack seemed negligible, this air defense organization was disbanded.
Subsequently, no real air defense organization existed until the second Air Defense Command was established in 1946 as a major command of the Army Air Forces (AAF). However political issues within the Pentagon were not to be overlooked. There was concern within the Air Force that funds to create an "impenetrable air defense" would be obtained by siphoning money away from Strategic Air Command's mission of nuclear deterrence. Apart from the intramural disputes, The Air Force battles with the Army over control of Surface-to-Air missiles and other issues were particularly intense.
The initial mission of Air Defense Command was to stop a handful of conventionally armed piston engine-powered bombers on a one-way mission, flying a predictable course. The threat swiftly grew to the prospect of an attack by hundreds of turboprop and jet bombers armed with thermonuclear weapons and attacking from different directions. Meeting such a threat required the creation of a huge system. It consumed billions of dollars. It required leadership, foresight, and brilliant science.
In the early 1960s, however, aircraft air defense was overtaken by events, as USAF shifted its emphasis away from intercepting bombers and toward the detection of Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBM)s. Robert S. McNamara, Secretary of Defense in the Kennedy and Johnson Administrations, concluded that the ICBM problem was so overwhelming that it rendered relatively inconsequential the threat of Soviet bomber attack. With the rise of the ICBM, emphasis on air defense against bombers went into a sharp decline. Air Defense Command was redesignated as Aerospace Defense Command (ADCOM) in 1968 to reflect that fundamental mission change.
The Aerospace Defense Command declined after 1979 when its resources were divided between Tactical Air Command
Tactical Air Command
Tactical Air Command is an inactive United States Air Force organization. It was a Major Command of the United States Air Force, established on 21 March 1946 being headquartered at Langley Air Force Base, Virginia...
and Strategic Air Command
Strategic Air Command
The Strategic Air Command was both a Major Command of the United States Air Force and a "specified command" of the United States Department of Defense. SAC was the operational establishment in charge of America's land-based strategic bomber aircraft and land-based intercontinental ballistic...
. Under TAC, the Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve gradually assumed more and more of the air defense mission. In 1980, ADCOM was inactivated. Some functions of the command passed to the Aerospace Defense Center, a direct reporting unit assigned to Headquarters, NORAD that inactivated on 1 October 1986.
Today, ADC's proud heritage is maintained by NORAD, Air Combat Command
Air Combat Command
Air Combat Command is a major command of the United States Air Force. ACC is one of ten major commands , reporting to Headquarters, United States Air Force ....
, the Air National Guard
Air National Guard
The Air National Guard , often referred to as the Air Guard, is the air force militia organized by each of the fifty U.S. states, the commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the territories of Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the District of Columbia of the United States. Established under Title 10 and...
, and the Air Force Reserve.
Origins
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
during September 1939, the War Department
United States Department of War
The United States Department of War, also called the War Department , was the United States Cabinet department originally responsible for the operation and maintenance of the United States Army...
did not consider air defense of the United States a major concern. This was because military planners did not envisage a large-scale bomber assault on this country if the United States became involved in active combat. Most airmen agreed with General George C. Marshall when he said in May 1940 that the defense of the country could be assured by denying a potential enemy bases in the Western Hemisphere.
Nevertheless, on the recommendation of General Henry H. Arnold
Henry H. Arnold
Henry Harley "Hap" Arnold was an American general officer holding the grades of General of the Army and later General of the Air Force. Arnold was an aviation pioneer, Chief of the Air Corps , Commanding General of the U.S...
, the Chief of the United States Army Air Corps
United States Army Air Corps
The United States Army Air Corps was a forerunner of the United States Air Force. Renamed from the Air Service on 2 July 1926, it was part of the United States Army and the predecessor of the United States Army Air Forces , established in 1941...
, the War Department established an "Air Defense Command" on February 26, 1940. As a component of the U.S. First Army
U.S. First Army
The First United States Army is a field army of the United States Army. It now serves a mobilization, readiness and training command.- Establishment and World War I :...
, its mission was to plan for and execute the air defense of the continental United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It consisted of personnel from the Air Corps, the Coast Guard
United States Coast Guard
The United States Coast Guard is a branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven U.S. uniformed services. The Coast Guard is a maritime, military, multi-mission service unique among the military branches for having a maritime law enforcement mission and a federal regulatory agency...
and Army Signal Corps.
At a conference held in February 1941, General Marshall assigned theresponsibility for air defense to the new continental Air Forces being developed under GHQ Air Force, each of which contained an "Interceptor Command". The Interceptor Commands were charged with air defense of their areas, but were subject to the overall supervision of four new Numbered Air Forces, which were aligned with the four Army defense areas, which were vested with overall defense responsibility. These districts were:
- Northeast Air District - assigned to First Air ForceFirst Air ForceThe First Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Air Combat Command . It is headquartered at Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida....
- Northwest Air District - assigned to Second Air ForceSecond Air ForceThe Second Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Air Education and Training Command . It is headquartered at Keesler Air Force Base, Mississippi....
- Southeast Air District - assigned to Third Air ForceThird Air ForceThe Third Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Forces in Europe . It is headquartered at Ramstein Air Base, Germany....
- Southwest Air District - assigned to Fourth Air ForceFourth Air ForceThe Fourth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Reserve . It is headquartered at March Air Reserve Base, California....
RADAR Development
The development of early warning RADARRadar
Radar is an object-detection system which uses radio waves to determine the range, altitude, direction, or speed of objects. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain. The radar dish or antenna transmits pulses of radio...
(radio detection and ranging) technology in the 1930s made effective air defense possible. By December 1936 the Signal Corps successfully tracked an aircraft to a distance of seven miles using short-pulse emission of radio waves. Air Corps representatives saw the value of the device for early warning. Service trials of the first early warning RADAR, the SCR-270, were held late in 1939, with the device being officially adopted in May 1940.
The entry of the United States in World War II resulted in a major expansion of air defense facilities, especially on the two ocean coasts. Ninety-five radar stations were eventually completed: 65 on the Pacific Coast and 30 on the Atlantic, although about 75 was the maximum number operational at any one time. The principal radars (known as: Signal Corps Radio
Signal Corps Radio
Signal Corps Radios were U.S. Army military communications components that comprised "sets". Under the Army Nomenclature System, SCR initially designated "Set, Complete Radio," and later "Signal Corps Radio," though interpretations have varied over time....
) in use during the war were the SCR-270 (mobile) and the SCR-271 (fixed), with ground control intercept radar (SCR-588) being added during 1943 for close-in coverage (up to 50 miles) for tracking and controlling fighters from the ground.
Ground observers
The World War II Air Defense Command established a ground observer network in air defense exercises in 1940-1941which greatly facilitated the War Department's organization of the AAF Ground Observer Corps in 1942. The information network grew-during the war to a maximum of 15 information centers along both coasts and four standby centers along the Gulf of Mexico coastline, with a total of 14,000 observation posts and an estimated 1,500,000 civilian volunteers enrolled.
Interceptor aircraft
The shortage of fighter planes in the early part of the war proved a serious handicap to the air defense effort.However, the situation improved during 1942 and 1943 with the availability in quantity of the P-38 Lightning
P-38 Lightning
The Lockheed P-38 Lightning was a World War II American fighter aircraft built by Lockheed. Developed to a United States Army Air Corps requirement, the P-38 had distinctive twin booms and a single, central nacelle containing the cockpit and armament...
and P-47 Thunderbolt
Thunderbolt
A thunderbolt is a discharge of lightning accompanied by a loud thunderclap or its symbolic representation. In its original usage the word may also have been a description of meteors, or, as Plato suggested in Timaeus, of the consequences of a close approach between two planetary cosmic bodies,...
, which equipped units which were attached to Air Defense Fighter Wings over major cities along the east and west coasts as part of their training for overseas combat duty.
Still, until the introduction of the P-61 Black Widow
P-61 Black Widow
The Northrop P-61 Black Widow was the first operational U.S. military aircraft designed specifically for night interception of aircraft, and was the first aircraft specifically designed to use radar. It was an all-metal, twin-engine, twin-boom design developed during World War II...
, the lack of all-weather day/night aircraft made the success of interception at night, or in inclement weather, highly doubtful. The P-61 however, was not made available for air defense operations in the United States during the war, it's need in the overseas combat theaters taking priority.
Anti-Aircraft artillery
Anti-aircraft artillery (AAA) provided for local defense. AAA underwent drastic changes during the war, with unified AAA commands emerging on both coasts after the Pearl Harbor Attack. After considerable controversy the control of AAA was placed under the Army Air Forces interceptor commands.This elaborate air defense system fortunately never had to deal with a major air attack. Until the Battle of Midway
Battle of Midway
The Battle of Midway is widely regarded as the most important naval battle of the Pacific Campaign of World War II. Between 4 and 7 June 1942, approximately one month after the Battle of the Coral Sea and six months after Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor, the United States Navy decisively defeated...
in June 1942, air defenses remained on a high alert, but after the naval battle, only occasional alerts were called: As the threat decreased, the defenses gradually reduced, with the focus on the four Air Forces in the United States (Zone of Interior "ZI") being the organization and training of combat units and replacement personnel for deployment to overseas theaters.
The ADC Air District structure was abolished in April 1944 along with Air Defense Command. The numbered air forces and their training mission was turned over to the USAAF Continental Air Forces training command. The Ground Observer Corps was dissolved, the radar net reduced in size, and the Air Defense Fighter Wings being reduced to administrative units, not equipped or manned. By war's end on the east coast three control centers and nine radar stations remained. On the west coast three control centers and 22 radars were active.
With demobilization in 1945, the air defenses of the United States had virtually ceased to exist.
Associated units
- I Interceptor Command (1st Air Force)
- II Interceptor Command (2d Air Force)
- III Interceptor Command (3d Air Force)
- IV Interceptor Command (4th Air Force)
First Air Force air defense fighter wings:
- Boston Fighter Wing
- New York Fighter WingNew York Fighter WingThe New York Fighter Wing is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with the I Fighter Command, stationed at Mitchel Field, New York It was inactivated on 10 April 1944....
- Norfolk Fighter WingNorfolk Fighter WingThe Norfolk Fighter Wing is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with the I Fighter Command, stationed at Norfolk Airport, Virginia It was inactivated on 3 April 1946....
- Philadelphia Fighter WingPhiladelphia Fighter WingThe Philadelphia Fighter Wing is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with the I Fighter Command, stationed at Philadelphia Airport, Pennsylvania It was inactivated on 3 April 1946....
Fourth Air Force air defense fighter wings:
- Los Angeles Fighter WingLos Angeles Fighter WingThe Los Angeles Air Defense Region is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with the Fourth Air Force, stationed in San Francisco, California It was inactivated on 31 August 1945- History:...
- San Diego Fighter WingSan Diego Fighter WingThe San Diego Fighter Wing is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with the IV Fighter Command, stationed at San Diego Airport, California It was inactivated on 7 June 1944- Lineage:...
- San Francisco Fighter WingSan Francisco Fighter WingThe San Francisco Air Defense Region is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with the Fourth Air Force, stationed in San Francisco, California. It was inactivated on 31 August 1945- History:...
- Seattle Fighter Wing
Cold War History
The second iteration of Air Defense Command (ADC) was established on March 21, 1946 as a component of the United States Army Air ForcesUnited States Army Air Forces
The United States Army Air Forces was the military aviation arm of the United States of America during and immediately after World War II, and the direct predecessor of the United States Air Force....
