The 514th Air Defense Group is a disbanded

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...

(USAF) organization. Its last assignment was with the

31st Air Division 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 ...

at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, Minnesota. It was inactivated on 18 August 1955. The group was originally activated as a support group for the 319th Bombardment Group in Italy at the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. After the end of combat in Europe, it deployed to Okinawa, where it was inactivated. The group was activated once again in 1953, when

Air Defense Command Aerospace Defense Command was a major command (military formation), command of the United States Air Force, responsible for continental air defense. It was activated in 1968 and disbanded in 1980. Its predecessor, Air Defense Command, was est ...

(ADC) established it as the headquarters for a dispersed fighter-interceptor squadron and the medical, maintenance, and administrative squadrons supporting it. It was replaced in 1955 when ADC transferred its mission, equipment, and personnel to the

475th Fighter Group 475th may refer to: *475th Air Base Wing, inactive United States Air Force unit * 475th Bombardment Squadron, inactive United States Air Force unit * 475th Fighter Group, World War II predecessor of 53d Weapons Evaluation Group * 475th Test Squadro ...

in a project that replaced air defense groups commanding fighter squadrons with fighter groups with distinguished records during World War II.

History

World War II

The

group A group is a number of persons or things that are located, gathered, or classed together. Groups of people * Cultural group, a group whose members share the same cultural identity * Ethnic group, a group whose members share the same ethnic iden ...

was activated as the 514th Air Service Group in late 1944, absorbing its personnel and equipment from the 306th Service Group as part of a reorganization of

Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

(AAF) support groups in which the AAF replaced service groups that included personnel from other branches of the Army and supported two combat groups with air service groups including only Air Corps units. The group drew its personnel and equipment from the disbanded 306th Service Group The 514th was designed to support a single combat group.Coleman, p. 208 Its 940th Air Engineering Squadron provided maintenance that was beyond the capability of the combat group, its 764th Air Materiel Squadron handled all supply matters, and its Headquarters & Base Services Squadron provided other support. The 514th supported the 319th Bombardment Group in Italy, then returned to the United States for transfer to the Pacific Theater. The group sailed from

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

, Italy to

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

, Massachusetts. Upon arrival in the United States members of the group received 30-day leaves, following which the group reassembled in South Carolina. The 514th staged through

Fort Lawton Fort Lawton was a United States Army post located in the Magnolia neighborhood of Seattle, Washington overlooking Puget Sound. In 1973 a large majority of the property, 534 acres of Fort Lawton, was given to the city of Seattle and dedicated as ...

, Washington and the

Caroline Islands The Caroline Islands (or the Carolines) are a widely scattered archipelago of tiny islands in the western Pacific Ocean, to the north of New Guinea. Politically, they are divided between the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) in the centra ...

before arriving on

Okinawa is a prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 km2 (880 sq mi). Naha is the capital and largest city ...

. The unit performed same mission on Okinawa as it had in Italy. The group was awarded credit for participation in the Ryukus Campaign.AF Pamphlet 900-2, p 415 It was disbanded in 1948.

Cold War

The 514th was redesignated as an air defense group, reconstituted and activated at Minneapolis-St Paul International Airport in 1953.Cornett & Johnson, p. 82 with responsibility for air defense from its base in the upper midwestern United States. The group was initially assigned the

18th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron The 18th Aggressor Squadron (18 AGRS) is a subordinate unit of the 354th Fighter Wing based at Eielson Air Force Base in Alaska, and flies the Block 30 General Dynamics F-16C/D aircraft. Mission The 18th Aggressor Squadron prepares combat Air ...

, which was already stationed at Minneapolis-St Paul, where it flew

era

North American F-51 Mustang The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang is an American long-range, single-seat fighter and fighter-bomber used during World War II and the Korean War, among other conflicts. The Mustang was designed in April 1940 by a team headed by James H ...

s,Cornett & Johnson, p.114 as its operational component.Maurer, ''Combat Squadrons'', p. 99 The 18th had previously been assigned directly to the

. The group replaced the 72d Air Base Squadron as host active duty USAF unit at Minneapolis-St Paul Airport. It was assigned three

squadron Squadron may refer to: * Squadron (army), a military unit of cavalry, tanks, or equivalent subdivided into troops or tank companies * Squadron (aviation), a military unit that consists of three or four flights with a total of 12 to 24 aircraft, ...

s to perform its support responsibilities.Cornett & Johnson, p.147''See'' Northrop F-89 Scorpion in JBER 2

