Northeast Air Command

The Northeast Air Command (NEAC) was a short-lived organization in the United States Air Force

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...

tasked with the operation and defense of air bases in Greenland

Greenland

Greenland is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark, located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Though physiographically a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe for...

, Labrador

Labrador

Labrador is the distinct, northerly region of the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It comprises the mainland portion of the province, separated from the island of Newfoundland by the Strait of Belle Isle...

and Newfoundland. It was formed in 1950 from the facilities of the United States established during World War II in Northeast Canada, Newfoundland and Greenland. It was discontinued in 1957.

Origins

The Northeast Air Command (NEAC) was originally formed from the 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...

facilities of the United States Army

United States Army

The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...

Newfoundland Base Command (NBC), which formed on 15 January 1941. The NBC was formed to command bases in Newfoundland which came under United States control as a result of the 1940 Destroyers for Bases Agreement

Destroyers for Bases Agreement

The Destroyers for Bases Agreement between the United States and the United Kingdom, September 2, 1940, transferred fifty mothballed destroyers from the United States Navy in exchange for land rights on British possessions...

; the 1941 US-Danish Agreement on Greenland, and the development by Air Transport Command

Air Transport Command

Air Transport Command is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its mission was to meet the urgent demand for the speedy reinforcement of the United States' military bases worldwide during World War II, using an air supply system to supplement surface transport...

of airfields in the Canadian Northwest Territories

Northwest Territories

The Northwest Territories is a federal territory of Canada.Located in northern Canada, the territory borders Canada's two other territories, Yukon to the west and Nunavut to the east, and three provinces: British Columbia to the southwest, and Alberta and Saskatchewan to the south...

and Greenland

Greenland

to support aircraft ferry routes to Great Britain.

Newfoundland Base Command

In the summer of 1940, President Roosevelt began negotiating with British Ambassador to the United States, Lord Lothian for the American lease of British bases, the "rental" to take the form of fifty over-age destroyers. On 2 September 1940, the negotiations were completed. In exchange for the destroyers, the U. S. got ninety-nine-year leases for bases in Dominion of Newfoundland

Dominion of Newfoundland

The Dominion of Newfoundland was a British Dominion from 1907 to 1949 . The Dominion of Newfoundland was situated in northeastern North America along the Atlantic coast and comprised the island of Newfoundland and Labrador on the continental mainland...

, Bermuda

Bermuda

Bermuda is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, its nearest landmass is Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. It is about south of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and northeast of Miami, Florida...

, British Guiana

British Guiana

British Guiana was the name of the British colony on the northern coast of South America, now the independent nation of Guyana.The area was originally settled by the Dutch at the start of the 17th century as the colonies of Essequibo, Demerara, and Berbice...

, Antigua

Antigua

Antigua , also known as Waladli, is an island in the West Indies, in the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean region, the main island of the country of Antigua and Barbuda. Antigua means "ancient" in Spanish and was named by Christopher Columbus after an icon in Seville Cathedral, Santa Maria de la...

, Trinidad

Trinidad

Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands and numerous landforms which make up the island nation of Trinidad and Tobago. It is the southernmost island in the Caribbean and lies just off the northeastern coast of Venezuela. With an area of it is also the fifth largest in...

, St. Lucia, Jamaica and the Bahamas. The detailed lease agreements were not signed until March 1941. But by that time, American troops were already in Newfoundland.

The first United States troops arrived in Newfoundland on 29 January 1941. The first base occupied was a temporary tent camp near St. John's called Camp Alexander. Nearby Fort Pepperrell (renamed Pepperrell Air Force Base on 16 June 1949) received its first troops in November 1941. The Newfoundland Base Command (NBC) was assigned to the Northeastern (later Eastern) Defense Command

Eastern Defense Command

Eastern Defense Command was established on 17 March 1941 as the command formation of the U.S. Army responsible for coordinating the defense of the Atlantic Coast region of the United States. EDC replaced the existing Northeast Defense Command. A second major responsibility of EDC was the training...

whose area included the east coast of the United States. NBC's mission was to provide ground, antiaircraft, and harbor defense of U.S. bases in Newfoundland, to work with Canada in defending Newfoundland, and to cooperate with the Navy in Newfoundland defense. The NBC was under the direct control of US Army General Headquarters

GHQ

GHQ from General Headquarters, may refer to:*a high level military command center, see headquarters**GHQ India - headquarters of the British India Army...

for U.S. Troops in Newfoundland

Dominion of Newfoundland

in the defense of the northeastern seaboard

Northeastern United States

The Northeastern United States is a region of the United States as defined by the United States Census Bureau.-Composition:The region comprises nine states: the New England states of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont; and the Mid-Atlantic states of New...