. General Carl Spaatz had undertaken a major reorganization of the Army Air Forces after the end of World War II to incorporate many of the lessons learned. His reorganization included the establishment of three new combat commands in the United States: Strategic Air Command
Strategic Air Command
The Strategic Air Command was both a Major Command of the United States Air Force and a "specified command" of the United States Department of Defense. SAC was the operational establishment in charge of America's land-based strategic bomber aircraft and land-based intercontinental ballistic...
(soon known everywhere as SAC), to provide a long-range striking force capable of bombardment operations in any part of the world: Tactical Air Command
Tactical Air Command
Tactical Air Command is an inactive United States Air Force organization. It was a Major Command of the United States Air Force, established on 21 March 1946 being headquartered at Langley Air Force Base, Virginia...
(TAC), to support the operations of ground forces, and Air Defense Command (ADC), to provide for the air defense of the United States.
Postwar era
Air Defense Command was constituted on 21 March 1946, and was activated and headquartered at Mitchel Field, New York, on 27 March 1946. It assumed control of the 414th Night Fighter Squadron, which was an un-manned and un-equipped administrative organization, and the 425th Night Fighter Squadron, which was manned by one officer and two enlisted men. Two bases, Mitchel Field, New York and Hamilton FieldHamilton Field
Hamilton Field may refer to:* Hamilton Air Force Base, a former U.S. Air Force Base located on San Francisco Bay, California, United States.* Hamilton Field , an airport located in Derby, Kansas, United States....
, California, were assigned to ADC. Two numbered air forces, the First Air Force
First Air Force
The First Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Air Combat Command . It is headquartered at Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida....
(Mitchel) and Fourth Air Force
Fourth Air Force
The Fourth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Reserve . It is headquartered at March Air Reserve Base, California....
(Hamilton) were allocated.
Shortly afterwards, on 10 June, the ADC mission was expanded to the extent that ADC was required to coordinate within the United States the means available from other services for air defense, such as Naval and Marine aircraft units temporarily shore-based.
In 1947, the 505th Aircraft Control and Warning Group, the first postwar aircraft control and warning organization, was activated at McChord Field, Washington on 21 May. The newly-established United States Air Force granted ADC the authority to use the fighter and radar forces of SAC, TAC and the Air National Guard
Air National Guard
The Air National Guard , often referred to as the Air Guard, is the air force militia organized by each of the fifty U.S. states, the commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the territories of Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the District of Columbia of the United States. Established under Title 10 and...
in the event of a national emergency. Most air defense units at the time were part of the Air National Guard. Four additional numbered air forces, the Second
Second Air Force
The Second Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Air Education and Training Command . It is headquartered at Keesler Air Force Base, Mississippi....
(Fort Crook
Fort Crook
Two posts of this name existed:Two posts of this name existed:Two posts of this name existed:: Fort Crook a post near Fall River Mills, California from 1857 to 1869.: Fort Crook in Nebraska, established in 1891, to replace Fort Omaha, now Offutt Air Force Base....
, Nebraska); Tenth
Tenth Air Force
The Tenth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Reserve Command . It is headquartered at Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth, Texas....
(Brooks Field
Brooks Field
Brooks Field may refer to:* Brooks City-Base, formerly Brooks Air Force Base, in San Antonio, Texas, USA.* Brooks Field , a football stadium in Golden, Colorado, USA....
, Texas); Eleventh (Olmstead Field, Pennsylvania), and the Fourteenth Air Force
Fourteenth Air Force
The Fourteenth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Space Command . It is headquartered at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California....
(Orlando Air Base, Florida) were assigned. (Eleventh Air Force was inactivated on 1 July 1948. It has no relationship to the current or previous 11th Air Force).
At the end of World War II a number of factors operated to belittle the need for elaborate air defenses. The result was that the construction of a modern air defense system lagged. However, with the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
breaking out between the United States and 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....
in 1948, a more urgent note was struck in air defense. Radars were removed from storage and deployed along the Atlantic and Pacific coasts.
ADC activated two Divisions, the 25th Air Division at Silver Lake Air Warning Station
Silver Lake Air Warning Station
Silver Lake Air Warning Station is a closed United States Air Force facility. It was located north-northeast of McChord Field; , south-southwest of Everett, Washington...
, Washington on 25 October 1948 and the 26th Air Division at Roslyn Air Warning Station
Roslyn Air National Guard Station
Roslyn Air National Guard Station is a closed United States Air Force station. It is located south of East Hills, New York on Long Island...
, New York 16 November. Both of these organizations were active for over 40 years in the air defense of the United States, being inactivated after the end of the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
. Their successor organizations became the current Eastern
Eastern Air Defense Sector
The Eastern Air Defense Sector is a United States Air Force unit and a component of the New York Air National Guard. It is stationed at the former Griffiss Air Force Base in Rome, New York.-Overview:...
(EADS) and Western Air Defense Sector
Western Air Defense Sector
The Western Air Defense Sector is a United States Air Force unit and a component of the Washington Air National Guard. It is stationed at McChord Field, Washington-Overview:...
(WADS) of today's Continental United States NORAD Region
First Air Force
The First Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Air Combat Command . It is headquartered at Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida....
(CONR).
Continental Air Command
Continental Air Command
Continental Air Command was a Major Command of the United States Air Force responsible primarily for administering the Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve.-Lineage:...
(ConAC) was created and given the mission of air defense. Both ADC and Tactical Air Command were reduced to operating agencies under ConAC which consisted of a small staff of planners. TAC fighter units while in the United States assumed an air defense mission which augmented the meager resources of ADC.
In March 1949, the six numbered air forces inherited from ADC were relieved of their air defense responsibilities. Two new units, the Eastern and Western Air Defense Liaison Groups were created in their place. In September, these provisional units were re-designated as the Eastern Air Defense Force
Eastern Air Defense Force
The Eastern Air Defense Force is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with Air Defense Command being stationed at Stewart Air Force Base, New York. It was inactivated on July 1, 1960.-History:...
and Western Air Defense Force
Western Air Defense Force
The Western Air Defense Force is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with Air Defense Command being stationed at Hamilton Air Force Base, California. It was inactivated on July 1, 1960.- History :...
, under which all atmospheric air defense units (Radar and Interceptor) were placed, divided by the 103rd meridian west
103rd meridian west
The meridian 103° west of Greenwich is a line of longitude that extends from the North Pole across the Arctic Ocean, North America, the Pacific Ocean, the Southern Ocean, and Antarctica to the South Pole....
.
During 1949 and early 1950, steady strides were made in air defense. In March 1949, Congress authorized the construction of a "permanent" radar system along the coasts and land borders of the United States. Following the explosion of a nuclear weapon by 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....
in August 1949, the Air Force issued requirements for an operational air defense system by 1952, and the building of the permanent radar network was accelerated.
Air Defense Command
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
in June 1950 underlined the need for increased air defense precautions. In addition, the perceived threat of an airborne atomic attack by the Soviet Union with its Tu-4 copy of the B-29 or Tu-95 strategic bomber force led to the separation of Air Defense Command from ConAC, and its re-establishment as an Air Force major command to counter the perceived Soviet threat.
Air Defense Command was officially re-established as a major air command on 1 January 1951 at Mitchel AFB, New York. The command headquarters was moved to Ent AFB, Colorado on 8 January 1951. ConAC transferred to ADC 21 active-duty fighter squadrons and 37 Air National Guard fighter squadrons operationally gained by ADC if activated. It was also assigned the 25th, 26th 27th and 28th Air Divisions (Defense)
With the reestablishment ADC as a major command (as well as TAC), ConAC's misson became one of administering the Air Force Reserve.
Early warning Radars
The cost of the plan clearly exceeded the Air Force ability to pay, and planners tried to develop a less expensive version. The answer was something that became known as the "Permanent System." It was to consist of 85 radar stations and 11 control centers, in the United States and Alaska. The cost was estimated to be about $116 million, spread over the period 1949-50. It became fully operational in April 1953.
However, the Air Force was loath to ignore the immediate threat, and it built a temporary system, sarcastically but aptly called "Lashup." It comprised 43 sites by 1950. The system used World War II AN/CPS-5 search radar systems that were deficient in range and in low-altitude detection capability. In addition, 36 Air National Guard fighter units were called to active duty for the mission.
Lashup had the great value of introducing the US again to the concept of a radar air defense system. ADC was reinstated as a full major command in January 1951, and ADC headquarters established at Ent AFB, Colorado. By 1953, a modern United States continental system of Ground Control Interception (GGI) Radar stations had been completed and additional radar units were programmed to blanket the country with medium and high-altitude radar cover. Domestically the gaps were filled by additional Federal Aviation Administration
Federal Aviation Administration
The Federal Aviation Administration is the national aviation authority of the United States. An agency of the United States Department of Transportation, it has authority to regulate and oversee all aspects of civil aviation in the U.S...
(FAA) radar stations and the organization of a million American men and women into the Ground Observer Corps (GOC) which served the nation until it was disbanded in 1959.
Work was begun in 1953 to erect a number of off-shore radars platforms bristling with radar equipment and embedded in the ocean bed known as Texas Towers
Texas Towers
The Texas Towers were a set of off-shore radar facilities used by the United States Air Force during the Cold War that were modeled on the offshore oil drilling platforms first employed off the Texas coast...
to extend the range of RADAR into the Atlantic Ocean to cover the northern approach routes far out to sea. One of the Texas Towers (TT-4) collapsed into the Atlantic Ocean with significant loss of life in January 1961. The tragedy of TT-4, as much as anything else, sealed the fate of the others. While both remaining towers were immediately checked for safety and structural strength, and pronounced sound in this regard, their days were numbered. The entire project was ended in 1963, and the remaining facilities were decommissioned and sunk in 1964.
During the mid-1950s, the nation's defense planners devised the idea of extending the wall of powerful land-based radar seaward with Airborne early warning and control units. This was done by equipping two wings of Lockheed RC-121 Warning Star aircraft, the 551st Airborne Early Warning and Control Wing
551st Electronic Systems Wing
The 551st Electronic Systems Wing is a wing of the United States Air Force whose focus is on 'behind the scenes' electronic work...
, based at Otis Air Force Base, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
, and the 552nd AEWCW
552d Air Control Wing
The 552d Air Control Wing is an operational wing of the United States Air Force based at Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma. The wing flies the E-3 Sentry aircraft.-History:...
, based at McClellan Air Force Base
McClellan Air Force Base
McClellan Air Force Base is a former United States Air Force base located in the North Highlands area of Sacramento County, northeast of Sacramento, California...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, one wing stationed on each coast. The RC-121s, EC-121s and Texas Towers, it was believed, would contribute to extending contiguous east-coast radar coverage some 300 to 500 miles seaward. In terms of the air threat of the 1950s, this meant a gain of at least 30 extra minutes warning time of an oncoming bomber attack.
As the USAF prepared to deploy the Tactical Air Command
Tactical Air Command
Tactical Air Command is an inactive United States Air Force organization. It was a Major Command of the United States Air Force, established on 21 March 1946 being headquartered at Langley Air Force Base, Virginia...