The 18th Squadron upgraded to

North American F-86 Sabre The North American F-86 Sabre, sometimes called the Sabrejet, is a transonic jet fighter aircraft. Produced by North American Aviation, the Sabre is best known as the United States' first swept-wing fighter that could counter the swept-wing So ...

jet fighters in July 1953, then to a later model F-86 in December. It finally replaced its F-86s with airborne intercept

radar Radar is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the distance (''ranging''), angle, and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, w ...

equipped and Mighty Mouse rocket armed

Northrop F-89 Scorpion The Northrop F-89 Scorpion was an American all-weather, twin-engined interceptor aircraft built during the 1950s, the first jet-powered aircraft designed for that role from the outset to enter service. Though its straight wings limited its per ...

s in January 1954. In September 1954, the 18th moved to Alaska and was reassigned. A second operational squadron, the 337th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, had been activated and assigned to the group earlier in 1954. The 337th flew F-89s while assigned to the group. The group inactivated with its mission, personnel and equipment being transferred to the

(Defense) in 1955 as part of

's Project Arrow, which was designed to bring back on the active list the fighter units which had compiled memorable records in the two world wars. The group was disbanded once again in 1984.

Lineage

* Constituted as 514th Air Service Group : Activated on 27 December 1944 : Inactivated on 4 January 1946 : Disbanded on 8 October 1948 * Reconstituted and redesignated 514th Air Defense Group on 21 January 1953 : Activated on 18 February 1953 : Inactivated on 18 August 1955 : Disbanded on 27 September 1984

Assignments

* Unknown, 27 December 1944 – July 1945 (probably XV Air Force Service Command until January 1945) *

VII Bomber Command The VII Bomber Command is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with Seventh Air Force, based on Okinawa. It was inactivated on 31 March 1946. It engaged in patrol operations from Hawaii from January 1942. On the n ...

, ''ca''. 3 July 1945 – 4 January 1946 *

, 16 February 1953 – 18 August 1955

Components

Operational Squadrons * 18th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, 18 February 1953 – 1 September 1954 * 337th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, 8 July 1954 – 18 August 1955 Support Units * 514th Air Base Squadron, 16 February 1953 – 18 August 1955 * 514th Materiel Squadron, 16 February 1953 – 18 August 1955 * 514th Medical Squadron (later 514th USAF Infirmary), 16 February 1953 – 18 August 1955 * 764th Air Materiel Squadron, 27 December 1944 – 4 January 1946 * 940th Air Engineering Squadron, 27 December 1944 – 4 January 1946

Stations

Serragia Airfield Serragia Airfield is an abandoned military airfield in France, located approximately 26 km west-southwest of Porto-Vecchio on Corsica. Its last known use was by the United States Army Air Force Twelfth Air Force in 1944. After the forced wit ...

, Corsica, France 27 December 1944 – 8 January 1945 *

Capodichino Airport San Pietro a Patierno is a suburb of Naples, the chief city in Campania, Italy. Geography It is one of the largest suburbs of Naples and is relatively lightly populated compared to surrounding areas, with around 20,000 residents. The district of ...

, Naples, Italy, 8 January 1945 – 16 January 1945 * Bradley Field, CT, ''ca''. 25 January 1945 – ''ca''. 25 January 1945 *

Columbia Army Air Base Columbia Army Air Base was a World War II United States Army Air Forces base. It was primarily used for advanced combat training of B-25 Mitchell medium bomber units and replacement pilots. It was used as a training base in early 1942 for Doo ...

, South Carolina, ''ca''. 25 February 1945 – 26 April 1945 *

, Washington, May 1945 – May 1945 *

Kadena Air Base (IATA: DNA, ICAO: RODN) is a highly strategic United States Air Force base in the towns of Kadena and Chatan and the city of Okinawa, in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. It is often referred to as the "Keystone of the Pacific" because of its highl ...

, Okinawa July 1945 – 33 July 1945 * Machinato Air Base, Okinawa 3 July 1945 – 4 January 1946 * Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, Minnesota, 16 February 1953 – 18 August 1955

Aircraft

* North American F-51D Mustang 1953 * North American F-86A Sabre 1953 * North American F-86F Sabre 1953–1954 * Northrop F-89D Scorpion 1954–1955

Awards and campaigns

Notes

Explanatory Notes Footnotes

Bibliography

* Buss, Lydus H.(ed), Sturm, Thomas A., Volan, Denys, and McMullen, Richard F., History of Continental Air Defense Command and Air Defense Command July to December 1955, Directorate of Historical Services, Air Defense Command, Ent AFB, CO, (1956) * * * * *