31st Air Division

31st Air Division
Emblem of the 31st Air Division
Active	1948–1968
Country	United States
Branch	United States Air Force
Role	Command and Control
Part of	Air Defense Command

The 31st Air Division (31st AD) is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with Air Defense Command, assigned to Tenth Air Force, being stationed at Sioux City Municipal Airport, Iowa. It was inactivated on 31 December 1969.

Contents 1 History 1.1 Lineage 1.2 Assignments 1.3 Stations 1.4 Components 1.4.1 Sectors 1.4.2 Groups 1.4.3 Interceptor squadrons 1.4.4 Radar squadrons 2 See also 3 References 4 External links

History

Assigned to Air Defense Command (ADC) for most of its existence, the division equipped, administered, trained, and provided combat ready forces within an area covering North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Minnesota, and other parts of the Midwest. The division participated in numerous live and simulated exercises such as Creek Chief, Pawnee Knife, and Mandan Hunt

Later, beginning in 1966, the 31st assumed responsibility for the former Oklahoma City Air Defense Sector and covered an area including Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Louisiana. Assumed additional designation of 31st 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.

Inactivated in December 1969 as ADC phased down its interceptor mission as the chances of a Soviet bomber attack on the United States seemed remote, its mission being consolidated into North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD).

Lineage

• Established as 31 Air Division (Defense) on 7 September 1950

Activated on 8 October 1950

Inactivated on 1 February 1952

• Organized on 1 February 1952

Inactivated on 1 January 1960

• Redesignated 31st NORAD Region/Air Division, and activated, on 20 January 1966

Organized on 1 April 1966, replacing Oklahoma City Air Defense Sector

Inactivated on 31 December 1969.

Assignments

• Air Defense Command

Eastern Air Defense Force, 8 October 1950

Attached 30 Air Division [Defense] , 27 November 1950 – 1 February 1951

Central Air Defense Force, 20 May 1951 – 1 January 1960

• Air Defense Command, 20 January 1966

Fourteenth Air Force, 1 April 1966 – 1 July 1968 (ConAC)

Tenth Air Force, 1 July 1968 – 31 December 1969.

Stations

• Selfridge AFB, Michigan, 8 October 1950 – 1 February 1952
• Fort Snelling (later, Snelling AFS), Minnesota, 1 February 1952 – 1 January 1960
• Oklahoma City AFS, Oklahoma, 1 April 1966 – 31 December 1969.

Components

Sectors

• Duluth Air Defense Sector: 20 December 1957 – 1 January 1959

Duluth Airport, Minnesota

• Grand Forks Air Defense Sector: 8 December 1957 – 1 January 1959

Grand Forks AFB, North Dakota

Groups

521st Air Defense Group: 16 February 1953 – 18 August 1955. Redesignated: 53d Fighter Group: 18 August 1955 – 1 March 1956 Sioux City MAP, Iowa 515th Air Defense Group: 16 February 1953 – 18 August 1955 Redesignated: 343d Fighter Group: 18 August 1955 – 1 January 1959 Duluth MAP, Minnesota

514th Air Defense Group: 16 February 1953 – 18 August 1955 Re-designated: 475th Fighter Group: 18 August 1955 – 2 January 1958 Minneapolis-Saint Paul MAP, Minnesota 478th Fighter Group: 8 February 1957 – 1 January 1959 Grand Forks AFB, North Dakota

Interceptor squadrons

11th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron: 1 December 1952 – 16 February 1953 Duluth MAP, Minnesota 18th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron: 1 December 1952 – 16 February 1953 Minneapolis-Saint Paul MAP, Minnesota 54th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron: 1 December 1952 – 16 February 1953 Ellsworth AFB, South Dakota 87th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron: 1 November 1952 – 16 February 1953 Sioux City Apt, Iowa

331st Fighter-Interceptor Squadron: 1 April 1966 – 1 March 1967 Webb AFB, Texas 432d Fighter-Interceptor Squadron: 1 December 1952 – 16 February 1953 Truax Field, Wisconsin 433d Fighter-Interceptor Squadron: 1 November 1952 – 16 February 1953 Truax Field, Wisconsin