E-3 Sentry
E-3 Sentry
The Boeing E-3 Sentry is an airborne warning and control system developed by Boeing as the prime contractor. Derived from the Boeing 707, it provides all-weather surveillance, command, control and communications, and is used by the United States Air Force , NATO, Royal Air Force , French Air Force...
in the later 1970s, active-duty units were phased out EC-121 operations by the end of 1975. All remaining EC-121s were transferred to the Air Force Reserve, which formed the 79th AEWCS at Homestead Air Force Base, Florida in early 1976. The active duty force continued to provide personnel to operate the EC-121s on a 24-hour basis, assigning Detachment 1, 20th Air Defense Squadron to Homestead AFB as associate active duty crews to fly the Reserve-owned aircraft. Besides monitoring Cuban waters, these last Warning Stars also operated from NAS Keflavik, Iceland. Final EC-121 operations ended in September 1978.
Interceptor Aircraft
The growth and development of the ADC air defense system grew steadily throughout the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
era. From four day-type fighter squadrons (FDS) in 1946, the ADC interceptor force grew to ninety-three (93) active Air Force fighter interceptor squadrons, seventy-six (76) Air National Guard
Air National Guard
The Air National Guard , often referred to as the Air Guard, is the air force militia organized by each of the fifty U.S. states, the commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the territories of Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the District of Columbia of the United States. Established under Title 10 and...
fighter interceptor squadrons, several Naval fighter squadrons, USAF and USN airborne early warning squadrons, radar squadrons, training squadrons and numerous support units that have played important roles in our nation's defense.
When the Cold War began, bomber technology was ascendant and would continue to be so for more than a decade. The first ADC interceptor, the P-61 Black Widow
P-61 Black Widow
The Northrop P-61 Black Widow was the first operational U.S. military aircraft designed specifically for night interception of aircraft, and was the first aircraft specifically designed to use radar. It was an all-metal, twin-engine, twin-boom design developed during World War II...
did not have the capabilities to engage the Soviet Tu-4 bomber. Its successor, the F-82 Twin Mustang
F-82 Twin Mustang
The North American F-82 Twin Mustang was the last American piston-engine fighter ordered into production by the United States Air Force. Based on the P-51 Mustang, the F-82 was originally designed as a long-range escort fighter in World War II; however, the war ended well before the first...
, was even more disappointing. It took a long time to get into production and did not perform well in inclement weather.
The early jet fighters, such as the F-80 Shooting Star and F-84 Thunderjet
F-84 Thunderjet
The 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...
, lacked all-weather capability and were deemed useless for air defense purposes. Much hope was placed on two jet-powered interceptors, the XP-87 Blackhawk and the XP-89 Scorpion. (Designations changed to XF-87 and XF-89.) They, in their turn, proved to be inadequate. The XF-87 was cancelled and the Scorpion had to undergo extensive redesign.
The first-generation jets gave way to all-weather dedicated interceptor jets. The F-94 Starfire
F-94 Starfire
The Lockheed F-94 Starfire was the United States Air Force's first operational jet-powered all-weather interceptor aircraft. It was a development by Lockheed of the twin-seat T-33 Shooting Star trainer aircraft.-Design and development:...
was pressed into service as an "interim" interceptor. North American in 1949 pushed an interceptor version of the Sabre, the F-86D. Despite the demands its complexity made upon a single pilot, the F-86D was backed by senior Air Force officials. Some 2,504 would be built and it would in time be the most numerous interceptor in the Air Defense Command fleet, with more than 1,000 in service by the end of 1955
The F-86D was not ideal, however, for its afterburner consumed a great deal of fuel in getting it to altitude, and the pilot was overburdened by cockpit tasks. The F-89D was modified to accept AIM-4 Falcon
AIM-4 Falcon
The Hughes AIM-4 Falcon was the first operational guided air-to-air missile of the United States Air Force.-Development:Development of a guided air-to-air missile began in 1946. Hughes Aircraft was awarded a contract for a subsonic missile under the project designation MX-798, which soon gave way...
guided missiles (F-89H) and AIR-2 Genie
AIR-2 Genie
The Douglas AIR-2 Genie was an unguided air-to-air rocket with a 1.5kt W25 nuclear warhead. It was deployed by the United States Air Force and Canada during the Cold War...
atomic warhead rockets (F-89J) as armament. The F-86D was modified (F-86L) to include the SAGE data link, thereby permitting more precise automatic control from the ground. The F-86L and F-89H became available in 1956, the F-89J in 1957.
Even more advan6ed were the Century Series supersonic interceptors. First was the F-102A Delta Dagger, which appeared in 1956. The F-104A Starfighter came along in 1958. The F-101B Voodoo and F-106 Delta Dart
F-106 Delta Dart
The Convair F-106 Delta Dart was the primary all-weather interceptor aircraft for the United States Air Force from the 1960s through the 1980s. Designed as the so-called "Ultimate Interceptor", it has proven to be the last dedicated interceptor in USAF service to date...
were first received by ADC during the first half of 1959. By 1960, the ADC interceptor force was composed of the F-101, F-104, F-106, and the F-102.
The North American F-108 Rapier was the first proposed successor to the F-106. It was to be capable of Mach 3 performance and was intended to serve as a long-range interceptor that could destroy attacking Soviet bombers over the poles before they could get near US territory. It was also to serve as the escort fighter for the XB-70 Valkyrie
XB-70 Valkyrie
The North American Aviation XB-70 Valkyrie was the prototype version of the proposed B-70 nuclear-armed deep-penetration strategic bomber for the United States Air Force's Strategic Air Command...
Mach-3 strategic bomber, also to be built by North American. The Air Force expected that the first F-108A would be ready for service by early 1963. An order for no less than 480 F-108s was anticipated.
However, by mid 1959, the Air Force was already beginning to experience some doubts about the high cost of the Rapier program. The primary strategic threat from the Soviet Union was now perceived to be its battery of intercontinental ballistic missiles instead of its force of long-range bombers. Against intercontinental ballistic missiles, the F-108A interceptor would be completely useless. In addition, the Air Force was increasingly of the opinion that unmanned intercontinental ballistic missiles could accomplish the mission of the B-70 Valkyrie/F-108 Rapier combination much more effectively and at far lower cost. Consequently, the F-108A project was cancelled in its entirety on September 23, 1959, before any prototypes could be built.
The work on the F-108 Rapier did not entirely go to waste. The work that Hughes did on the AN/ASG-18 radar was later transferred over to the Lockheed YF-12
Lockheed YF-12
The Lockheed YF-12 was an American prototype interceptor aircraft, which the United States Air Force evaluated as a development of the highly-secret Lockheed A-12 that also spawned the SR-71 Blackbird.-Design and development:...
A interceptor project, and the GAR-9 Falcon (redesignated AIM-47A in 1962) missile originally developed for the F-108A was used to arm the YF-12A. The Lockheed F-12 Mach 3 interceptor of the mid-1960s was the final interceptor planned by Air Defense Command for purchase and deployment. It had its origin in the top-secret A-12 reconnaissance aircraft which had been designed by Lockheed at Central Intelligence Agency
Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...
request as a successor to the U-2. Three prototype YF-12As served initially with the 4786th Test Squadron at Edwards AFB. The USAF was sufficiently impressed with the performance of the YF-12A that on 14 May 1965 they ordered a total of 93 definitive F-12B aircraft into production and Congress voted $90 million toward the project. However, Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara
Robert McNamara
Robert Strange McNamara was an American business executive and the eighth Secretary of Defense, serving under Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson from 1961 to 1968, during which time he played a large role in escalating the United States involvement in the Vietnam War...
saw no need for the F-12B due to the development of ICBMs and the diminishing threat of Soviet bombers attacking United States cities. Another reason given by McMamara for cancelling the F-12 was that the expanding war in Southeast Asia was consuming all available funds in the USAF budget. This was, of course, before the Soviets developed the Tupolev Tu-22M
Tupolev Tu-22M
The Tupolev Tu-22M is a supersonic, swing-wing, long-range strategic and maritime strike bomber developed by the Soviet Union. Significant numbers remain in service with the Russian Air Force....
and Tupolev Tu-160
Tupolev Tu-160
The Tupolev Tu-160 is a supersonic, variable-sweep wing heavy strategic bomber designed by the Tupolev Design Bureau in the Soviet Union. Although several civil and military transport aircraft are larger in overall dimensions, the Tu-160 is currently the world's largest combat aircraft, largest...
supersonic strategic bombers which were at least an even match to the fastest ADC F-106 Delta Dart.
The YF-12As served primarily in various and sundry operational evaluation projects throughout the remainder of the 1960s. In February 1963, Lockheed undertook redesign of the basic A-12 with additional fuel tankage, broader forward nose chines, and the provision for inflight refueling and a seat for a second crewman. This eventually emerged as the SR-71 Blackbird
SR-71 Blackbird
The Lockheed SR-71 "Blackbird" was an advanced, long-range, Mach 3+ strategic reconnaissance aircraft. It was developed as a black project from the Lockheed A-12 reconnaissance aircraft in the 1960s by the Lockheed Skunk Works. Clarence "Kelly" Johnson was responsible for many of the...
.
In 1968, ADCOM began the phaseout of the F-101 and F-102 interceptors from active duty units. George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
, later President of the United States, flew the F-102 as part of his Air National Guard service in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The F-106 Delta Dart remained, as it was considered by many as being the finest all-weather interceptor ever built. It was the primary air defense interceptor aircraft for the US Air Force during the 1970s through the early 1980s. It was also was the last dedicated interceptor in U.S. Air Force service to date. It was gradually retired during the 1980s, though the QF-106 drone conversions of the aircraft were used until 1998 as aerial targets under the FSAT program.
Weapons Systems Integration
The development of effective Ground Intercept Radar stations, and the deployment of interceptor squadrons was soon augmented by more-effective systems whose inputs would be fed to one of the bigger gambles of the period—the Semi Automatic Ground Environment
Semi Automatic Ground Environment
The Semi-Automatic Ground Environment was an automated control system for tracking and intercepting enemy bomber aircraft used by NORAD from the late 1950s into the 1980s...
(SAGE) system, designed to control fighters and fight the air defense battle.
As the performance of radars and weapons improved, the reflexes of the men who operated them proved much too slow, By 1953, steps had been taken develop an electronic command and control network. SAGE had begun as a concept in the Air Defense Systems Engineering Committee, headed by eminent Massachusetts Institute of Technology scientist George E. Valley. Valley foresaw that computers would develop to the point that they could be used to control an air defense system. He was right, and he was backed by ADC commanders throughout the years.
SAGE was the nerve center of continental air defense until replaced in the early 1980s. It was an automated control system linking Air Force (and later FAA) General Surveillance Radar stations into a centralized center for Air Defense, intended to provide early warning and response for a Soviet nuclear attack. This automated control system was used by NORAD for tracking and intercepting enemy bomber aircraft.
In later versions, the system could automatically direct aircraft to an interception by sending commands directly to the aircraft's autopilot. SAGE was tremendously important. It led to huge advances in online systems and interactive computing, real-time computing, and data communications using modems. It is generally considered to be one of the most advanced and successful large computer systems ever developed.
The first SAGE Direction Center opened at McGuire AFB, New Jersey on 1 July 1958, and was rapidly joined by others in the eastern and northern United States during 1959 and 1960. By the end of the decade the blockhouses of the SAGE System could be seen across the nation.
