4756th Air Defense Wing | |
|---|---|
 F-102 Delta Dagger of the wing atTyndall AFB in 1960 | |
| Active | 1957-1960; 1962-1967 |
| Country |  United States |
| Branch |  United States Air Force |
| Role | Air Defense Fighter Training and Weapons Development |
| Part of | Air Defense Command |
| Insignia | |
| Patch showing 4756th Air Defense Wing emblem |  |
The4756th Air Defense Wing was the designation of two different discontinuedUnited States Air Force organizations.[1][2] Bothwings were stationed atTyndall Air Force Base, Florida and fulfilled similar missions. The first was organized in 1957 whenAir Defense Command (ADC) assumed responsibility for managing Tyndall fromAir Training Command and focused on weapons testing and development and evaluating thereadiness of ADC fighter units. The wing also controlled aground control interceptradar squadron. This wing was discontinued in 1960 and its mission transferred to its parent73d Air Division.
The second wing was organized in 1962. It also conducted testing, but focused on crew training forinterceptor aircraft. During theCuban Missile Crisis, the wing also assumed analert state at bases in Florida. This wing was discontinued in 1968 and its mission transferred to theAir Defense Weapons Center, which had replaced the 73d Air Division at Tyndall in 1966.
The firstwing was organized in 1957, whenTyndall Air Force Base was transferred fromAir Training Command toAir Defense Command (ADC). It assumed the mission, personnel and equipment of ATC's 3625th Combat Crew Training Wing, which was discontinued.[3] The primary mission of the wing was to conductair defense weapons employment and testing. It also provided combat crew training on theLockheed F-104 Starfighter[4] until ADC released all its F-104s to the ANG in 1960 because the F-104A fire control system was not sophisticated enough to make it an all weather interceptor.[5]From 1957 until 1959, the wing also controlled the678th Aircraft Control & Warning Squadron, which performed theradar aircraft detection, warning, and control mission.[6] In addition to the mission units listed below, the wing was assigned various support andmaintenance units to carry out its mission as host unit for Tyndall,[7] Between 1960 when the wing was discontinued and 1962, most of the wing's units were reassigned directly to the73d Air Division (Weapons).[citation needed]
A major responsibility of wing was to evaluate thereadiness and effectiveness of Air Defense Command fighter-interceptor squadrons which were required to spend one month each year undergoing evaluationexercises at Tyndall. As part of this mission the 4756th also conducted the annual worldwide interceptor weapons meet called "William Tell."[8] The wing participated, along withAir Proving Ground Command, in developing the initial operational testing and development of tactics for theConvair F-102 Delta Dagger aircraft.[9]
The second wing provided interceptor combat crew training forMcDonnell F-101 Voodoo andConvair F-106 Delta Dart aircrews,interceptor aircraft weapons training, and conducted operational testing and evaluation of crewed interceptors,fire-control systems, and armament.[4] The wing was ADC's only unit conducting live firing and operating target control systems after the4750th Air Defense Wing atVincent Air Force Base, Arizona was discontinued.[4]
Following theCuban Revolution, theJoint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) developed a plan for reinforcing air defenses in southern Florida, named Operation Southern Tip. On 7 April 1961 the JCS tested Operation Southern Tip in which the 4756th wing deployed six F-102s toHomestead Air Force Base, where they stood five minutealert. The same month theBay of Pigs Invasion occurred and the JCS decided not to terminate the exercise, but to retain the aircraft at Homestead. In July, the number of aircraft was reduced to four and the482d Fighter-Interceptor Squadron assumed the alert mission from the wing.[10]
During theCuban Missile Crisis in 1962, elements of the wing assumed an air defense alert mission.[11] Initially, a total of 60 F-101, F-102 and F-106 aircraft at Tyndall were placed on alert. On 19 November, however, these airplanes were released to resume training and testing except for eight F-102s and TF-102s that remained on strip alert[12]
After the crisis, the wing established a Detachment atKey West Naval Air Station to perform the air defense alert mission.[13] The second wing was discontinued at the start of 1968 and its mission transferred to theAir Defense Weapons Center.[14]
This article incorporatespublic domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
Further Reading
