Air Defense Tactical Air Command

Tactical Air Command (TAC) is an inactive United States Air Force organization. It was a Major Command of the United States Air Force, established on 21 March 1946 and headquartered at Langley Air Force Base, Virginia. It was inactivated on 1 June 1992 and its personnel and equipment absorbed by Air Combat Command (ACC).

Tactical Air Command was established to provide a balance between strategic, air defense, and tactical forces of the post–World War II U.S. Army Air Forces followed by, in 1947, the U.S. Air Force. In 1948, the Continental Air Command assumed control over air defense, tactical air, and air reserve forces. After two years in a subordinate role, Tactical Air Command (TAC) was established as a major command.

In 1992, after assessing the mission of TAC and to accommodate a decision made regarding Strategic Air Command (SAC), Headquarters United States Air Force inactivated TAC and incorporated its resources into the newly created Air Combat Command.

History

Operational history

World War II showed the effectiveness of tactical air power in supporting army ground forces. However, the rapid demobilization in late 1945 meant that the huge air armada that had brought Germany to her knees and victory in Europe had been downsized to a shadow of its former self.

Following the end of World War II, Headquarters United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) had little funding and most wartime personnel had been released from active duty and returned to civilian life. Many USAAF aircraft were being sent to storage or scrapyards, although the increasing tension with the Soviet Union meant that combat military air forces were still needed. The big questions were how large and what kind of forces.Hill, Mike and Campbell, John, Tactical Air Command – An Illustrated History 1946–1992, 2001

A major realignment of the USAAF was undertaken in early 1946. As part of the realignment, three major command divisions within the Continental United States (CONUS) were formed: Strategic Air Command, Tactical Air Command, and Air Defense Command. Each was given a specific responsibility, using assets prescribed to accomplish the assigned mission. Tactical Air Command was formed to command, organize, equip, train and administer assigned or attached forces. It was to plan for and participate in tactics for fighter, light bombardment and other aircraft. These included tactical fighters, tactical bombers, tactical missiles, troop carrier aircraft, assault, reconnaissance, and support units. TAC also planned for and developed the capability to deploy tactical striking forces anywhere in the world.

During its existence, Tactical Air Command deployed personnel, material and/or aircraft to Asia (both Pacific Rim/Southeast Asia and Southwest Asia/Middle East), Africa, North America, South America, Europe and Australia in support of its prescribed mission.

TAC's original authorization was 25,500 officers and enlisted men. Aircraft assets available consisted of propeller-driven North American P-51 Mustangs, Republic P-47 Thunderbolts and a handful of the new jet-powered Lockheed P-80 Shooting Stars. TAC was also given control of the Third Air Force, Ninth Air Force and Twelfth Air Force.

Berlin Airlift

On 18 September 1947, the United States Air Force was established as a separate military force, with TAC as one of its major commands. Six months later, in March 1948, the first test of the United States' resolve began with the blockade of Berlin by the Soviet Union and the need for tactical air power in Europe to underscore the airlift mission was necessary.

At the time, there was only one U.S. Air Forces in Europe ( USAFE) tactical air unit available in Europe, the 86th Composite Group at Neubiberg Air Base near Munich, flying P-47Ds. TAC was called upon to send additional units and aircraft to Europe to reinforce the 86 FG. The 36th Fighter Group, flying Lockheed F-80B "Shooting Stars," was transferred from Howard AFB in the Panama Canal Zone to Fürstenfeldbruck Air Base near Munich. In addition to tactical fighter aircraft, TAC also deployed available C-47 Skytrain transports to Europe, transferring them to USAFE, which was in control of the airlift. As the airlift continued, TAC also transferred available C-54 Skymaster transports to Europe, where they were assigned to the troop carrier groups that had been sent to Germany for the airlift.

Consequently, the Soviet Union entered into negotiations with the United States, the United Kingdom and France which culminated in an agreement, signed on 5 May 1949, that resulted in the lifting of the blockade, but it did not settle the basic issue of freedom of access. Despite the resumption of surface traffic into the city, the airlift continued until 30 September to mass a reserve of food, fuel, and other supplies in the event the Soviets reimposed the blockade.

Continental Air Command

In December 1948, Air Defense Command (ADC) and TAC were brought together to form Continental Air Command (ConAC). HQ TAC was reduced to the status of an operational headquarters under CONAC. This move reflected an effort to concentrate all fighter forces deployed within the continental United States (CONUS) to strengthen the air defense of the North American continent. The creation of ConAC was largely an administrative convenience: the units assigned to ConAC were dual-trained and expected to revert to their primary strategic or tactical roles after the air defense battle was won. Two years later, on 1 December 1950, the Air Force reestablished Tactical Air Command as a major command and removed it from assignment to ConAC in large part due to the need to deploy personnel and aircraft to Japan and South Korea due to the Korean War.

