The 515th 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 ...

, stationed at Duluth Municipal Airport, Minnesota, where it was inactivated in 1955. 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 originally activated as a support unit for a combat group 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 ...

in Italy, and then redeployed to Okinawa, where it continued that mission until it was inactivated in 1945. 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 343d Fighter Group 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

was activated as the 515th Air Service Group in late 1944 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 unit was designed to support a single combat group.Coleman, p. 208 Its 941st Air Engineering Squadron provided maintenance that was beyond the capability of the combat group, its 765th Air Materiel Squadron handled all supply matters, and its Headquarters & Base Services Squadron provided other support. It supported one combat group in Italy. In May 1945, the group assumed responsibility for supporting units that were redeploying from the Mediterranean Theater of Operations. It moved to the Pacific Theater and provided the same support on Okinawa until inactivated in 1945. The 515th was disbanded in 1948.

Cold War

The group was redesignated as an air defense group, reconstituted and activated at Duluth Municipal Airport in 1953Cornett & Johnson, p. 82 with responsibility for air defense of Great Lakes area. It was assigned the

11th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron The 11th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with the 343d Fighter Group at Duluth Airport, Minnesota, where it was inactivated on 30 June 1968. History World War II The squadron ...

(FIS), which was already stationed at Duluth Airport, and flying

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 ...

sCornett & Johnson, p. 114 as its operational component.Maurer, ''Combat Squadrons'', p. 62 The 11th FIS had been assigned directly to the 31st Air Division. The group replaced 73rd Air Base Squadron as the USAF host unit at Duluth 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, de ...

s to perform its support responsibilities.Cornett & Johnson, p.147''See'' The 11th FIS converted to Mighty Mouse rocket armed and 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

North American F-86D Sabre The North American F-86D/K/L Sabre (initially known as the YF-95 and widely known informally as the "Sabre Dog",) was an American transonic jet fighter aircraft. Developed for the United States Air Force in the late 1940s, it was an interceptor ...

s in the fall of 1953. The squadron began flying two-seat

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 June 1955. The group was inactivated and replaced by the 343d Fighter Group (Air Defense) in 1955 as part of ADC'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 515th was disbanded once again in 1984.

Lineage

* Constituted as 515th Air Service Group : Activated on 28 December 1944 : Inactivated on 29 October 1945 : Disbanded on 8 October 1948 * Reconstituted and redesignated 515th Air Defense Group on 21 January 1953 : Activated on 16 February 1953 : Inactivated on 18 August 1955 : Disbanded on 27 September 1984

Assignments

* Air Force Service Command, Mediterranean Theater of Operations, 28 December 1944 – 1945 * Unknown, 1945 – 29 October 1945 * 31st Air Division, 16 February 1953 – 18 August 1955

Stations

* Pomigliano d'Arco Airfield, Italy 28 December 1944 – 1945 *

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 ...

, 1945 – 29 October 1945 * Duluth Municipal Airport, Minnesota, 16 February 1953 – 18 August 1955

Components

Operational Squadron * 11th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, 16 February 1953 – 18 August 1955 Support Units * 515th Air Base Squadron, 16 February 1953 – 18 August 1955 * 515th Materiel Squadron, 16 February 1953 – 18 August 1955 * 515th Medical Squadron (later 515th USAF Infirmary), 16 February 1953 – 18 August 1955 * 765th Air Materiel Squadron 28 December 1944 – 29 October 1945 * 941st Air Engineering Squadron 28 December 1944 – 29 October 1945

Aircraft

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

Commanders

* Lt Col. Fergus H. Eddy, 28 December 1944 – unknown * Unknown 16 February 1953 – 18 August 1955

References

Notes

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) * * * *

External links

{{Aerospace Defense Command, state=collapsed 0515 Aerospace Defense Command units Military units and formations established in 1953 Military units and formations disestablished in 1984