. The responsibility for NBC rested with the Commanding General, 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 :...

. The Base Command was responsible for its own supply, which was to be provided by the Second Corps

U.S. II Corps

The II Corps was a corps of the United States Army and the first US formation of any size to see combat in Europe or Africa during World War II.-World War I:...

area to the same extent as for units of the field forces.

NBC provided ground, antiaircraft, and harbor defense of U.S. bases in Newfoundland and Labrador

Newfoundland and Labrador

Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada. Situated in the country's Atlantic region, it incorporates the island of Newfoundland and mainland Labrador with a combined area of . As of April 2011, the province's estimated population is 508,400...

, to work with Canada in defending Newfoundland, and to cooperate with the United States Navy

United States Navy

The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...

in Newfoundland defense. Newfoundland Base Command was headquartered at Fort Pepperrell

Fort Pepperrell

Pepperrell Air Force Base, previously known as Fort Pepperrell, was a former United States military base located in St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada which operated from 1941-1960....

, St. John's

St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador

St. John's is the capital and largest city in Newfoundland and Labrador, and is the oldest English-founded city in North America. It is located on the eastern tip of the Avalon Peninsula on the island of Newfoundland. With a population of 192,326 as of July 1, 2010, the St...

Newfoundland

Newfoundland and Labrador

, Canada.

The first USAAF presence in Newfoundland was in May 1941 when six B-18 Bolo

B-18 Bolo

The Douglas B-18 Bolo was a United States Army Air Corps and Royal Canadian Air Force bomber of the late 1930s and early 1940s. The Bolo was built by Douglas Aircraft Company and based on its DC-2 and was developed to replace the Martin B-10....

s from 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....

21st Reconnaissance Squadron arrived at RCAF Station Gander

Army Air Forces Antisubmarine Command

The Army Air Forces Antisubmarine Command was a direct reporting agency of the United States Army Air Forces during World War II. Its mission was to deal with the German Navy U-boat threat.-Lineage:...

. Later, the Army Air Forces Antisubmarine Command

Army Air Forces Antisubmarine Command

(AAFAC) used both Gander and RCAF Station Torbay

St. John's International Airport

St. John's International Airport is an international airport located northwest of St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada that serves the St. John's Metro Area and the Avalon Peninsula. The airport is part of the National Airports System, and is operated by St...

near St. John's

St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador

for antisubmarine patrols over the North Atlantic and to provide convoy overflights over the shipping lanes, patrolling for U-Boats. Both Canada and the United States built radar stations in Newfoundland. Beginning in the spring of 1944, the American stations were phased over to the RCAF so that American personnel could be moved to more active theaters.

Greenland Base Command

While the exchange of destroyers for a string of Atlantic bases was under negotiation, and then, while plans and preparations for developing the new bases were getting under way, Great Britain and Canada were consolidating their position in the North Atlantic by stationing troops in Iceland

Iceland

Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...

and were attempting to counter German activities in Greenland

Greenland

.

With United States bases were under construction in Newfoundland, a number of possible sites for airfields in Greenland were made in late 1940. Greenland being a Danish colony with Denmark under the occupation of Nazi Germany at the time. These surveys were made with the justification that the defense of the American bases in Newfoundland and of the northeastern United States would be affected by a German military air base in Greenland.

The United States, nor Canada or Great Britain desired any Nazi facilities or armed forces in Greenland to obtain weather data. During the summer of 1940 Nazi Germany had organized in Norway a number of expeditions for the purpose of establishing radio and weather stations in northeastern Greenland, in the neighborhood of Scoresby Sound. Although manned, it would seem, by Norwegians and Danes, and led by a Dane, these weather stations were under German control and were operated for the purpose of assisting the German naval and military effort. A mixed British-Norwegian landing party seized a supply of aviation gasoline, dismantled several radio stations, and took into custody a number of heavily armed Danish "hunters" found on the coast. This was in late August or early September 1940. A few weeks afterward the British intercepted another vessel off the coast of Greenland with about fifty Germans, some of them meteorologists, on board. All this activity at the top of the Western Hemisphere was a source of much concern to the United States.