Radar squadrons

650th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron Dallas Center AFS, Iowa, 1 July 1955-1 March 1956 676th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron Antigo AFS, Wisconsin, 6 February 1952-16 February 1953 683d Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron Sweetwater AFS, Texas, 1 April 1966-30 September 1969 687th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron West Mesa AFS, New Mexico, 1 April 1966-8 September 1968 688th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron Amarillo AFB, Texas, 1 April 1966-8 September 1968 692d Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron Baudette AFS, Minnesota, 1 October 1958-1 January 1959 703d Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron Texarkana AFS, Arkansas, 1 April 1966-8 September 1968 707th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron Grand Rapids AFS, Minnesota, 1 July 1956-1 January 1959 739th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron Wadena AFS, Minnesota, 1 February 1953-1 January 1959 740th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron Rapid City AFB, South Dakota, 1-16 February 1953 741st Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron Lackland AFB, Texas, 1 April 1966-31 December 1969 745th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron Perrin AFS, Texas, 1 April 1966-30 September 1969

746th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron Oklahoma City AFS, Oklahoma, 1 April 1966-8 September 1968 756th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron Finland AFS, Minnesota, 6 February 1952-1 July 1959 785th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron Finley AFS, North Dakota, 6 February 1952-16 February 1953 786th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron Minot AFS, North Dakota, 6 February 1952-16 February 1953 787th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron Chandler AFS, Minnesota, 6 February 1952-1 January 1959 788th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron Waverly AFS, Iowa, 6 February 1952-1 March 1956 789th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron Omaha AFS, Nebraska, 6 February 1952-1 March 1956 791st Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron Hanna City AFS, Illinois, 6 February 1952-1 March 1956 808th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron Rochester AFS, Minnesota, 1 September 1955-9 September 1957 903d Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron Gettysburg AFS, South Dakota, 1 March 1956-1 January 1959 915th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron Sioux Lookout AS, Ontario, 16 December 1952-1 January 1959 916th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron Beausejour AS, Manitoba, 1 December 1952-1 January 1959

See also

• List of USAF Aerospace Defense Command General Surveillance Radar Stations
• Aerospace Defense Command Fighter Squadrons
• List of United States Air Force air divisions

References

 This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the Air Force Historical Research Agency.

• Winkler, David F. (1997), Searching the skies: the legacy of the United States Cold War defense radar program. Prepared for United States Air Force Headquarters Air Combat Command.
• A Handbook of Aerospace Defense Organization 1946 - 1980, by Lloyd H. Cornett and Mildred W. Johnson, Office of History, Aerospace Defense Center, Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado
• Aerospace Defense Command publication, The Interceptor, January 1979 (Volume 21, Number 1)
• Air Force Historical Research Agency:31st Air Division