By the time it was fully operational the Soviet bomber threat had been replaced by the Soviet missile threat, for which SAGE was entirely inadequate. However, as long as the Soviet Union maintained an active intercontinental bomber force, the system was active, and ready to respond to any incursion of North American airspace. SAGE was inactivated and replaced in 1983 by the Joint Surveillance System
Joint Surveillance System
The Joint Surveillance System is a joint United States Air Force and Federal Aviation Administration system for the atmospheric air defense of North America...
(JSS).
Anti-Aircraft Missiles
Alongside the manned interceptors was the CIM-10 Bomarc supersonic surface-to-air missile
Surface-to-air missile
A surface-to-air missile or ground-to-air missile is a missile designed to be launched from the ground to destroy aircraft or other missiles...
which-first entered the ADC inventory in September 1959. The BOMARC was a joint United States of America
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
-Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
effort between 1957 and 1971 to protect against the USSR
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....
bomber threat. It involved the deployment of tactical stations armed with Bomarc missiles along the east and west coasts of North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
and the central areas of the continent.
The supersonic Bomarc missiles were the first long-range anti-aircraft missiles in the world. They were capable of carrying conventional or nuclear
Nuclear weapon
A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission or a combination of fission and fusion. Both reactions release vast quantities of energy from relatively small amounts of matter. The first fission bomb test released the same amount...
warheads. Their intended role in defence was in an intrusion prevention perimeter. Bomarcs aligned on the eastern and western coasts of North America would theoretically launch and destroy enemy bombers before the bombers could drop their payloads on industrial regions.
The BOMARC interceptor missile was deployed to a number of sites along the eastern seaboard and northern border. When the BOMARC missile was phased out in the late 1960s, the SAGE guidance system (TDDL, Time-Division Data Link) continued to be used for sending commands to Army Nike-Hercules Integrated Fire Control (IFC) centers and interceptor autopilots.
NORAD Continental Defense
The Royal Canadian Air Force
Royal Canadian Air Force
The history of the Royal Canadian Air Force begins in 1920, when the air force was created as the Canadian Air Force . In 1924 the CAF was renamed the Royal Canadian Air Force and granted royal sanction by King George V. The RCAF existed as an independent service until 1968...
proved to be a boon partner with the United States, both in the responsibilities it assumed in the construction of the warning systems and in the provision of effective air defense squadrons. In some respects, the air defense mission was to RCAF what the nuclear deterrent mission was to USAF -its No. 1 reason for being
In the early 1950s, the two North American air forces launched construction of the Pinetree Line
Pinetree Line
The Pinetree Line was a series of radar stations located across the northern United States and southern Canada at about the 50th parallel north, along with a number of other stations located on the Atlantic and Pacific coasts. Run by NORAD , over half were manned by United States Air Force...
and completed it in June 1954. Consisting of 33 stations, it extended on both sides of the international border and provided warning and ground-control-intercept activities. The United States paid for 22 of the stations and provided personnel for 18.
Canada then constructed the Mid-Canada Line
Mid-Canada Line
The Mid-Canada Line, also known as the McGill Fence, was a line of radar stations across the "middle" of Canada to provide early warning of a Soviet bomber attack on North America. It was built to supplement the less-advanced Pinetree Line, which was located further south...
, building it entirely with its own resources. Built along the 55th parallel, the early warning system was also called the McGill Line, after the scientists at McGill University who planned and designed it. Not so much a radar warning line as an unmanned microwave fence, the line signaled when something-anything-flew over it. The Mid-Canada Line became operational in 1957 and cost approximately $220 million.
By 1954 it became apparent that the command and control of the massive North American air defense system was a significant challenge. Coordination in the United States was accomplished by a new joint-service agency of Air Force, Army and Navy personnel reporting directly to the Joint Chiefs of Staff
Joint Chiefs of Staff
The Joint Chiefs of Staff is a body of senior uniformed leaders in the United States Department of Defense who advise the Secretary of Defense, the Homeland Security Council, the National Security Council and the President on military matters...
and called the Continental Air Defense Command (CONAD).
The command and control of the massive North American air defense system was a significant challenge. Discussions and studies of joint systems between the United States and Canada had been ongoing since the early 1950s and culminated on 1 August 1957, when an agreement was made with Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
to partner in the joint effort to defend the North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
n continent which resulted in the North American Air Defense Command (NORAD), in which ADC continued to be the major United States component.
On 12 September joint operations commenced at Ent AFB, Colorado. A formal NORAD agreement between the two governments was signed on 12 May 1958.
Alaska and above the Arctic Circle
The Alaskan Air Command
Alaskan Air Command
Alaskan Air Command is an inactive United States Air Force Major Command. Established in 1945 under the United States Army Air Forces, its mission was to organize and administer the air defense system of Alaska, exercise direct control of all active measures, and coordinate all passive means of...
was established in 1946 with a mission of air defense of Alaska and the Aleutian Islands. With the Soviet Union less than 50 miles to the west across the Bearing Straits, Alaska was the "front line" of North American air defense. A series of Ground Control Intercept and surveillance radar stations and interceptor bases were established there in the 1950s to provide for the defense of northwest North America.
Working with Canada, USAF planners began to entertain the prospect of building a warning line in the far north, inside the Arctic Circle
Arctic Circle
The Arctic Circle is one of the five major circles of latitude that mark maps of the Earth. For Epoch 2011, it is the parallel of latitude that runs north of the Equator....
. High cost projections disturbed Air Force leaders, who believed the money could be better spent on bomb shelters and base dispersal efforts. However, USAF conducted experiments in conjunction with the Lincoln Laboratory of MIT and became convinced that a Distant Early Warning Line
Distant Early Warning Line
The Distant Early Warning Line, also known as the DEW Line or Early Warning Line, was a system of radar stations in the far northern Arctic region of Canada, with additional stations along the North Coast and Aleutian Islands of Alaska, in addition to the Faroe Islands, Greenland, and Iceland...
(DEW Line) was feasible. Once again working in cooperation with the RCAF, USAF in December 1954 placed a contract for the construction of the DEW Line.
The DEW Line, built along an irregular path extending from Cape Lisburne AFS, Alaska, to the west coast of Greenland, with auxiliary stations situated even further east, was a mammoth undertaking. It was the largest construction project ever attempted in the Arctic, and it required the movement of hundreds of shiploads of material and thousands of sorties by American transport airplanes. The workforce toiled day and night, seven days a week, to make the 31 July 1957, date when responsibility was to be transferred to USAF. Twenty-five lives were lost in the process. The Pinetree, Mid-Canada, and DEW Lines all were integrated into the SAGE system.
The "White Alice" communications system
White Alice Communications System
The White Alice Communications System was a United States Air Force telecommunication link system constructed in Alaska during the cold war. It featured tropospheric scatter links and line-of-sight microwave radio links...
was built to link airborne warning and control aircraft with the DEW Line radar. Ultimately, 49 sites were built, extending along the Aleutian archipelago out to Shemya, Alaska.
Ballistic Missile Early Warning System
Intercontinental ballistic missile
An intercontinental ballistic missile is a ballistic missile with a long range typically designed for nuclear weapons delivery...
(ICBM) and Submarine-launched ballistic missile
Submarine-launched ballistic missile
A submarine-launched ballistic missile is a ballistic missile capable of delivering a nuclear warhead that can be launched from submarines. Modern variants usually deliver multiple independently targetable reentry vehicles each of which carries a warhead and allows a single launched missile to...
(SLBMs).
The Ballistic Missile Early Warning System
Ballistic Missile Early Warning System
The United States Air Force Ballistic Missile Early Warning System was the first operational ballistic missile detection radar. The original system was built in 1959 and could provide long-range warning of a ballistic missile attack over the polar region of the Northern Hemisphere. They also...
(BMEWS), which was completed in 1963 after five years of intensive effort provided a capability of detecting missiles in flight, deep in 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....
or in other similarly distant territory. The BMEWS sites included Thule AB in Greenland, Clear AFS in Alaska, and RAF Fylingdales
RAF Fylingdales
RAF Fylingdales is a Royal Air Force station on Snod Hill in the North York Moors, England. Its motto is "Vigilamus" . It is a radar base and part of the United States-controlled Ballistic Missile Early Warning System...
in England. In addition, the number of radar stations had increased dramatically during the decade of the 1950s, with 300 small automatic radar sites adding coverage.
Additional radars came into being for the sole purpose of detecting, identifying, tracking, and sending back data on any SLBM. All man-made objects in earth orbit became numbers in the United States Space Surveillance Network
United States Space Surveillance Network
The United States Space Surveillance Network is a critical part of United States Strategic Command's mission and involves detecting, tracking, cataloging and identifying artificial objects orbiting Earth, i.e. active/inactive satellites, spent rocket bodies, or fragmentation debris...
(SPACETRACK) operated by ADC's Fourteenth Aerospace Force.
Aerospace Defense Command
As the space mission grew the command changed its name, effective 15 January 1968, to Aerospace Defense Command, or ADCOM. Under ADCOM, emphasis went to systems for ballistic missile detection and warning and space surveillance, and the atmospheric detection and warning system, which had been in an almost continuous state of expansion and improvement since the 1950s, went into decline.BOMARC, for example, was dropped from the weapons inventory, and the F-101 and F-102 passed from the regular Air Force inventory into the National Guard. To save funds and manpower, drastic reductions were made in the number of long range radar stations, the number of interceptor squadrons, and in the organizational structure. By 1968 the DOD was making plans to phase down the current air defense system and transition to a new system which included an Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS), Over-the-Horizon Backscatter (OTH-B) radar, and an improved F-106 interceptor aircraft.
The changing emphasis in the threat away from the manned bomber and to the ballistic missile brought reorganization and reduction in aeropace defense resources and personnel and almost continuous turmoil in the management structure. The headquarters of the Continental Air Defense Command (CONAD) and ADC were combined on 1 July 1973. Six months later in February 1973, ADC was reduced to 20 fighter squadrons and a complete phaseout of air defense missile batteries.
Continental Air Command was disestablished on 1 July 1975 and Aerospace Defense Command became a specified command by direction of the JCS. Reductions and reorganizations continued into the last half of the 1970s, but while some consideration was given to closing down the major command headquarters altogether and redistributing field resources to other commands, such a move lacked support in the Air Staff.
Inactivation
In early 1977 strong Congressional pressure to reduce management "overhead" and the personal conviction of the USAF Chief of Staff that substantial savings could be realized without a reduction in operational capability. moved the final "reorganization" of ADCOM to center stage. Two years of planning followed, but by late 1979 the Air Force was ready to carry it through. It was conducted in two phases:- On 1 October 1979 ADCOM atmospheric defense resources (interceptors, warning radars, and associated bases and personnel) were transferred to Tactical Air Command, being placed under Air Defense, Tactical Air Command (ADTAC). which was established compatible to a Numbered Air Force under TAC. With this move many Air National GuardAir National GuardThe Air National Guard , often referred to as the Air Guard, is the air force militia organized by each of the fifty U.S. states, the commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the territories of Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the District of Columbia of the United States. Established under Title 10 and...
units that had an air defense mission also came under the control of TAC. ADTAC was headquartered at North American Aerospace Defense Command, Ent AFBNorth American Aerospace Defense CommandNorth American Aerospace Defense Command is a joint organization of Canada and the United States that provides aerospace warning, air sovereignty, and defense for the two countries. Headquarters NORAD is located at Peterson AFB, Colorado Springs, Colorado...
ColoradoColoradoColorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
. In essence, Tactical Air Command became the old Continental Air Command. On the same date, electronic assets went to the Air Force Communications Service (AFCS).
- On 1 December 1979 missile warning and space surveillance assets were transferred to Strategic Air CommandStrategic Air CommandThe Strategic Air Command was both a Major Command of the United States Air Force and a "specified command" of the United States Department of Defense. SAC was the operational establishment in charge of America's land-based strategic bomber aircraft and land-based intercontinental ballistic...
. On the same date the Aerospace Defense Center, a Direct Reporting Unit, was established from the remnants of ADCOM headquarters
ADCOM, as a specified command, continued as the United States component of NORAD, but the major air command was inactivated on 31 March 1980. The unit designation of the MAJCOM reverted to the control of the Department of the Air Force.
Major Events Time line
March 27, 1946 : The United States Army Air Force activates the Air Defense Command at Mitchel Field (later, Mitchel Air Force BaseMitchel Air Force Base
Decommissioned in 1961, Mitchel Field became a multi-use complex currently home to the Cradle of Aviation Museum, Nassau Coliseum, Mitchel Athletic Complex, Nassau Community College and Hofstra University.-Origins:...
), New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
December 1, 1948 : The United States Air Force establishes the Continental Air Command
Continental Air Command
Continental Air Command was a Major Command of the United States Air Force responsible primarily for administering the Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve.-Lineage:...
(ConAC) under both the Air Defense Command and Tactical Air Command
Tactical Air Command
Tactical Air Command is an inactive United States Air Force organization. It was a Major Command of the United States Air Force, established on 21 March 1946 being headquartered at Langley Air Force Base, Virginia...
June 27, 1950 : United States air defense systems begins 24-hour operations two days after the start of the Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
July 1, 1950 : Air Defense Command deactivated because the Continental Air Command gradually assumed full charge of United States air defense
January 1, 1951 : Air Defense Command re-established, again at Mitchel Field
January 8, 1951 : Air Defense Command headquarters moves from Mitchel Field to Ent Air Force Base, Colorado
July 14, 1952 : Air Defense Command begins 24-hour Ground Observer Corps operations
October 1, 1953 : The 4701st Airborne Early Warning and Control Squadron, the first AEW&C system, was activated at McClellan AFB, California.
September 1, 1954 : The Continental Air Defense Command (CONAD) is established at Ent Air Force Base as a joint-service force, taking control of Air Force Air Defense Command forces, Army Anti-Aircraft Command forces, and Naval air defense forces (NAVFORCONAD)
April 15, 1957 : Air Defense Command assigned operational control of the DEW Line and all atmospheric defense units of the inactivated Northeast Air Command.
September 12, 1957 : The North American Air Defense Command is established at Ent Air Force Base as an international organization, taking operational control of Canadian Air Defense Command air defense units and United States Continental Air Defense Command air defense units
December 1, 1958 :SAGE Combat Center No 1 at Hancock Field, New York (26th Air Division) became operational
January 1, 1959: The first BOMARC squadron, the 46th Air Defense Missile Squadron was activated at McGuire AFB, New Jersey.
July 31, 1959 : The Ground Observer Corps, active since July 1952, is abolished because of improvements in radar technology
October 1, 1960 : BMEWS Site I, at Thule AB, Greenland, reached initial operational capability; the first Ballistic Missile Early Warning System
February 1, 1961 : The 1st Aerospace Surveillance and Control Squadron established at Ent AFB, Colorado by Air Defense Command to operate the SPADATS Center. This marks the beginning of Air Defense Command's aerospace defense operations.
July 1, 1962 : Control of Air Forces Iceland transferred from Military Air Transport Service to Air Defense Command.
September 3, 1965 : Space Defense Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado activated
January 15, 1968 : Air Defense Command is redesignated as Aerospace Defense Command (ADCOM)
October 31, 1972 : Final BOMARC unit inactivated at Langley AFB, Virginia; BOMARC interceptor activity ended.
July 1, 1973 : Continental Air Defense Command and Aerospace Defense Command headquarters begins consolidation and streamlining
February 4, 1974 : The Department of Defense announces plans for cutbacks in air defense forces showing increasing emphasis on ballistic missile attack warning and decreasing emphasis on bomber defense
June 30, 1974 : Continental Air Defense Command dis-established
July 1, 1975 : Aerospace Defense Command designated a "Specified Command" taking over Continental Air Defense Command roles and responsibilities
October 1, 1975 : Alaskan ADCOM Region established, Aerospace Defense Command assumes control of missile warning and space surveillance forces of Alaskan Air Command
October 1, 1979 : Transfer of ADCOM atmospheric defense resources (interceptors and warning radars) to Tactical Air Command (TAC); Air Defense, Tactical Air Command (ADTAC) established as a Numbered Air Force equivalent under Tactical Air Command
March 31, 1980: Aerospace Defense Command inactivated at Colorado Springs, Colorado.
Oct 1, 1985 :ADTAC redesignated 1st Air Force, with US-Only ADCOM responsibilities under CONAD (COMTAC).
Lineage
- Established as Air Defense Command on March 21, 1946
- Activated as a major command on March 27, 1946
- Became a subordinate operational command of Continental Air CommandContinental Air CommandContinental Air Command was a Major Command of the United States Air Force responsible primarily for administering the Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve.-Lineage:...
on December 1, 1948 - Discontinued on July 1, 1950
- Reestablished as a major command, and organized, on January 1, 1951
- Redesignated Aerospace Defense Command on January 15, 1968
- Inactivated on March 31, 1980.
Stations
- Mitchel Field (Later AFB), New YorkNew YorkNew York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, March 21, 1946 - Ent AFB, ColoradoColoradoColorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
, January 1, 1951 – April 20, 1966 - Cheyenne MountainCheyenne MountainCheyenne Mountain is a mountain located just outside the southwest side of Colorado Springs, Colorado, U.S., and is home to the Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Station and its Cheyenne Mountain Directorate, formerly known as the Cheyenne Mountain Operations Center .Throughout the Cold War and...
, ColoradoColoradoColorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
, April 20, 1966 – March 31, 1980
Air Defense Forces
- Central Air Defense ForceCentral Air Defense ForceThe Central Air Defense Force is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with Air Defense Command being stationed at Richards-Gebaur Air Force Base, Missouri. It was deactivated on July 1, 1960.-History:...
(CADF)
- Activated on 1 March 1951 at Kansas City, Missouri
- Moved to Grandview AFB, 10 March 1954
- Station re-designated Richards-Gebaur AFB, 27 April 1952
- Inactivated, 1 January 1960
- Eastern Air Defense ForceEastern Air Defense ForceThe Eastern Air Defense Force is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with Air Defense Command being stationed at Stewart Air Force Base, New York. It was inactivated on July 1, 1960.-History:...
(CADF)
- Activated by Continental Air CommandContinental Air CommandContinental Air Command was a Major Command of the United States Air Force responsible primarily for administering the Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve.-Lineage:...
on 1 September 1949 at Mitchel AFB, New York - Moved to Stewart AFB and assigned to Air Defense Command on 1 January 1951
- Inactivated, 1 January 1960
- Western Air Defense ForceWestern Air Defense ForceThe Western Air Defense Force is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with Air Defense Command being stationed at Hamilton Air Force Base, California. It was inactivated on July 1, 1960.- History :...
(WADF)
- Activated by Continental Air CommandContinental Air CommandContinental Air Command was a Major Command of the United States Air Force responsible primarily for administering the Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve.-Lineage:...
on 1 September 1949 at Hamilton AFB, California - Re-assigned to Air Defense Command, 1 January 1951
- Inactivated, 1 July 1960
Air Forces
- First Air ForceFirst Air ForceThe First Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Air Combat Command . It is headquartered at Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida....
- Assigned to Air Defense Command, 27 March 1946 at Mitchel Field, New York
- Moved to Fort Slocum, New York, 3 June 1946
- Re-assigned to Continental Air CommandContinental Air CommandContinental Air Command was a Major Command of the United States Air Force responsible primarily for administering the Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve.-Lineage:...
, 1 December 1948 - Re-assigned to Air Defense Command, 1 April 1966
- Inactivated, 31 December 1969
- Second Air ForceSecond Air ForceThe Second Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Air Education and Training Command . It is headquartered at Keesler Air Force Base, Mississippi....
- Re-activated on 6 June 1946 at Fort CrookFort CrookTwo posts of this name existed:Two posts of this name existed:Two posts of this name existed:: Fort Crook a post near Fall River Mills, California from 1857 to 1869.: Fort Crook in Nebraska, established in 1891, to replace Fort Omaha, now Offutt Air Force Base....
, Nebraska - Assigned to Air Defense Command
- Inactivated, 1 July 1948
- Fourth Air ForceFourth Air ForceThe Fourth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Reserve . It is headquartered at March Air Reserve Base, California....
- Assigned to Air Defense Command, 21 March 1946 at March Field, California
- Moved to Hamilton FieldHamilton FieldHamilton Field may refer to:* Hamilton Air Force Base, a former U.S. Air Force Base located on San Francisco Bay, California, United States.* Hamilton Field , an airport located in Derby, Kansas, United States....
, California on 19 June 1946 - Re-assigned to Continental Air CommandContinental Air CommandContinental Air Command was a Major Command of the United States Air Force responsible primarily for administering the Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve.-Lineage:...
, 1 December 1948 - Discontinued, 1 September 1960
- Re-activated 1 April 1966 and assigned to Air Defense Command
- Inactivated, 30 September 1969
- Tenth Air ForceTenth Air ForceThe Tenth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Reserve Command . It is headquartered at Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth, Texas....
, March 21, 1946 – December 1, 1948; January 20, 1966 – October 8, 1976
- Re-activated 27 May 1946 at Brooks FieldBrooks FieldBrooks Field may refer to:* Brooks City-Base, formerly Brooks Air Force Base, in San Antonio, Texas, USA.* Brooks Field , a football stadium in Golden, Colorado, USA....
, Texas - Assigned to Air Defense Command
- Re-assigned to Continental Air CommandContinental Air CommandContinental Air Command was a Major Command of the United States Air Force responsible primarily for administering the Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve.-Lineage:...
, 1 December 1948 - Inactivated, 1 September 1960
- Re-activated 1 April 1966 and assigned to Air Defense Command
- Assigned to Richards-Gebaur AFB
- Inactivated, 30 September 1969
- Eleventh Air Force*
- Activated 13 June 1946 at Olmsted Field, Middletown, PennsylvaniaMiddletown, Dauphin County, PennsylvaniaMiddletown is a borough in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, on the Susquehanna River, nine miles southeast of Harrisburg. It is part of the Harrisburg–Carlisle Metropolitan Statistical Area.-History:...
- Assigned to Air Defense Command
- Inactivated, 1 July 1948
- Fourteenth Air ForceFourteenth Air ForceThe Fourteenth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Space Command . It is headquartered at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California....
, March 21, 1946 – December 1, 1948; January 20, 1966 – October 8, 1976
- Re-activated 24 May 1945 at Orlando Air Base, Florida
- Assigned to Air Defense Command
- Re-assigned to Continental Air CommandContinental Air CommandContinental Air Command was a Major Command of the United States Air Force responsible primarily for administering the Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve.-Lineage:...