In addition to seizing German ships and weather equipment on Greenland, the British and Canadians were planning on building air bases on the island to conduct antisubmarine warfare in the North Atlantic. Although the United States Government had acquiesced in the British garrisoning of Iceland

Iceland

, it had no desire to see Britain make the same move into Greenland; for Greenland was, unlike Iceland, definitely within the Western Hemisphere and within the scope of the Monroe Doctrine

Monroe Doctrine

The Monroe Doctrine is a policy of the United States introduced on December 2, 1823. It stated that further efforts by European nations to colonize land or interfere with states in North or South America would be viewed as acts of aggression requiring U.S. intervention...

.

The Department of State reached an agreement on 9 April 1941 with Danish Foreign Minister, Henrik de Kauffmann, acting on behalf of His Majesty the King of Denmark in his capacity as sovereign of Greenland. The agreement recognized that as a result of the European war there was danger that Greenland may be converted into a point of aggression against nations of the American Continent by Nazi Germany. The agreement, after explicitly recognizing the Danish sovereignty over Greenland, granted to the United States the right to locate and construct airplane landing fields and other facilities for the defense of Greenland and for the defense of the North American Continent.

As soon as the agreement with the Danish Government was concluded, President Roosevelt authorized the War Department to go ahead with the preparations for building airfields and other facilities in Greenland. $5 million in funds previously allocated for constructing the bases acquired from the British in the Bases for Destroyers agreement was re-allocated to Greenland. On 30 June construction of the first U.S. Army and Navy base in Greenland, code-named Bluie West I began. Greenland Base Command (GBC) was established on 1 September 1941 headquarters at Bluie West I was established to take charge of the U.S. forces and facilities being planned.

By the end of September 1941, when the contractor's people arrived, the troops at Bluie West I had erected 85 buildings, about two-thirds of the total needed for the initial force, and had begun to install the necessary utilities. They had built three miles (5 km) of access roads, constructed a temporary dock, and started work on the airfield. By the time the civilian construction force arrived they had finished grading one of the two runways and had a metal landing mat partly laid. Bluie West I was thus one of the earliest U.S. Army airfields, if not the first, to make actual use of Pierced Steel Planking (PSP) in runway construction, an important engineering development and one that afterwards contributed greatly to the winning of the war, in the Pacific particularly. After the arrival of the civilian construction force the engineer battalion, reinforced by a company of the 42d Engineers (General Service), concentrated exclusively on airfield construction. They continued to do so until February 1942 when the civilian force took over this work as well. By then the first runway was ready for limited use. Construction work on a second west coast base further north, at Sondrestrom

Kangerlussuaq

Kangerlussuaq is a settlement in western Greenland in the Qeqqata municipality, located at the head of a fjord of the same name. It is Greenland's main air transport hub, being the site of Greenland's largest commercial airport....

or Bluie West Eight, began in September 1941. A third field was placed on the east coast almost directly across from BW-1 at Angmagssalik

Tasiilaq

Tasiilaq is a town in the Sermersooq municipality in southeastern Greenland. With 1,930 inhabitants as of 2010, it is the most populous community on the eastern coast, and the seventh-largest town in Greenland...

In addition, the United States obtained rights to build bases in Greenland. In July 1941, a task force of service troops arrived at Narsarsuaq

Narsarsuaq

Narsarsuaq is a settlement in the Kujalleq municipality in southern Greenland. It had 158 inhabitants in 2010. There is a thriving tourism industry in and around Narsarsuaq, whose attractions include a great diversity of wildlife, gemstones, tours to glaciers, and an airfield museum...

. This site had been chosen as a major staging base between Labrador and Newfoundland. Work began at once on the base, which was given the code name Bluie West One
Bluie West One
Bluie West One airfield was built on a glacial moraine at what is now the village of Narsarsuaq, near the southern tip of Greenland. Construction by the U.S. Army began in June 1941, and the first plane landed there in January 1942...

(BW-1), and the first plane set down on 24 January 1942. Work on a second west coast base further north, at Sondrestrom

Kangerlussuaq

or Bluie West Eight, began in September 1941. A third field was placed on the east coast almost directly across from BW-1 at Angmagssalik

Tasiilaq

(Bluie East Two).

An interesting contribution to the defense of Greenland was the Northeast Greenland dog sledge patrol organized in the summer of 1941 as a joint endeavor of the Army, the United States Coast Guard, and the Greenland Government. All the activity on the east coast the year before had demonstrated the ease with which anyone could establish a foothold in the vast Arctic wastes, the near impossibility of finding a hostile force that had established itself, and the difficulty of dislodging one, once it was discovered. An air patrol of the east coast, even after the new bases were completed proved its worth by assisting in the capture of the trawler Buskoe on 12 September, as that vessel, a small German-controlled Norwegian ship, was attempting to establish a radio and weather station in the Mackenzie Bay area.

