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.
31st Air Division
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|---|---|
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| Active | 1950–1960; 1966–1969 |
| Country |  United States |
| Branch |  United States Air Force |
| Role | Command of air defense forces |
| Part of | Air Defense Command |
| Insignia | |
| 31st Air Division emblem (Approved 19 March 1954)[2] |  |
History
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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.[2]
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.[2] Assumed additional designation of 31st NORAD Region after activation of the NORAD Combat Operations Center at the Cheyenne Mountain Complex, Colorado and reporting was transferred to NORAD from ADC at Ent Air Force Base in April 1966.
Inactivated in December 1969[2] 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
edit- Established as the 31st Air Division (Defense) on 7 September 1950
- Activated on 8 October 1950
- Inactivated on 1 February 1952
- Organized on 1 February 1952[3]
- Inactivated on 1 January 1960
- Redesignated 31st Air Division and activated on 20 January 1966 (not organized)
- Organized on 1 April 1966
- Inactivated on 31 December 1969[2]
Assignments
edit- Air Defense Command
- Eastern Air Defense Force, 8 October 1950 (attached 30th Air Division, 27 November 1950 – 1 February 1951
- Central Air Defense Force, 20 May 1951 – 1 January 1960
- Air Defense Command, 20 January 1966 (not organized)
- Fourteenth Air Force, 1 April 1966 – 1 July 1968 (ConAC)
- Tenth Air Force, 1 July 1968 – 31 December 1969[2]
Stations
edit- Selfridge Air Force Base, Michigan, 8 October 1950 – 1 February 1952
- Fort Snelling (later Snelling Air Force Station), Minnesota, 1 February 1952 – 1 January 1960
- Oklahoma City Air Force Station, Oklahoma, 1 April 1966 – 31 December 1969[2]
Components
editSectors
edit- Duluth Air Defense Sector: 20 December 1957 – 1 January 1959
- Duluth Municipal Airport, Minnesota
- Grand Forks Air Defense Sector: 8 December 1957 – 1 January 1959
- Grand Forks Air Force Base, North Dakota[2]
Groups
edit- 53d Fighter Group: 18 August 1955 – 1 March 1956
- Sioux City Municipal Airport, Iowa
- 343d Fighter Group: 18 August 1955 – 1 January 1959
- Duluth Municipal Airport, Minnesota
- 475th Fighter Group: 18 August 1955 – 2 January 1958
- Minneapolis-Saint Paul Municipal Airport, Minnesota
- 478th Fighter Group: 8 February 1957 – 1 January 1959
- Grand Forks Air Force Base, North Dakota
- 514th Air Defense Group: 16 February 1953 – 18 August 1955
- Minneapolis-Saint Paul Municipal Airport, Minnesota
- 515th Air Defense Group: 16 February 1953 – 18 August 1955
- Duluth Municipal Airport, Minnesota
- 521st Air Defense Group: 16 February 1953 – 18 August 1955.
- Sioux City Municipal Airport, Iowa[2]
Interceptor squadrons
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Radar squadrons
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See also
editReferences
editNotes
edit- ^ Aircraft shown is F-104A, serial 56-821
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Factsheet 31 Air Division". Air Force Historical Research Agency. 5 October 2007. Archived from the original on 21 October 2012. Retrieved 9 April 2014.
- ^ The simultaneous inactivation and activation on 1 February 1952 reflects a change between a Table of Organization unit and a Table of Distribution unit.
Bibliography
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This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
- Cornett, Lloyd H; Johnson, Mildred W (1980). A Handbook of Aerospace Defense Organization, 1946–1980 (PDF). Peterson AFB, CO: Office of History, Aerospace Defense Center. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 February 2016. Retrieved 23 March 2012.
- Winkler, David F.; Webster, Julie L (1997). Searching the skies: The legacy of the United States Cold War Defense Radar Program. Champaign, IL: US Army Construction Engineering Research Laboratories. LCCN 97020912.[dead link]
- "ADCOM's Fighter Interceptor Squadrons". The Interceptor (January 1979) Aerospace Defense Command, (Volume 21, Number 1)