, 1 December 1948 - Inactivated, 1 September 1960
- Re-activated 1 April 1966 and assigned to Air Defense Command
- Assigned to Gunter AFB, Alabama
- Re-designated Fourteenth Aerospace Force, 1 July 1968
- Moved to Ent AFB, Colorado
- Inactivated, 1 October 1976
- Air Forces Iceland
- Assigned to Air Defense Command from Military Air Transport ServiceMilitary Air Transport ServiceThe Military Air Transport Service is an inactive Department of Defense Unified Command. Activated on 1 June 1948, MATS was a consolidation of the United States Navy Naval Air Transport Service and the United States Air Force Air Transport Command into a single, joint, unified command...
, 1 July 1962 - Stationed at Keflavik Airport, Iceland
- Assigned to 64th Air Division
- Transferred to: 26th Air Division, 1 July 1963
- Transferred to: Goose Air Defense SectorGoose Air Defense SectorThe Goose Air Defense Sector is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with the 26th Air Division, being stationed at Goose Air Force Base, Labrador, Canada. It was inactivated on 1 April 1966 and replaced by the 37th Air Division.-History:Command and control...
, 4 September 1963 - Transferred to: 37th Air Division, 1 April 1966
- Transferred to: 21st Air Division, 31 December 1969
- Re-assigned to Tactical Air CommandTactical Air CommandTactical Air Command is an inactive United States Air Force organization. It was a Major Command of the United States Air Force, established on 21 March 1946 being headquartered at Langley Air Force Base, Virginia...
, 1 October 1979
.Note: Assigned to Olmsted AFB, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, but never equipped or manned. Not to be confused with Eleventh Air Force
Eleventh Air Force
The Eleventh Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Pacific Air Forces . It is headquartered at Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska....
, which was assigned to Alaskan Air Command
Alaskan Air Command
Alaskan Air Command is an inactive United States Air Force Major Command. Established in 1945 under the United States Army Air Forces, its mission was to organize and administer the air defense system of Alaska, exercise direct control of all active measures, and coordinate all passive means of...
Regions
- Alaskan ADCOM Region
- Designated and activated at Elmendorf AFB, Alaska, 1 October 1975
- Missile warning and space surveillence forces reassigned to Strategic Air CommandStrategic Air CommandThe Strategic Air Command was both a Major Command of the United States Air Force and a "specified command" of the United States Department of Defense. SAC was the operational establishment in charge of America's land-based strategic bomber aircraft and land-based intercontinental ballistic...
, 1 December 1979 - Re-designated as Alaska NORAD Region (ANR), 14 June 1983
- Operational atmospheric defense units under operational control of Eleventh Air ForceEleventh Air ForceThe Eleventh Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Pacific Air Forces . It is headquartered at Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska....
- Operational atmospheric defense units under operational control of Eleventh Air Force
- 20th ADCOM Region
- Designated and activated at Fort Lee AFS, Virginia, 8 December 1978
- Supplementary ADCOM designation of 20th Air Division
- 21st ADCOM Region
- Designated and activated at Hancock AFS, New York, 8 December 1978
- Supplementary ADCOM designation of 21st Air Division
- 23d ADCOM Region
- Designated and activated at Duluth AFS, Minnesota, 8 December 1978
- Supplementary ADCOM designation of 23d Air Division
- 24th ADCOM Region
- Designated and activated at Malmstrom AFB, Montana, 8 December 1978
- Supplementary ADCOM designation of 24th Air Division
- 25th ADCOM Region
- Designated and activated at McChord AFB, Washington, 8 December 1978
- Supplementary ADCOM designation of 25th Air Division
- 26th ADCOM Region
- Designated and activated at Luke AFB, Arizona, 8 December 1978
- Supplementary ADCOM designation of 26th Air Division
Air Divisions
- 8th Air Division (Aircraft Early Warning & Control)
- Activated 1 May 1954 at McClellan AFB, California
- Assigned to Western Air Defense ForceWestern Air Defense ForceThe Western Air Defense Force is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with Air Defense Command being stationed at Hamilton Air Force Base, California. It was inactivated on July 1, 1960.- History :...
- Transferred to Air Defense Command, 1 May 1955
- Inactivated, 1 July 1957
- 9th Air Division (Defense)
- Activated 8 October 1954 at Geiger Field, Washington
- Assigned to Western Air Defense ForceWestern Air Defense ForceThe Western Air Defense Force is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with Air Defense Command being stationed at Hamilton Air Force Base, California. It was inactivated on July 1, 1960.- History :...
- Inactivated, 15 August 1958
- Reactivated on 15 July 1961 as 9th Aerospace Air Division at Ent AFB, Colorado
- Assigned to Air Defense Command
- Discontinued, 1 July 1968
- 20th Air Division
- Activated on 8 October 1955 at Grandview AFB, Missouri
- Assigned to Central Air Defense ForceCentral Air Defense ForceThe Central Air Defense Force is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with Air Defense Command being stationed at Richards-Gebaur Air Force Base, Missouri. It was deactivated on July 1, 1960.-History:...
- Station re-designated as Richards-Gebaur AFB, 27 April 1957
- Inactivated 1 January 1960
- Re-activated on 1 April 1966 at Truax Field, Wisconsin
- Assigned to Tenth Air ForceTenth Air ForceThe Tenth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Reserve Command . It is headquartered at Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth, Texas....
- Discontinued 31 December 1967
- Re-activated on 19 November 1969 at Fort Lee AFS, Virginia
- Assigned to Air Defense Command
- Re-assigned to Tactical Air CommandTactical Air CommandTactical Air Command is an inactive United States Air Force organization. It was a Major Command of the United States Air Force, established on 21 March 1946 being headquartered at Langley Air Force Base, Virginia...
, 1 October 1979
- 21st Air Division
- Activated 20 January 1966
- Organized at McGuire AFB, New Jersey 1 April 1966
- Assigned to First Air ForceFirst Air ForceThe First Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Air Combat Command . It is headquartered at Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida....
- Discontinued and inactivated 31 December 1967
- Re-activated on 19 November 1969 at Hancock AFS, New York
- Assigned to Air Defense Command
- Re-assigned to Tactical Air Command, 1 October 1979
- 23d Air Division23rd Air Division (United States)The 23rd Air Division is an inactive United States Air Force intermediate echelon command and control organization. It was last assigned to First Air Force, Tactical Air Command...
- Activated 19 November 1969 at Duluth AFS, Minnesota
- Assigned to First Air ForceFirst Air ForceThe First Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Air Combat Command . It is headquartered at Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida....
- Re-assigned to Air Defense Command on 1 December 1969
- Re-assigned to Tactical Air Command, 1 October 1979
- 24th Air Division24th Air Division (United States)The 24th Air Division is an inactive United States Air Force intermediate echelon command and control organization. It was last assigned to First Air Force, Tactical Air Command...
- Activated 19 November 1969 at Malmstrom AFB, Montana
- Assigned to Tenth Air ForceTenth Air ForceThe Tenth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Reserve Command . It is headquartered at Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth, Texas....
- Re-assigned to Air Defense Command on 1 December 1969
- Re-assigned to Tactical Air Command, 1 October 1979
- 25th Air Division
- Activated 25 October 1948 as 25th Air Division (Defense) at Silver LakeSilver Lake-Cities and towns:*Silver Lake, Los Angeles, California*Silver Lake, San Bernardino County, California, a ghost town*Helendale, California, also known as Silver Lakes*Plasse, California, formerly known as Silver Lake, in Amador County, California...
, Washington - Assigned to Fourth Air ForceFourth Air ForceThe Fourth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Reserve . It is headquartered at March Air Reserve Base, California....
- Re-assigned to Western Air Defense ForceWestern Air Defense ForceThe Western Air Defense Force is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with Air Defense Command being stationed at Hamilton Air Force Base, California. It was inactivated on July 1, 1960.- History :...
, 1 February 1950 - Moved to McChord AFB, 15 September 1951
- Re-designated 25th Air Division (SAGE), 1 March 1959
- Re-assigned to Air Defense Command on 1 July 1960
- Re-assigned to Fourth Air ForceFourth Air ForceThe Fourth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Reserve . It is headquartered at March Air Reserve Base, California....
, 1 April 1966 - Re-assigned to Tenth Air ForceTenth Air ForceThe Tenth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Reserve Command . It is headquartered at Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth, Texas....
, 1 April 1966 - Re-assigned to Aerospace Defense Command, 1 December 1969
- Re-assigned to Tactical Air Command, 1 October 1979
- 26th Air Division
- Activated 16 November 1948 at Mitchel AFB, New York
- Assigned to First Air ForceFirst Air ForceThe First Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Air Combat Command . It is headquartered at Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida....
- Moved to Roslyn AFS, New York 18 April 1949
- Re-designated 26th Air Division (Defense), 20 June 1949
- Re-assigned to Eastern Air Defense ForceEastern Air Defense ForceThe Eastern Air Defense Force is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with Air Defense Command being stationed at Stewart Air Force Base, New York. It was inactivated on July 1, 1960.-History:...
, 1 September 1950 - Re-designated 26th Air Division (SAGE), 8 August 1958 and moved to Syracuse AFS, New York
- Transferred to Air Defense Command on 1 August 1959
- Moved to Stewart AFB, New York, 15 June 1964
- Re-designated 26th Air Division, 20 January 1966 and moved to Adair AFS, Oregon
- Inactivated, 30 September 1969
- Re-activated 19 November 1969 at Luke AFB, Arizona
- Re-assigned to Tactical Air Command, 1 October 1979
- 27th Air Division
- Activated as 27th Air Division (Defense) on 20 November 1950 at Norton AFB, California
- Assigned to Western Air Defense ForceWestern Air Defense ForceThe Western Air Defense Force is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with Air Defense Command being stationed at Hamilton Air Force Base, California. It was inactivated on July 1, 1960.- History :...
- Inactivated, 1 October 1959
- Organized as 27th Air Division on 1 April 1966 at Luke AFB, Arizona
- Assigned to Fourth Air ForceFourth Air ForceThe Fourth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Reserve . It is headquartered at March Air Reserve Base, California....
- Re-assigned to Tenth Air ForceTenth Air ForceThe Tenth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Reserve Command . It is headquartered at Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth, Texas....
on 15 September 1969 - Inactivated 19 November 1969
- 28th Air Division
- Assigned to Western Air Defense ForceWestern Air Defense ForceThe Western Air Defense Force is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with Air Defense Command being stationed at Hamilton Air Force Base, California. It was inactivated on July 1, 1960.- History :...
on 1 January 1951 as 28th Air Division (Defense) - Assigned to Hamilton AFB, California
- Re-designated as 28th Air Division (SAGE) and transferred to Air Defense Command, 1 July 1960
- Re-designated 28th Air Division,, 1 April 1966
- Moved to Malmstrom AFB, Montana and assigned to Tenth Air ForceTenth Air ForceThe Tenth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Reserve Command . It is headquartered at Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth, Texas....
, 1 April 1966 - Inactivated 19 November 1969
- 29th Air Division
- Activated 1 March 1951 at Great Falls AFB, Montana
- Assigned to Western Air Defense ForceWestern Air Defense ForceThe Western Air Defense Force is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with Air Defense Command being stationed at Hamilton Air Force Base, California. It was inactivated on July 1, 1960.- History :...