Korean War

On the morning of 25 June 1950, the peace in South Korea was shattered by the sound of invading tanks. The North Korean army had crossed the 38th parallel and were driving south towards the South Korean capital of Seoul in an effort to unite the country under Communist rule. The United States Air Force, weakened by post-World War II demobilization, associated budget reductions, and preoccupied with the threat of the Soviet Union, was thrust into its first war as a separate service when North Korea invaded South Korea.

Air bases in the United States went on mobility alert to prepare for overseas movement in response to what was then described as the "Korean Emergency." Units from SAC and CONAC were deployed to Japan and South Korea, while Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard units were recalled to active duty and, in the case of the Air National Guard, placed under Federal Service in case they were needed. What started out as an emergency turned into a bona-fide war. The Korean War marked the creation of a professional Air Force that would grow in size and strength for decades to come.

From the start, the deployed tactical fighters and bombers to Japan and South Korea were effective. On 10 July a North Korean armored column was trapped at a bombed-out bridge near Pyongtaek. F-80 Shooting Stars, B-26 Invaders, and F-82 Twin Mustangs destroyed 117 trucks, 38 tanks, and seven half-tracks. This attack, along with others, gutted North Korea's single armored division. Had it survived, the North Korean force could have easily punched through the United Nations (UN) defensive line at Pusan and driven UN Command (UNC) forces into the sea.

By the end of August 1950, the initial North Korean onslaught was reversed and Seoul was retaken. As the United Nations forces advanced into North Korea, forces from the Communist China stepped in to help their North Korean allies. The UN advance ground to a halt in December, then retreated south in early 1951 while tactical aircraft continued to support of United Nations forces. Eventually, the line stabilized along the 38th Parallel, where a stalemate ensued for the next two years.

Known TAC units and aircraft deployed to Far East Air Forces (1950–1953)

Units and aircraft were stationed both in South Korea and Japan and attached to Fifth Air Force during their deployment to Far East Air Forces (FEAF). This list does not include ConAC, Air Force Reserve, or Air National Guard tactical air units federalized and deployed to FEAF during the Korean War.

* 4th Fighter-Interceptor Wing (F-86 Sabre)
: Deployed from: New Castle Airport, Delaware
* 474th Fighter-Bomber Group Wing (F-84 Thunderjet)
: Deployed from: Clovis AFB, New Mexico
* 452nd Bombardment Wing (Light) (B-26 Invader)
: Deployed from: George AFB, California

* 67th Tactical Reconnaissance Wing (RF-80, RF-86, RB-26)
: Deployed from: March AFB, California
* 314th Troop Carrier Wing (Medium) (C-119 Flying Boxcar)
: Deployed from: Smyrna AFB, Tennessee
* 403rd Troop Carrier Wing (Medium) (C-119, C-47, C-54)
: Portland Airport, Oregon

United States Air Forces in Europe (USAFE)

Even with the active war in Korea raging, in the early 1950s Europe received a higher priority of air power than Korea by the Truman Administration and the Department of Defense. Deterring the threat of a Communist takeover of Western Europe was considered more important to the long-term survival of the United States than a Communist victory in Korea.

In September 1950, NATO's Military Committee had called for an ambitious buildup of conventional forces to meet the Soviets, subsequently reaffirming this position at the February 1952 meeting of the Atlantic Council in Lisbon which had established a goal of ultimately fielding 96 divisions in the event of a conventional war in 1954. In support of this, the United States Air Forces in Europe (USAFE), which consisted of 16 wings totaling 2,100 aircraft, was programmed to expand to 28 wings, 22 of them in NATO's Central Region alone, backed by deployed Strategic Air Command units sent from CONUS.

The USAF reassigned combat wings from TAC to USAFE during the period from April 1951 through December 1954. These were:
* 81st Fighter-Interceptor Wing
: Reassigned to: RAF Bentwaters, United Kingdom
* 47th Bombardment Wing, Light
: Deployed to: RAF Sculthorpe, United Kingdom
: (Remained assigned to TAC's 49th Air Division)
* 20th Fighter-Bomber Wing
: Reassigned to: RAF Wethersfield, United Kingdom
* 406th Fighter-Bomber Wing
: Reassigned to: RAF Manston, United Kingdom
* 66th Tactical Reconnaissance Wing
: Reassigned to: Sembach Air Base, West Germany
* 10th Tactical Reconnaissance Wing
: Reassigned to: Spangdahlem Air Base, West Germany
* 50th Fighter-Bomber Wing
: Reassigned to: Hahn Air Base, West Germany
* 21st Fighter Bomber Wing
: Reassigned to: Chambley-Bussieres Air Base, France
* 48th Fighter Bomber Wing
: Activated at: Chaumont-Semoutiers Air Base, France
: (Replaced ANG 137th Fighter-Bomber Wing)
* 388th Fighter Bomber Wing
: Reassigned to: Etain-Rouvres Air Base, France
* 60th Troop Carrier Wing
: Reassigned to: Dreux-Louvillier Air Base, France
* 465th Troop Carrier Wing
: Reassigned to: Toul-Rosières Air Base, France
* 38th Tactical Bombardment Wing (Light)
: Reassigned to: Laon-Couvron Air Base, France