In addition to the Army Airfields, the United States Navy Atlantic Fleet established a number of stations on Greenland to support radio, weather, and naval patrols as part of the Battle of the North Atlantic against German U-Boats and the protection of Allied convoy traffic in the North Atlantic.

Air Transport Command

In 1941, the United States established a series of northern airfields and weather stations across the Canadian Northwest Territories

Northwest Territories

and Labrador with the approval of the Canadian government. The original mission of these airfields and stations was to aid in moving military aircraft to Great Britain as part of the Lend-Lease Act

Lend-Lease

Lend-Lease was the program under which the United States of America supplied the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union, China, Free France, and other Allied nations with materiel between 1941 and 1945. It was signed into law on March 11, 1941, a year and a half after the outbreak of war in Europe in...

prior to American entry into World War II. The Canada-U.S. Permanent Joint Board on Defence made the plan official as Recommendations 17 and 26 in July 1941 and June 1942 respectively. First referred to as the "North East Staging Route," it eventually became known as the "Crimson Project" or "Crimson Route

Crimson Route

The Crimson Route was a set of joint United States and Canadian transport routes planned for ferrying planes and material from North America to Europe during World War II...

", supposedly after the Red Cross who were using the same route for medical evacuation of wounded soldiers from the European Theatre.

As an alternate to the previously developed base at Gander Lake in southern Newfoundland, the Canadian government in September 1941 began the development of Goose Bay in Labrador. During the preceding July the United States had sent engineers to Narsarssuak in Greenland for the building of the air base that came to be known as BLUIE WEST 1 (BW-1), and in the following September work began on BW-8, a much more northerly base on the western coast of Greenland. United States forces had taken over the defense of Iceland in July 1941, where they improved airstrips previously occupied by the RAF and began in the spring of 1942 to build two new air bases (Meeks and Patterson) near Keflavik. The eastern terminal lay at Prestwick in Scotland. When the Eighth Air Force began its movement in the summer of 1942, work was still in progress all along the route.

At that time it was hoped that some of the disadvantages of the existing route might be overcome by developing a more northerly airway extending from Great Falls, Montana, across Canada to Hudson Bay and thence by way of Baffin Island to Bluie West Eight in Greenland. In Canada, airfields were established at The Pas

The Pas Airport

The Pas Airport, , is located northeast of The Pas, Manitoba, Canada.-Airlines and destinations:-See also:*The Pas/Grace Lake Airport*The Pas/Grace Lake Water Aerodrome...

and Churchill

Churchill Airport

Churchill Airport is located east southeast of Churchill, Manitoba, Canada.Churchill Airport serves the town of Churchill and the surrounding region. Although it is a small domestic airport, it handles a relatively high number of passengers throughout the year as it is a major destination for...

in Manitoba; Southampton Island

Southampton Island

Southampton Island is a large island at the entrance to Hudson Bay at Foxe Basin. One of the larger members of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, Southampton Island is part of the Kivalliq Region in Nunavut, Canada. The area of the island is stated as by Statistics Canada . It is the 34th largest...

and a site code-named Crystal II in the Northwest Territories.

These airfields, along with airfields in Iceland, Greenland and Newfoundland established several transport routes for which aircraft could be ferried to Great Britain from manufacturing plants in different locations in the United States to Prestwick Field in Scotland. By thus following the great circle course, long one of the goals of airmen, the distance from southern California, where much of the U.S. aircraft industry was concentrated, to Iceland was reduced by almost 600 miles (965.6 km), with no leg of the journey longer than 850 miles (1,367.9 km).

Nearly 900 aircraft were ferried through the North Atlantic bases to active combat theaters in 1942, approximately 3,200 in 1943, over 8,400 in 1944, and approximately 2,150 in the last five months of the European conflict in 1945; in all nearly 15,000 planes. Equally important, and indeed fundamental to the fulfilment of the ferrying mission itself, was the development of a safe, dependable service for strategic air transportation between the United States and the United Kingdom.

Postwar era

In 1946,the Navy built a new and much larger weather station at Thule, Greenland. The Army Corps of Engineers built a 4000 feet (1,219.2 m) airstrip on the south side of the station. In the following year the Thule airstrip was used as a jump-off point for exploration and a supply point for construction of airstrips and weather stations on the Canadian side of the straits (Eureka, Resolute, and Isachsen). The first Air Transport Command

Air Transport Command

aircraft landed on 9 September 1946. The 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...