External links

Aerospace Defense Command (ADC) Bases CONUS Ethan Allen Amarillo Beale Bong (unbuilt) Charleston Davis-Monthan Dobbins Dover Dow Duluth Eglin Edwards Ellington Ellsworth England Ent Fairfax Fallon Fort Heath Fort Lee Geiger George Glasgow Grand Forks Grenier Griffiss Gunter Hamilton Hancock Homestead Hurlburt Hunter Jacksonville Key West Kincheloe Kingsley Kirtland Lackland Laredo Larson Luke MacDill March Malmstrom McCoy McChord McClellan McGhee Tyson McGuire Minneapolis-St. Paul Minot Mitchel New Castle Niagara Falls Norton O'Hare Otis Oxnard Paine Perrin Peterson Pittsburgh Portland Presque Isle Richards-Gebaur Robins K.I. Sawyer Selfridge Seymour Johnson Sioux City Stead Stewart Suffolk County Tinker Travis Truax Tyndall Vandenburg Vincent Walker Webb Westover Wright-Patterson Wurtsmith Youngstown Overseas Ernest Harmon Frobisher Bay Goose Bay Keflavik Pepperrell Pirinclik Thule Stations CONUS Adair Aiken Almaden Alpena Antigo Arlington Heights Baker Bedford Bellefontaine Belleville Benton Blaine Brookfield Brunswicck Bucks Harbor Burns Calumet Cambria Cape Charles Cape Cod Carmi Caswell Chandler Charleston Cheyenne Mountain Claysburg Clear Colville Condon Continental Divide Cottonwood Cross City Crystal Springs Curlew Custer Cut Bank Dallas Center Dauphin Island Dickinson Duncanville Eldorado Empire Finland Finley Flintstone Fordland Fort Fisher Fortuna Gettysburg Grand Marais Grand Rapids Guthrie Hanna City Havre Highlands Houma Hutchinson Joelton Killeen Kingman Kirksville Klamath Lake Charles Lake City Las Cruces Las Vegas Lewistown Lockport Lufkin Lyndonville Madera Makah Mica Peak Miles City Mill Valley Minot Montauk Moriarty Mount Hebo Mount Laguna Mount Lemmon Naselle North Bend North Charleston North Truro Oklahoma City Olathe Omaha Opheim Osceola Othello Owingsville Ozona Palermo Point Arena Port Austin Port Isabel Pyote Red Bluff Rochester Rockport Rockville (Indiana) Roslyn Rye Saint Albans San Clemente Island Santa Rosa Island Saratoga Springs Sault Ste Marie Shemya Snelling Snow Mountain Sweetwater Texarkana Tierra Amarilla Thomasville Tonopah Two Creeks Wadena Walnut Ridge Watertown Waverly West Mesa Willow Run Winnemucca Winslow Winston-Salem Woomera Yaak Zapata Overseas Armstrong Baldy Hughes Beausejour Cartwright Frobisher Bay Hofn Kamloops Langanes Latrar Puntzi Mountain Ramore Rockville (Iceland) Saskatoon Mountain Saglek Sioux Lookout Topsham Air Defense units Forces Central Air Defense Eastern Air Defense Iceland Western Air Defense First Fourth Tenth Fourteenth Air Divisions 8th 9th 20th 21st 23rd 24th 25th 26th 27th 28th 29th 30th 31st 32nd 33rd 34th 35th 36th 37th 58th 64th 73rd 85th Sectors Albuquerque Bangor Boston Chicago Detroit Duluth Goose Grand Forks Great Falls Kansas City Los Angeles Minot Montgomery New York Oklahoma City Phoenix Portland Reno Sault Sainte Marie San Francisco Seattle Sioux City Spokane Stewart Syracuse Washington Wings 1st 4th 23rd 32nd 33rd 46th 50th 52nd 56th 71st 73rd 78th 81st 325th 328th 507th 551st 552nd 4620th 4621st 4622nd 4624th 4625th 4627th 4628th 4683rd 4700th 4702nd 4703rd 4704th 4705th 4706th 4707th 4708th 4709th 4710th 4711th 4750th 4752nd 4756th 4780th Groups Fighter 1st 4th 14th 15th 23rd 32nd 33rd 50th 52nd 53rd 54th 56th 57th 78th 79th 81st 82nd 84th 325th 326th 327th 328th 329th 337th 355th 408th 412th 414th 473rd 475th 476th 478th 507th Air Defense 10th 500th 501st 502nd 503rd 514th 515th 516th 517th 518th 519th 520th 521st 525th 527th 528th 529th 530th 533rd 534th 564th 566th 567th 568th 575th 637th 665th 678th 692nd 701st 751st 762nd 765th 778th 780th 827th 858th 4676th 4700th 4721st 4722nd 4727th 4728th 4729th 4730th 4731st 4732nd 4733rd 4734th 4735th 4756th Squadrons Aerospace Defense Command Fighter Squadrons Aircraft Control and Warning Squadrons Major weapon systems Electronic EC-121 Fighters Subsonic: P-61 P-80 F-82 F-84 F-86 F-89 F-94 supersonic: F-101 F-102 F-104 F-106 Missiles AIM-4 AIM-26 AIR-2 CIM-10 Texas Towers 1 2 3 4 5 Ships Guardian Interceptor Interdictor Interpreter Investigator Locator Lookout Outpost Pickett Protector Scanner Searcher Skywatcher Tracer Watchman Vigil Miscellaneous Air Defense Command Emblem Gallery (On Wikimedia Commons) General Surveillance Radar Stations