These wings gave USAFE and NATO approximately 500 fighters, 100 light bombers, 100 tactical reconnaissance aircraft, 100 tactical airlift transports, and 18,000 USAF personnel.

Rotational Deployments to Mediterranean Bases

With the phase-out of the B-47 Stratojet from SAC in the mid-1960s, the need for Strategic Air Command "Reflex" European bases diminished and the Sixteenth Air Force (16AF) was turned over to the USAFE on 15 April 1966.

Prior to 1966, TAC routinely deployed CONUS-based North American F-100 Super Sabre wings to 16AF bases in Spain, as well as to Aviano Air Base, Italy. With USAFE taking possession of these bases from SAC, Tactical Air Command reassigned the 401st Tactical Fighter Wing from England Air Force Base, Louisiana to USAFE on a permanent basis to Torrejon Air Base, Spain on 27 April to perform host functions at the base and to support rotational temporary duty (TDY) to Italy and Turkey for NATO alerts. However, when the 401st's fighter squadrons deployed to South Vietnam in the 1960s for the Vietnam War, squadrons from Homestead AFB, Florida and Myrtle Beach AFB, South Carolina were utilized to fill the need in Spain. These squadrons remained in Europe until 1970, when the drawdown in Vietnam allowed the squadrons from the 401st, which were deployed to Southeast Asia, to rejoin their home unit.

Composite Air Strike Force

: ''see: Nineteenth Air Force''

In the aftermath of the Korean War, TAC developed the Composite Air Strike Force (CASF) concept, a mobile rapid-deployment strike concept designed to respond to "brush fire" conflicts around the world. A CASF included fighter bomber aircraft for both conventional and nuclear attack missions, as well as troop carrier, tanker, and tactical reconnaissance assets. TAC composite air strike forces were intended to augment existing combat units already in place as part of United States Air Forces in Europe (USAFE), the Pacific Air Forces (PACAF), or the Alaskan Air Command (AAC).

In addition, the new Century Series of TAC fighters were making their first flights, designed from the lessons learned in the air over Korea. As these new fighters and new transport aircraft came on line, there were problems with each one. TAC pilots risked life and limb to iron out the problems and make these aircraft fully operational. Also, with the development of air refueling, TAC could now flex its muscles and demonstrate true global mobility. Deployments to Europe and the Far East became a way of life for TAC units. When Strategic Air Command abandoned its fighter escort force in 1957, those aircraft were transferred to TAC, further augmenting its strength.

The first deployment of the Composite Air Strike Force took place in July 1958 in response to an imminent coup d'état in Lebanon. TAC scrambled forces across the Atlantic to Turkey, where their presence was intended to force an end to the crisis. A similar CASF was deployed in response to conflicts between China and Taiwan in 1958.

CASF received another test in 1961, when the Berlin Crisis resulted in TAC quickly deploying 210 aircraft to Europe, consisting of 144 North American F-100D Super Sabres and 54 Lockheed F-104C Starfighters, but also including 6 McDonnell RF-101 Voodoo and 6 Douglas RB-66C Destroyer reconnaissance aircraft. Also as part of the CASF, the Air National Guard subsequently deployed 36 Lockheed F-104A Starfighters, 54 North American F-86H Sabres, and 90 Republic F-84F Thunderstreaks.

In 1961, Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara organized the United States Strike Command at MacDill AFB, Florida to integrate CASF efforts with those of the Strategic Army Corps. TAC had gone from a meager postwar force to a force capable of putting the right amount of assets in the right place when they were needed.

Tactical missiles

In 1949, TAC began testing the Martin B-61, later redesignated as TM-61 Matador surface-to-surface cruise missile at Holloman AFB, New Mexico. The initial flight ended in a crash, but the second launch was successful and outran the chase aircraft. Testing continued with launches of 46 missiles at both Holloman AFB and the Long Range Proving Ground at Cape Canaveral, Florida, and in March 1954 the first operational missile squadron in the U.S. Air Force, the 1st Pilotless Bomber Squadron, was deployed to Bitburg Air Base, Germany. Launches at Holloman and Cape Canaveral continued until 1963, at which time the missile was redesignated again as the MGM-1 Matador.