East Reconnaissance Group (Project Nanook) flew B-17 mapping and photography missions from Thule’s primitive facilities. In February 1947 the airfield was used to recover the crew of the downed B-29 Kee Bird
Kee Bird
The Kee Bird was a United States Army Air Forces B-29-95-BW Superfortress, 45-21768, of the 46th Reconnaissance Squadron, that became marooned after making an emergency landing in northwest Greenland during a secret Cold War spying mission on 21 February 1947...

.

The War Department decided that there was no longer a requirement for active defense of the areas of the North Atlantic bases. The Army began withdrawing personnel and equipment from the area, and on 1 September 1945, Greenland Base Command was consolidated with Newfoundland Base Command and became a subordinate organization of NBC. All United States Army and USAAF forces in Labrador and Northeast Canada were placed under the Newfoundland Base Command.

Shortly afterwards, on 1 January 1946, Newfoundland Base Command was transferred from the Army Eastern Defense Command and was placed under the control of Air Transport Command

Air Transport Command

. NBC's mission being to maintain key airfields used by ATC between the United States and Great Britain. ATC was inactivated and control of NBC was reassigned to the new Military Air Transport Service

Military Air Transport Service

The 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...

(MATS) on 1 June 1948. This arrangement continued until late 1950.

By 1948, 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...

had erupted and and a more urgent note was struck in the air defense of North America. The new 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), with headquarters at Mitchel Field, New York was established. Overall responsibility for air defense was vested
in ConAC, and plans were made for a chain of Ground Control Intercept radar stations in Greenland and northeast Canada to detect any long-range Soviet aircraft approaching, with squadrons of interceptor aircraft to defend the airspace of North America.

The Newfoundland Base Command was inactivated on 1 October 1950, and control of units and the former Newfoundland and Greenland Base Commands facilities was transferred to the Northeast Air Command (NEAC). Similar to the Military Air Transport Service, NEAC was a Unified Department of Defense Command, under the jurisdiction of the United States Northeast Command (USNEC). USNEC operated as a joint-service unified command under direct operational control of 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...

. NEAC was the only component of USNEC. Neither the Army nor the Navy ever established component commands, however Army and Navy officers served on the staff of USNEC. Air Force officers served in dual positions on the staff of NEAC and on the staff of USNEC until USNEC was abolished on 1 September 1956.

NEAC established its headquarters at Pepperrell AFB, Newfoundland and was given several additional units. In this form it had two primary missions, the former MATS mission supporting air transport and logistics, and a new role defending the defensive air bases of interceptors and radar stations being established in the region. NEAC's Area of Operations was defined as Newfoundland, Labrador, northeastern Canada, and Greenland.

The operational units of NEAC were organized into the 64th Air Division (Defense). As a result of the Cold War

Cold War

the mission of NEAC was to provide RADAR cover over the northwest Atlantic Ocean, to provide a fighter interceptor force to defend against approaching enemy aircraft, and to support United States Army anti-aircraft defense forces. These units initially included 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:...

squadrons at Goose Bay AFB in Labrador, and Ernest Harmon AFB in Newfoundland, as well as a variety of Air Control Wings in the early warning role in Newfoundland, Labrador and Baffin Island.

NEAC RADAR stations were part of the complex of stations built throughout Canada under the Canada-United States Radar Extension Plan (known as 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...

). In addition to the Pinetree stations located in Canada, three stations were built in Greenland. The Pinetree stations consisted of three direction centers and seven early warning stations. In Greenland, there were two early warning stations and a direction center. An air defense control center was built at Pepperrell AFB.

In the late 1940s the United States studied the possibility of establishing a major operating base in Greenland when it became clear that round trip flights of planes carrying atomic bombs between US or Canadian bases and European objectives were impractical. The shortest route from the US to 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....

’s most important industrial areas was over the North Pole

North Pole

The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is, subject to the caveats explained below, defined as the point in the northern hemisphere where the Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface...

, and Thule is at the precise midpoint
between Moscow and New York. Thule became a key point in the whole American military strategy. Strategic Air Command

Strategic Air Command

bombers flying over the Arctic presented less risk of early warning than using bases in England. Defensively, Thule could serve as a base for intercepting bomber attacks along the northeastern approaches to Canada and the US.

