| 20th Air Division | |
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Emblem of the 20th Air Division |
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| Active | 1955-1983 |
| Country | United States |
| Branch | United States Air Force |
| Role | Command and Control |
| Part of | Tactical Air Command (ADTAC) |
The 20th Air Division (20th AD) is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with Tactical Air Command, being stationed at Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida. It was inactivated on 1 March 1983.
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The 20th AD was assigned to Air Defense Command (ADC) for most of its existence, primarily being a mid-level command and control echelon, controlling Fighter-Interceptor and Aircraft Control and Warning (Radar) units over several different Areas of Operation (AOR) within the CONUS during the Cold War era.
Initially activated as a command and control organization of the Central Air Defense Force at Grandview (later, Richards-Gebaur) AFB in June 1955, the command was responsible for the interceptor and radar units within an area that covered parts of Nebraska, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Illinois, Iowa, and virtually all of Kansas and Missouri.
On 1 October 1959, the 20th AD activated the Sioux City Air Defense Sector and its Semi Automatic Ground Environment (SAGE) DC-22 Direction Center. It also operated the Manual Control Center (MCC-2) at Richards-Gebaur. It was inactivated in 1960 when ADC reorganized it's structure with Air Defense Sectors, with the Kansas City Air Defense Sector (Manual) and Chicago Air Defense Sector (SAGE) taking over its former units.
It was reactivated in 1966 under Tenth Air Force as a SAGE organization, assuming responsibility for the Chicago ADS and provided air defense from the Truax Field, Wisconsin DC-7/CC-2 SAGE blockhouse for parts of Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Arkansas, Tennessee, Kentucky, Indiana, and all of Illinois. Assumed additional designation of 20th NORAD Region after activation of the NORAD Combat Operations Center at Cheyenne Mountain, Colorado and reporting was transferred to NORAD from ADC at Ent AFB in April 1966.
In addition to the active duty interceptor and radar units, the 20th AD supervised Air National Guard units that flew interception sorties using, among others, F-101 and F-106 aircraft, while at the same time controlling numerous radar squadrons. It was inactivated in 1967 as part of an ADC consolidation of intermediate level command and control organizations, driven by budget reductions required to fund USAF operations in Southeast Asia.
The 20th AD was activated for a third time in November 1969 under Aerospace Defense Command (ADCOM). The command provided air defense for virtually all of the southeastern United States, except for most of Louisiana from the SAGE DC-4 blockhouse at Fort Lee AFS, Virginia. Also in 1969 the Division controlled a CIM-10 Bomarc surface-to-air anti-aircraft missile squadron near Langley AFB until its inactivation in October 1972.
ADCOM was reorganized on 1 October 1979. The atmospheric defense resources (interceptors and warning radars) of ADCOM. including the 20th AD were reassigned to Tactical Air Command (TAC). After 1981, it controlled units equipped with F-15 aircraft, while its subordinate units continued to participate in intensive academic training, numerous multi-region simulated (non-flying) exercises, and flying exercises.
The 20th AD was inactivated most recently in March 1983, with the 20th NORAD Region taking over its units and responsibilities.
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This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the Air Force Historical Research Agency.