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.
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
- 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
- Grand Forks Air Defense Sector: 8 December 1957 – 1 January 1959
Groups
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Interceptor squadrons
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Radar squadrons
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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