Thule AB was constructed in secret under the code name Operation Blue Jay, with construction beginning in 1951. Construction took place around the clock. The workers lived on board the ship until quarters were built. It was built with a 10,000 foot (by 200') runway and a fuel storage capacity of about 100 million USgals (378,541.2 m³). On 1 July 1951, the 6622nd AB Squadron of NEAC arrived and air operations commenced on 11 September 1951. The first fighter interceptors assigned to Thule were four F-9ABs and began operations on 11 September 1952. This was Detachment 1 of the 59th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, which went to Thule AB, Greenland with four F-94B's. Additional interceptor squadrons were established at Goose Bay AB in Labrador and Harmon AB in Newfoundland and were composed of F-94s and F-89s. Also, there were numerous deployments of fighter-interceptor squadrons from the Tactical Air Command and Air Defense Command to NEAC bases, along with Strategic Air Command tankers and bombers, primarily using Thule as a refueling and staging base.

Plans were made in 1952 to station anti-aircraft units at Thule for the protection of the base. The first Army anti-aircraft personnel arrived on 3 July 1953, with the main body of troops arriving on 27 August. The units deployed were the 549th AAA Gun Battalion (90mm), 428th AAA Battery (Light) (75mm), 429th AAA Battery (Light) (75mm), 177th AAA Operations Detachment, 357th Signal Radar Maintenance Unit, 128th Ordnance Artillery Repair Detachment, and 162nd Ordnance Integrated Fire Control Repair Detachment.

Inactivation

In mid-1956, the Joint Chiefs of Staff completed a world-wide reorganization plan which they called the Unified Command Plan. Its aim was a more efficient structure and reduced cost. It achieved this by consolidating organizations and eliminating excess superstructures. As part of this consolidation, United States Northeast Command (USNEC) was disestablished as a joint-service unified command, with control being assumed by the Air Force. The Army anti-aircraft group in the area, the 7th at Thule, was assigned to the U.S. Army Air Defense Command.

On 1 April 1957 the USAF discontinued NEAC. Air Defense Command and Strategic Air Command

Strategic Air Command

divided the Air Force units and equipment that had been under NEAC. ADC took over the USAF defense forces (including the 64th Air Division). ADC also took possession of Pepperrell AFB and all U.S. RADAR stations. SAC assumed ownership of Goose, Harmon, Thule, Narsarssuak, Sondrestrom, and Frobisher Bay Airport. Finally, ADC succeeded NEAC in its responsibilities for supporting and operating the 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...

radar stations in Canada and Greenland.

Lineage

Established as Newfoundland Base Command (USA) on 15 January 1941
Established as Greenland Base Command (USA) on 1 September 1941

Greenland Base Command became subordinate organization to Newfoundland Base Command, 1 September 1945

Newfoundland Base Command Discontinued 1 October 1950.

Greenland Base Command Discontinued 19 October 1950.

Established as Northeast Air Command and activated as a USAF major command on 1 October 1950.

Northeast Air Command assumed jurisdiction of former NBC and GBC USAF facilities and units.

Discontinued on 1 April 1957.

Assignments

Eastern Defense Command
Eastern Defense Command
Eastern Defense Command was established on 17 March 1941 as the command formation of the U.S. Army responsible for coordinating the defense of the Atlantic Coast region of the United States. EDC replaced the existing Northeast Defense Command. A second major responsibility of EDC was the training...

(U.S. Army), 15 January 1941
Atlantic Division, Air Transport Command
Air Transport Command
Air Transport Command is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its mission was to meet the urgent demand for the speedy reinforcement of the United States' military bases worldwide during World War II, using an air supply system to supplement surface transport...

(USAAF), 1 January 1946
Military Air Transport Service
Military Air Transport Service
The 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...

(MATS), 1 April 1948 – 1 October 1950
HQ, United States Northeast Command, 1 October 1950
HQ, United States Air Force
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...

, 1 September 1956 – 1 April 1957

Newfoundland Base Command

RCAF Station Torbay
St. John's International Airport
St. John's International Airport is an international airport located northwest of St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada that serves the St. John's Metro Area and the Avalon Peninsula. The airport is part of the National Airports System, and is operated by St...

, (Headquarters, Newfoundland Base Command)

411th Bombardment Squadron (NBC), 1 May–30 August 1941 (B-18 Bolo

B-18 Bolo

)

49th Bombardment Squadron

49th Test and Evaluation Squadron

The 49th Test and Evaluation Squadron is an active United States Air Force unit. Its current assignment is with the 53d Wing, based at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana.-Mission:...

(NBC), 13 December 1941 – June 1942 (B-18 Bolo

B-18 Bolo

)

429th Bombardment Squadron

The 429th Bombardment Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with the 2d Bombardment Wing, based at Hunter Air Force Base, Georgia. It was inactivated on 1 January 1962.-History:...