In 1954, an improved missile, the TM-76A Mace (later redesignated the CGM-13 Mace began development at Holloman AFB, with its first launch in 1956. The ATRAN (Automatic Terrain Recognition and Navigation) Mace "A" was launched from a mobile transporter/launcher while the inertially guided Mace "B" was launched from a hardened bunker. Both used a solid fuel booster rocket for initial acceleration and an Allison J33 turbojet for flight. The TM-76B, redesignated as CGM-13B remained on alert until 30 April 1969 with the 71st Tactical Missile Squadron at Bitburg AB, and until October 1969 with the 498th Tactical Missile Group at Kadena Air Base, Okinawa. As TAC was responsible for training crews that were assigned to both PACAF and USAFE, the only tactical missiles in TAC's inventory were the training missiles of the 4504th Missile Training Wing at Orlando AFB, Florida. Ninth Air Force (TAC), while headquartered at Shaw AFB, South Carolina, maintained the USAF Tactical Missile School at Orlando AFB under command of the 4504 MTW from 1956 until 1966, when the MGM-13A was phased out and the remaining CGM-13Bs were transferred to the Lowry Technical Training Center at Lowry AFB, Colorado.

The U.S. Army had largely assumed the tactical ground launched nuclear missile program until the 1980s when TAC's BGM-109G "Gryphon" ground launched cruise missile (GLCM) was deployed along with the Army's Pershing II ballistic missile to counter the mobile medium- and intermediate- range ballistic nuclear missiles deployed by the Soviet Union in Eastern Bloc countries. This entire class of weaponry was eliminated by the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF treaty) and removed by 1990, thus reducing both the number and the threat of nuclear warheads.

Cuban Missile Crisis

The Cold War took on a frightening phase in October 1962. Following the Bay of Pigs fiasco, Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev increased Soviet aid to Cuba, including military supplies. In August 1962, the Soviet Union, with Cuban cooperation, began to build intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) and medium-range ballistic missile (MRBM) sites on the island. The American intelligence community, suspicious of the construction on the island, needed tangible proof that Soviet ballistic missiles were being deployed to Cuba and called for photographic aerial reconnaissance.

Routine photo reconnaissance flights over Cuba revealed that the Soviet Union was, in fact, in the process of placing nuclear-armed missiles on that island. In response, the United States let it be known that any use of those missiles against any country in the Western Hemisphere would be considered as an attack on the United States and a full nuclear response on the Soviet Union would be the result. The United States and the Soviet Union stood eyeball to eyeball at the brink of a nuclear exchange.

Photographic Reconnaissance

On 11 October 1962, Headquarters Strategic Air Command (SAC) notified the 4080th Strategic Wing at Laughlin AFB, Texas, to "freeze" two officers, Major Richard S. Heyser and Major Rudolf Anderson, Jr., for a special project. The pair reported to Edwards AFB, California, where they received orders to conduct strategic reconnaissance flights over Cuba. On 13 October, Major Anderson deployed to McCoy AFB, Florida, to join a U-2 aircraft ferried in for the special mission. Meantime, Major Heyser launched from Edwards AFB in a U-2 equipped to photograph suspect sites on the island of Cuba. Heyser arrived over the island during daylight on 14 October and the next day, Major Anderson made his first flight from McCoy AFB. Photographs obtained on these flights confirmed that Soviet/Cuban crews had launch pads under construction that, when completed, could fire nuclear-armed IRBMs with a range of approximately 5,000 miles and MRBMs with a range of approximately 3,000 miles.

While the SAC U-2s flew high-altitude reconnaissance missions, the staff of the 363d Tactical Reconnaissance Wing at Shaw AFB, South Carolina, was made aware of the potential need for low-level flights over Cuba. Mission planners at Shaw began planning such flights and preparing target folders. On 21 October, HQ Tactical Air Command ordered the 363d to deploy to MacDill AFB, Florida. The wing began immediately to move RF-101 Voodoo and RB-66 Destroyer aircraft, personnel, and photographic equipment to Florida. By the next morning, the aircraft were at MacDill, cameras cocked, ready to carry out any reconnaissance missions.

SAC and TAC reconnaissance aircraft were further augmented by reconnaissance aircraft of the U.S. Navy. RF-8A Crusader photo reconnaissance aircraft Light Photographic Squadron SIX TWO (VFP-62) operating from NAS Jacksonville and NAS Key West, Florida conducted high-speed low level reconnaissance flights over the Cuban missile sites while additional P-2 Neptune and P-3 Orion

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