- Transferred to Central Air Defense Force, 16 February 1953
- Great Falls AFB re-designated Malmstrom AFB, Montana, 1 October 1955
- Re-designated as 29th Air Division (SAGE) and transferred to Air Defense Command, 1 July 1960
- Moved to Richards-Gebaur AFB, Missouri, 1 July 1961
- Re-designated 29th Air Division, 1 April 1966
- Moved to Duluth AFS, Minnesota, and assigned to Tenth Air ForceTenth Air ForceThe Tenth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Reserve Command . It is headquartered at Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth, Texas....
, 1 April 1966 - Re-assigned to First Air ForceFirst Air ForceThe First Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Air Combat Command . It is headquartered at Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida....
on 15 September 1969 - Inactivated 19 November 1969
- 30th Air Division,
- Activated on 16 December 1949 as 30th Air Division (Defense) at Selfridge AFB, Michigan
- Assigned to Air Defense Command
- Moved to Willow Run AFS, Michigan on 1 April 1952
- Assigned to Eastern Air Defense ForceEastern Air Defense ForceThe Eastern Air Defense Force is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with Air Defense Command being stationed at Stewart Air Force Base, New York. It was inactivated on July 1, 1960.-History:...
, 1 April 1952 - Re-designated 30th Air Division (SAGE), 1 April 1959 and moved to Truax Field, Wisconsin
- Re-assigned to Air Defense Command on 1 July 1959
- Re-designated 30th Air Division and moved to Sioux City AFS, Iowa (w/o p/e), 1 April 1966
- Re-assigned to Tenth Air ForceTenth Air ForceThe Tenth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Reserve Command . It is headquartered at Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth, Texas....
, 1 April 1966 - Discontinued 18 September 1968
- 31st Air Division
- Activated on 8 October 1950 as 31st Air Division (Defense) at Selfridge AFB, Michigan
- Assigned to Eastern Air Defense ForceEastern Air Defense ForceThe Eastern Air Defense Force is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with Air Defense Command being stationed at Stewart Air Force Base, New York. It was inactivated on July 1, 1960.-History:...
- Re-assigned to Air Defense Command on 1 January 1951
- Moved to Snelling AFS, Minnesota on 18 December 1950
- Re-assigned to Central Air Defense ForceCentral Air Defense ForceThe Central Air Defense Force is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with Air Defense Command being stationed at Richards-Gebaur Air Force Base, Missouri. It was deactivated on July 1, 1960.-History:...
, 20 May 1950 - Inactivated 1 January 1960
- Organized at Oklahoma City AFS, Oklahoma on 1 April 1966
- Assigned to Fourteenth Air ForceFourteenth Air ForceThe Fourteenth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Space Command . It is headquartered at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California....
, 1 April 1966 - Re-assigned to Tenth Air ForceTenth Air ForceThe Tenth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Reserve Command . It is headquartered at Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth, Texas....
on 1 July 1968 - Inactivated on 31 December 1969
- 32d Air Division
- Assigned on 1 January 1951 to Eastern Air Defense ForceEastern Air Defense ForceThe Eastern Air Defense Force is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with Air Defense Command being stationed at Stewart Air Force Base, New York. It was inactivated on July 1, 1960.-History:...
at Stewart AFB, New York - Moved to Syracuse AFS, New York, 15 February 1952
- Inactivated on 15 August 1958
- Reactivated on 15 November 1958 as 32d Air Division (SAGE) at Dobbins AFB, Georgia
- Assigned to Eastern Air Defense ForceEastern Air Defense ForceThe Eastern Air Defense Force is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with Air Defense Command being stationed at Stewart Air Force Base, New York. It was inactivated on July 1, 1960.-History:...
- Re-assigned to Air Defense Command, 1 August 1959
- Moved to Oklahoma City AFS, Oklahoma, 1 August 1961
- Discontinued 4 September 1963
- Organized at Gunter AFB, Alabama, 1 April 1966
- Assigned to Fourteenth Air ForceFourteenth Air ForceThe Fourteenth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Space Command . It is headquartered at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California....
- Re-assigned to Tenth Air ForceTenth Air ForceThe Tenth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Reserve Command . It is headquartered at Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth, Texas....
, 1 July 1968 - Inactivated 31 December 1969
- 33d Air Division
- Activated on 19 March 1951 as 33d Air Division (Defense) at Tinker AFB, Oklahoma
- Assigned to Eastern Air Defense ForceEastern Air Defense ForceThe Eastern Air Defense Force is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with Air Defense Command being stationed at Stewart Air Force Base, New York. It was inactivated on July 1, 1960.-History:...
- Re-assigned to Central Air Defense ForceCentral Air Defense ForceThe Central Air Defense Force is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with Air Defense Command being stationed at Richards-Gebaur Air Force Base, Missouri. It was deactivated on July 1, 1960.-History:...
, 20 May 1951 - Moved to Oklahoma City AFS, Oklahoma, 1 July 1956
- Re-designated 33d Air Division (SAGE) and moved to Richards-Gebaur AFB, Missouri, 1 January 1960
- Re-assigned to Air Defense Command
- Discontinued 1 July 1961
- Organized on 1 April 1966 as 33d Air Division at Fort Lee AFS, Virginia
- Assigned to First Air ForceFirst Air ForceThe First Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Air Combat Command . It is headquartered at Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida....
- Inactivated 19 November 1969
- 34th Air Division
- Activated on 5 January 1951 at Kirtland AFB, New Mexico
- Assigned to Western Air Defense ForceWestern Air Defense ForceThe Western Air Defense Force is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with Air Defense Command being stationed at Hamilton Air Force Base, California. It was inactivated on July 1, 1960.- History :...
- Re-assigned to Central Air Defense ForceCentral Air Defense ForceThe Central Air Defense Force is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with Air Defense Command being stationed at Richards-Gebaur Air Force Base, Missouri. It was deactivated on July 1, 1960.-History:...
15 February 1953 - Inactivated 1 January 1960
- Organized at Custer AFS, Michigan, 1 April 1966
- Assigned to First Air ForceFirst Air ForceThe First Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Air Combat Command . It is headquartered at Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida....
- Inactivated 31 December 1969
- 35th Air Division
- Activated on 1 July 1951 at Kansas City, MissouriKansas City, MissouriKansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...
- Assigned to Central Air Defense ForceCentral Air Defense ForceThe Central Air Defense Force is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with Air Defense Command being stationed at Richards-Gebaur Air Force Base, Missouri. It was deactivated on July 1, 1960.-History:...
- Moved to Dobbins AFB, Georgia, 1 September 1951
- Re-assigned to Eastern Air Defense ForceEastern Air Defense ForceThe Eastern Air Defense Force is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with Air Defense Command being stationed at Stewart Air Force Base, New York. It was inactivated on July 1, 1960.-History:...
, 10 April 1955 - Inactivated 15 November 1958
- Organized on 1 April 1966 at Syracuse AFS, New York
- Inactivated 19 November 1968
- 36th Air Division
- Activated 1 April 1966 at Topsham AFS, Maine
- Assigned to First Air ForceFirst Air ForceThe First Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Air Combat Command . It is headquartered at Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida....
- Inactivated 30 September 1969
- 37th Air Division
- Activated on 10 October 1951 at Lockborne AFB, Ohio under Strategic Air CommandStrategic Air CommandThe Strategic Air Command was both a Major Command of the United States Air Force and a "specified command" of the United States Department of Defense. SAC was the operational establishment in charge of America's land-based strategic bomber aircraft and land-based intercontinental ballistic...
- Moved to Truax Field, Wisconsin 8 September 1955 and transferred to Air Defense Command
- Assigned to Eastern Air Defense ForceEastern Air Defense ForceThe Eastern Air Defense Force is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with Air Defense Command being stationed at Stewart Air Force Base, New York. It was inactivated on July 1, 1960.-History:...
- Inactivated 1 April 1959
- Organized on 1 April 1966 at Goose AFBCFB Goose BayCanadian Forces Base Goose Bay , is a Canadian Forces Base located in the town of Happy Valley-Goose Bay, Newfoundland and Labrador....
, Labrador, Canada - Assigned to First Air ForceFirst Air ForceThe First Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Air Combat Command . It is headquartered at Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida....
- Re-assigned to Aerospace Defense Command, 1 December 1969
- Inactivated 10 June 1970
- 58th Air Division58th Air DivisionThe 58th Air Division is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with Air Defense Command, based at Wright Patterson AFB, Ohio. It was inactivated on 1 February 1959.- B-29 development :...
(Defense)
- Activated 8 September 1955 at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio
- Assigned to Eastern Air Defense ForceEastern Air Defense ForceThe Eastern Air Defense Force is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with Air Defense Command being stationed at Stewart Air Force Base, New York. It was inactivated on July 1, 1960.-History:...
- Inactivated 1 February 1959
- 64th Air Division
- Transferred on 1 April 1957 to Air Defense Command from Northeast Air CommandNortheast Air CommandThe Northeast Air Command was a short-lived organization in the United States Air Force tasked with the operation and defense of air bases in Greenland, Labrador and Newfoundland. It was formed in 1950 from the facilities of the United States established during World War II in Northeast Canada,...
- Assigned to Pepperrell AFB, Newfoundland
- Moved to Stewart AFB, New York, 26 May 1960
- Discontinued, 1 July 1963
- 73d Air Division73d Air DivisionThe 73d Air Division is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with Air Defense Command, based at Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida. It was inactivated on 1 April 1966.-World War II:...
- Activated 1 July 1957 as 73d Air Division (Weapons) at Tyndall AFB, Florida
- Assigned to Air Defense Command
- Re-designated 73d Air Division, 1 March 1963
- Discontinued 1 April 1966
- 85th Air Division
- Activated 8 September 1955 at Andrews AFB, Maryland
- Assigned to Eastern Air Defense ForceEastern Air Defense ForceThe Eastern Air Defense Force is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with Air Defense Command being stationed at Stewart Air Force Base, New York. It was inactivated on July 1, 1960.-History:...
- Inactivated 1 September 1958
Air Defense Sectors
- Albuquerque Air Defense SectorAlbuquerque Air Defense SectorThe Albuquerque Air Defense Sector is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with the 33d Air Division, being stationed at Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico. It was inactivated on 1 November 1960.-History:...
- Activated on 1 January 1960 at Kirtland AFB, New Mexico
- Assigned to 33d Air Division
- Discontinued 1 November 1960
- Bangor Air Defense SectorBangor Air Defense SectorThe Bangor Air Defense Sector is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with the Air Defense Command 26th Air Division, being stationed at Topsham Air Force Station, Maine...
- Activated on 8 January 1957 at Topsham AFS, Maine
- Assigned to 32d Air Division
- Re-assigned to 26th Air Division, 15 August 1958
- Discontinued 1 April 1966
- Boston Air Defense SectorBoston Air Defense SectorThe Boston Air Defense Sector is an inactive United States Air Force Air Defense Command organization. Its last assignment was with the ADC 26th Air Division, being stationed at Stewart Air Force Base, New York.-History:...
- Formed by re-designation of 4622d Air Defense Wing (SAGE), 8 January 1957
- Activated at Stewart AFB, New York
- Assigned to 26th Air Division
- Moved to Syracuse AFS, New York 1 April 1966
- Discontinued 1 April 1966
- Chicago Air Defense SectorChicago Air Defense SectorThe Chicago Air Defense Sector is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with the Air Defense Command 30th Air Division, being stationed at Truax Field, Wisconsin...