(NBC), 28 August 1941 – 29 October 1942 (B-18 Bolo

B-18 Bolo

)

847th Bombardment Squadron

The 847th Bombardment Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with the 489th Bombardment Group, based at Great Bend Army Air Field, Kansas...

(later 20th Antisubmarine Squadron) (AAFAC), 29 October 1942 – 25 June 1943 (B-17 Flying Fortress)

RCAF Station Gander
CFB Gander
Canadian Forces Base Gander , is a Canadian Forces Base located in Gander, Newfoundland and Labrador. It is operated as an air force base by the Royal Canadian Air Force and is home to air/marine search and rescue operations that cover a vast swath of the western North Atlantic and southern Arctic...

19th Antisubmarine Squadron

The 19th Antisubmarine Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with the 479th Antisubmarine Group, based at RAF Podington, England...

(AAFAC), 19 March–25 June 1943 (B-17 Flying Fortress)

6th Antisubmarine Squadron

The 6th Antisubmarine Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with the 479th Antisubmarine Group, based at RAF Podington, England...

(AAFAC), 12 April–21 August 1943 (B-24 Liberator

B-24 Liberator

The Consolidated B-24 Liberator was an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and a small number of early models were sold under the name LB-30, for Land Bomber...

)

4th Antisubmarine Squadron

The 4th Antisubmarine Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with the 479th Antisubmarine Group, based at RAF Podington, England...

(AAFAC), 8–23 June 1943 (B-24 Liberator

B-24 Liberator

)

Goose Bay Air Base
CFB Goose Bay
Canadian Forces Base Goose Bay , is a Canadian Forces Base located in the town of Happy Valley-Goose Bay, Newfoundland and Labrador....

, Labrador
Labrador
Labrador is the distinct, northerly region of the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It comprises the mainland portion of the province, separated from the island of Newfoundland by the Strait of Belle Isle...

(Air Transport Command
Air Transport Command
Air Transport Command is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its mission was to meet the urgent demand for the speedy reinforcement of the United States' military bases worldwide during World War II, using an air supply system to supplement surface transport...

, North Atlantic Wing)

Greenland Base Command

Prins Christianssund (radio and weather station) (Bluie East One) (BE-1)
Angmagssalik Army Airfield (Bluie East Two) (BE-2) (Air Transport Command)
Cape Tobin, Walrus Bay (radio and weather station) (Bluie East Three) (BE-3)
Ella Ø Island (radio, weather, and patrol station) (Bluie East Four) (BE-4)
Eskimonæs (radio and weather station) (Bluie East Five (BE-5) (United States Navy)
Narsarsuaq Army Airfield (Bluie West One) (BW-1) (Air Transport Command) (HQ Greenland Base Command)
Kipisako (alternate for Bluie West One) (Bluie West Two) (BW-2) (United States Navy)
Simiutak Island (Bluie West Three) (BW-3) (United States Navy)

Teague Field, Marraq Point (radio and weather station) (Bluie West Four) (BW-4) (United States Navy)
Egedesminde (radio and weather station) (Bluie West Five) (BW-5) (United States Navy)
Thule
Thule Air Base
Thule Air Base or Thule Air Base/Pituffik Airport , is the United States Air Force's northernmost base, located north of the Arctic Circle and from the North Pole on the northwest side of the island of Greenland. It is approximately east of the North Magnetic Pole.-Overview:Thule Air Base is the...

(radio and weather station) (Bluie West Six) (BW-6)
Grønnedal Naval Base (radio and weather station), (Bluie West Seven) (BW-7) (United States Navy)
Sondrestrom Army Airfield (Bluie West Eight) (Air Transport Command) (BW-8)
Cruncher Island (defensive position for approaches to Søndre Strømfjord radio and weather station) (Bluie West Nine) (BW-9)

Northeast Air Command

Ernest Harmon AFB
Ernest Harmon Air Force Base
Ernest Harmon Air Force Base is a former United States Air Force base located in Stephenville, Newfoundland and Labrador. The base was built by the United States Army Air Forces in 1941 under the Destroyers for Bases Agreement with the United Kingdom....

, Newfoundland

6602d Air Base Wing, 1951–1957

Goose Bay AB, Labrador
Labrador
Labrador is the distinct, northerly region of the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It comprises the mainland portion of the province, separated from the island of Newfoundland by the Strait of Belle Isle...

6606th Air Base Wing, 1951–1957

McAndrew AB
Naval Station Argentia
Naval Station Argentia is a former base of the United States Navy that operated from 1941-1994. It was established in the community of Argentia in what was then the Dominion of Newfoundland, which later became the tenth Canadian province .-Construction:Established under the British-U.S...

