33rd Air Division (United States)

33d Air Division
F-106s of the division's 48th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron
Active	1951–1961; 1966–1969
Country	United States
Branch	United States Air Force
Role	Command of air defense forces
Part of	Air Defense Command
Insignia
33d Air Division emblem (Approved 24 September 1953)[1]

The 33rd Air Division (33d AD) is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with Air Defense Command, assigned to First Air Force, being stationed at Fort Lee Air Force Station, Virginia. It was inactivated on 19 November 1969.

History

The 33d Air Division had air defense responsibility for an area encompassing Oklahoma, Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana, and parts of Kansas, Missouri, and Mississippi in March 1951. It was inactivated in June 1961.^[1]

Activated again in 1966, replacing the Washington Air Defense Sector with its area changed to cover parts of North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia. Assumed additional designation of 33d 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. The division supervised, administered, and trained its assigned units and, in doing so, participated in numerous live and simulated exercises.^[1]

Lineage

• Established as the 33 Air Division (Defense) on 5 March 1951

Activated on 19 March 1951

Inactivated on 1 February 1952

• Organized on 1 February 1952

Redesignated 33 Air Division (SAGE) on 1 January 1960

Discontinued, and inactivated, on 1 July 1961

• Redesignated 33 Air Division and activated on 20 January 1966 (not organized)

Organized on 1 April 1966

Inactivated on 19 November 1969^[1]

Assignments

• Air Defense Command

Eastern Air Defense Force 19 March – 20 May 1951

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

• Air Defense Command, 1 January 1960 – 1 July 1961
• Air Defense Command, 20 January 1966 (not organized)

First Air Force, 1 April 1966 – 19 November 1969^[1]

Stations

• Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma 19 March 1951 – 8 May 1956
• Oklahoma City Air Force Station, Oklahoma, 8 May 1956
• Richards-Gebaur Air Force Base, Missouri, 1 January 1960 – 1 July 1961
• Fort Lee Air Force Station, Virginia 19 April 1966 – 19 November 1969^[1]

Components

Sectors

Groups

• 328th Fighter Group: 18 August 1955 – 1 March 1956

Richards-Gebaur Air Force Base, Missouri

• 546th Aircraft Control and Warning Group

Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma, 19 March-4 June 1951

• 4676th Air Defense Group: 2 March 1954 – 18 August 1955^[1]

Richards-Gebaur Air Force Base, Missouri

Interceptor squadrons

Missile squadrons

• 22d Air Defense Missile Squadron (BOMARC): 1 April 1966 – 19 November 1969^[1]

Langley Air Force Base, Virginia

Radar squadrons

See also

• List of United States Air Force Aerospace Defense Command Interceptor Squadrons
• List of United States Air Force air divisions
• United States general surveillance radar stations

References

Notes

Bibliography

 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. (June 1997). Searching the Skies: The Legacy of the United States Cold War Defense Radar Program (PDF). Champaign, IL: US Army Construction Engineering Research Laboratories. LCCN 97020912. Archived (PDF) from the original on 26 June 2023 – via the Federation of American Scientists.
• "ADCOM's Fighter Interceptor Squadrons". The Interceptor (January 1979) Aerospace Defense Command, (Volume 21, Number 1)

This page was last edited on 5 January 2024, at 15:28