- Formed by re-designation of 4628th Air Defense Wing, 8 March 1957
- Activated at Truax Field, Wisconsin
- Assigned to 37th Air Division
- Re-assigned to 30th Air Division, 1 April 1959
- Discontinued 1 April 1966
- Detroit Air Defense SectorDetroit Air Defense SectorThe Detroit Air Defense Sector is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with the Air Defense Command 26th Air Division, being stationed at Custer Air Force Station, Michigan...
- Formed by re-designation of 4627th Air Defense Wing, 8 January 1957
- Activated at Custer AFS, Michigan
- Assigned to 30th Air Division
- Re-assigned to 26th Air Division, 4 September 1963
- Discontinued 1 April 1966
- Duluth Air Defense SectorDuluth Air Defense SectorThe Duluth Air Defense Sector is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with the Air Defense Command 30th Air Division, being stationed at Duluth Airport, Minnesota...
- Activated 8 October 1957 at Duluth AFS, Minnesota
- Assigned to 37th Air Division (EADF)
- Re-assigned to 31st Air Division (CADF), 20 December 1957
- Re-assigned to 37th Air Division, 1 January 1959
- Re-assigned to 30th Air Division, 1 April 1959
- Discontinued 1 April 1966
- Goose Air Defense SectorGoose Air Defense SectorThe Goose Air Defense Sector is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with the 26th Air Division, being stationed at Goose Air Force Base, Labrador, Canada. It was inactivated on 1 April 1966 and replaced by the 37th Air Division.-History:Command and control...
- Activated on 1 April 1960 at Goose AFB, Labrador, Canada
- Assigned to 64th Air Division
- Re-assigned to 26th Air Division (SAGE), 1 July 1963
- Discontinued on 1 April 1966
- Grand Forks Air Defense SectorGrand Forks Air Defense SectorThe Grand Forks Air Defense Sector is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with the Air Defense Command 29th Air Division, being stationed at Grand Forks Air Force Base , North Dakota...
- Activated on 8 December 1957 at Grand Forks AFB, North Dakota
- Assigned to 31st Air Division
- Re-assigned to 29th Air Division, 1 January 1959
- Discontinued on 1 December 1963
- Great Falls Air Defense SectorGreat Falls Air Defense SectorThe Great Falls Air Defense Sector is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with the Air Defense Command 29th Air Division, being stationed at Malmstrom Air Force Base , Montana...
- Activated on 1 March 1959 at Malmstrom AFB, Montana
- Assigned to 29th Air Division
- Discontinued on 1 April 1966
- Kansas City Air Defense SectorKansas City Air Defense SectorThe Kansas City Air Defense Sector is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with the Air Defense Command 29th Air Division, being stationed at Richards-Gebaur Air Force Base, Missouri...
- Activated on 1 January 1960 at Richards-Gebaur AFB, Missouri
- Assigned to 33d Air Division
- Re-assigned to 29th Air Division, 1 July 1961
- Discontinued 1 January 1962
- Los Angeles Air Defense Sector
- Activated on 15 February 1959 at Norton AFB, California
- Assigned to 27th Air Division
- Re-assigned to Western Air Defense ForceWestern Air Defense ForceThe Western Air Defense Force is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with Air Defense Command being stationed at Hamilton Air Force Base, California. It was inactivated on July 1, 1960.- History :...
, 1 October 1959 - Re-assigned to 28th Air Division, 1 July 1960
- Re-assigned to Fourth Air ForceFourth Air ForceThe Fourth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Reserve . It is headquartered at March Air Reserve Base, California....
, 1 April 1966 - Discontinued 25 June 1966
- Minot Air Defense SectorMinot Air Defense SectorThe Minot Air Defense Sector is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with the Air Defense Command 29th Air Division, being stationed at Minot Air Force Base , North Dakota...
- Activated on 1 April 1959 at Minot AFB, North Dakota
- Assigned to 29th Air Division
- Discontinued 15 August 1963
- Montgomery Air Defense Sector
- Activated on 8 September 1957 at Gunter AFB, Alabama
- Assigned to 35th Air Division
- Re-assigned to 32d Air Division, 15 November 1958
- Re-assigned to 26th Air Division (SAGE), 1 July 1963
- Assigned to Air Defense Command, 1 October 1964
- Discontinued 1 April 1966
- New York Air Defense Sector
- Formed through re-designation of 4621st Air Defense Wing (SAGE), 8 January 1957
- Assigned to McGuire AFB, New Jersey
- Assigned to 26th Air Division
- Discontinued 1 April 1966
- Oklahoma City Air Defense SectorOklahoma City Air Defense SectorThe Oklahoma City Air Defense Sector is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with the Air Defense Command 29th Air Division, being stationed at Oklahoma City Air Force Station , Oklahoma...
- Activated on 1 January 1960 at Oklahoma City AFS, Oklahoma
- Assigned to 33d Air Division
- Re-assigned to 32d Air Division, 1 July 1961
- Discontinued 1 September 1961
- Re-activated 25 June 1963 at Oklahoma City AFS
- Assigned to 29th Air Division (SAGE)
- Discontinued 1 April 1966
- Phoenix Air Defense SectorPhoenix Air Defense SectorThe Phoenix Air Defense Sector is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with the Air Defense Command 28th Air Division, being stationed at Luke Air Force Base, Arizona...
- Activated on 15 June 1959 at Luke AFB, Arizona
- Assigned to Western Air Defense ForceWestern Air Defense ForceThe Western Air Defense Force is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with Air Defense Command being stationed at Hamilton Air Force Base, California. It was inactivated on July 1, 1960.- History :...
- Re-assigned to 28th Air Division, 1 July 1960
- Discontinued 1 April 1966
- Portland Air Defense SectorPortland Air Defense SectorThe Portland Air Defense Sector is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with the 25th Air Division, being stationed at Adair Air Force Station, Oregon. It was inactivated on 1 April 1966.- History :...
- Activated on 1 September 1958 at Adair AFS, Oregon
- Assigned to 25th Air Division
- Discontinued 1 April 1966
- Reno Air Defense SectorReno Air Defense SectorThe Reno Air Defense Sector is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with the 28th Air Division, being stationed at Stead Air Force Base, Nevada.-History:...
- Activated on 15 February 1959 at Stead AFB, Nevada
- Assigned to 25th Air Division
- Re-assigned to 28th Air Division, 1 July 1960
- Re-assigned to Fourth Air ForceFourth Air ForceThe Fourth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Reserve . It is headquartered at March Air Reserve Base, California....
, 1 April 1966 - Discontinued 25 June 1966
- San Francisco Air Defense SectorSan Francisco Air Defense SectorThe San Francisco Air Defense Sector is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with the 28th Air Division, being stationed at Beale Air Force Base, California.- History :...
- Activated on 15 February 1959 at Beale AFB, California
- Assigned to 28th Air Division
- Discontinued 1 August 1963
- Sault Sainte Marie Air Defense SectorSault Sainte Marie Air Defense SectorThe Sault Sainte Marie Air Defense Sector is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with the 30th Air Division, being stationed at K.I. Sawyer Air Force Base, Michigan.- History :...
- Activated on 8 November 1958 at K. I. Sawyer AFB, Michigan
- Assigned to 37th Air Division
- Re-assigned to 30th Air Division, 1 April 1959
- Discontinued 15 December 1963
- Seattle Air Defense Sector
- Activated on 8 January 1958 at McChord AFB, Washington
- Assigned to 25th Air Division
- Discontinued 1 April 1966
- Sioux City Air Defense SectorSioux City Air Defense SectorThe Sioux City Air Defense Sector is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with the Air Defense Command 29th Air Division, being stationed at Sioux City Air Force Station , Iowa.-History:...
- Activated on 1 October 1959 at Sioux City AFS, Iowa
- Assigned to 20th Air Division
- Re-assigned to 33d Air Division, 1 January 1960
- Re-assigned to 29th Air Division, 1 July 1961
- Discontinued 1 April 1966
- Spokane Air Defense SectorSpokane Air Defense SectorThe Spokane Air Defense Sector is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with the Air Defense Command 25th Air Division, being stationed at Larson Air Force Base, Washington.-History:...
- Activated on 8 September 1958 at Larson AFB, Washington
- Assigned to 25th Air Division
- Discontinued 1 September 1963
- Syracuse Air Defense SectorSyracuse Air Defense SectorThe Syracuse Air Defense Sector is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with the Air Defense Command 26th Air Division, being stationed at Syracuse Air Force Station, New York.- History :...
- Formed through re-designation of 4624th Air Defense Wing (SAGE), 8 January 1957
- Activated at Syracuse AFS, New York
- Assigned to 32d Air Division
- Re-assigned to 25th Air Division, 15 August 1958
- Discontinued 4 September 1963
- Washington Air Defense SectorWashington Air Defense SectorThe Washington Air Defense Sector is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with the Air Defense Command 26th Air Division, being stationed at Fort Lee Air Force Station, Virginia...
- Formed through re-designation of 4625th Air Defense Wing (SAGE), 8 January 1957
- Activated at Fort Lee AFS, Virginia
- Assigned to 85th Air Division
- Re-assigned to 26th Air Division, 1 September 1958
- Discontinued 1 April 1966
Centers
- Aerospace Defense Center
- Activated on 1 December 1979 at Colorado Springs, Colorado
- Transferred to HQ, United States Air Force, 1 December 1979
- Air Defense Weapons Center
- Organized at Tyndall AFB, Florida, 31 October 1967
- Assigned to Air Defense Command
- Transferred to Tactical Air Command, 1 October 1979
- Aerospace Defense Command Combat Operations Center (COC)
- Designated and activated as NORAD Combat Operations Center, 21 April 1976
- Assigned to Cheyenne Mountain Complex CityCheyenne MountainCheyenne Mountain is a mountain located just outside the southwest side of Colorado Springs, Colorado, U.S., and is home to the Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Station and its Cheyenne Mountain Directorate, formerly known as the Cheyenne Mountain Operations Center .Throughout the Cold War and...
, Colorado - Assigned to Aerospace Defense Command, 21 April 1976
- Re-designated ADCOM CONIC, 30 June 1976
- Transferred to Tactical Air Command, 1 October 1979
See also
- Continental Air CommandContinental Air CommandContinental Air Command was a Major Command of the United States Air Force responsible primarily for administering the Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve.-Lineage:...
- Tactical Air CommandTactical Air CommandTactical Air Command is an inactive United States Air Force organization. It was a Major Command of the United States Air Force, established on 21 March 1946 being headquartered at Langley Air Force Base, Virginia...
- North American Aerospace Defense CommandNorth American Aerospace Defense CommandNorth American Aerospace Defense Command is a joint organization of Canada and the United States that provides aerospace warning, air sovereignty, and defense for the two countries. Headquarters NORAD is located at Peterson AFB, Colorado Springs, Colorado...
- Air National GuardAir National GuardThe Air National Guard , often referred to as the Air Guard, is the air force militia organized by each of the fifty U.S. states, the commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the territories of Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the District of Columbia of the United States. Established under Title 10 and...
- Northeast Air CommandNortheast Air CommandThe Northeast Air Command was a short-lived organization in the United States Air Force tasked with the operation and defense of air bases in Greenland, Labrador and Newfoundland. It was formed in 1950 from the facilities of the United States established during World War II in Northeast Canada,...