, Newfoundland

6610th Air Base Group, 1951–1955

Narsarsuaq AB, Greenland

6611th Air Base Group, 1951–1957

Pepperrell AFB, Newfoundland

6604th Air Base Wing, 1951–1957

Sondrestrom AB
Sondrestrom Air Base
Sondrestrom Air Base is a former United States Air Force base in Greenland, located north of the Arctic Circle, from the northeast end of Kangerlussuaq Fjord , after which it was named, approximately west northwest of Ravneklippen, and west of Sisimiut.The base was turned over to the Greenland...

, Greenland

6621st Air Base Squadron, 1951

Re-designated: 6621st Air Base Group, 1955–1957

Thule AB, Greenland
Greenland
Greenland is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark, located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Though physiographically a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe for...

6622d Air Base Squadron, 1951

Re-designated: 6612th Air Base Group, 1952

Re-designated: 6607th Air Base Wing, 1954–1957

Jurisdiction of stations and units reassigned to Strategic Air Command, 1957

Division

64th Air Division, Pepperrell AFB

20 December 1952 – 15 April 1957

The 64th Air Division was the primary operational component of the Northeast Air Command. It was an outgrowth of the 152d Aircraft Control and Warning Group (New York Air National Guard). Upon activation of the 64th AD, it inherited operational control of United States Army Anti-Aircraft units within the former NBC area. Reassigned to Air Defense Command, 1957

Transport units

6614th Air Transport Group

Pepperrell AFB, Newfoundland, 8 April 1952 – 1 April 1957

6622d Air Transport Squadron, Torbay Airport NF

6614th Air Ttransport Squadron, Harmon AB, NF

6615th Air Transport Squadron, Goose Bay AFB, LB

Performed inta-theater transport of materiel and personnel. Reassigned to Strategic Air Command

Strategic Air Command

, 1957

Interceptor squadrons

59th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron

Goose AFB, Labrador, 28 October 1952 – 1 April 1957

F-94B Starfire; F-89D/J Scorpion; F-102A Delta Dart

61st Fighter-Interceptor Squadron

Harmon AFB, Newfoundland, 6 August 1953 – 1 April 1957

F-89D Scorpion

74th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron

Thule AB, Greenland, 20 Aug 1954 – 1 April 1957

F-89B/D Scorpion

318th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron

Thule AB, Greenland, 1 July 1953 – 1 April 1957

F-94A Starfire

Interceptor Squadrons reassigned to Air Defense Command, 1957

Aircraft Control and Warning (Radar) Squadrons

105th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron (Federalized NY Air National Guard, 152d AC&W Group)

Re-designated: 640th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron, 1 January 1953

Stephenville AS, Newfoundland, 8 April 1952 – 1 April 1957

106th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron (Federalized NY Air National Guard, 152d AC&W Group)

McAndrew AB

Naval Station Argentia

Naval Station Argentia is a former base of the United States Navy that operated from 1941-1994. It was established in the community of Argentia in what was then the Dominion of Newfoundland, which later became the tenth Canadian province .-Construction:Established under the British-U.S...

, Newfoundland, 8 April 1952 – 1 January 1953

107th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron (Federalized NY Air National Guard, 152d AC&W Group)

Re-designated: 931st Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron, 1 January 1953

Thule AS, Greenland, 8 April 1952 – 1 April 1957

108th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron (Federalized NY Air National Guard, 152d AC&W Group)

Re-designated: 642d Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron, 1 January 1953

Red Cliff AS, Newfoundland, 8 April 1952 – 1 April 1957

920th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron
920th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron
The 920th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the Goose Air Defense Sector, Air Defense Command, stationed at Resolution Island Air Station, Northern Territories, Canada...

Resolution Island AS, Northwest Territory, 19 January 1952 – 1 April 1957

921st Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron

Saint Anthony AS, Labrador, 1 October 1953 – 1 April 1957

923d Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron

Hopedale AS, Labrador, 1 October 1953 – 1 April 1957

924th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron

Saglek AS, Labrador, 1 October 1953 – 1 April 1957

926th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron
926th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron
The 926th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the Goose Air Defense Sector, Air Defense Command, stationed at Frobisher Bay Air Base, Northwest Territories, Canada...

Frobisher Bay AB, Northwest Territory, 1 October 1953 – 1 April 1957

Units and jurisdiction of stations reassigned to Air Defense Command, 1957

External links

Heritage Newfoundland Photo

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.