The Bangor Air Defense Sector (BaADS) is an inactive

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 ...

organization. Its last assignment was with the

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 ...

26th Air Division The 26th Air Division (26th AD) is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with Air Defense Tactical Air Command, assigned to First Air Force, being stationed at March Air Force Base, California. It was inacti ...

, being stationed at

Topsham Air Force Station Topsham Air Force Station is a closed United States Air Force station. It is located north of Brunswick, Maine. It was closed in 1969. History Topsham AFS was initially the headquarters of the Air Defense Command Bangor Air Defense Sector ( ...

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...

. It was inactivated on 1 April 1966.

History

BaADS was established in January 1957 assuming control of former ADC

Eastern Air Defense Force The Eastern Air Defense Force (EADF) is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with Air Defense Command being stationed at Stewart Air Force Base, New York. It was inactivated on July 1, 1960. History EADF was ...

units with a mission to provide

air defense Anti-aircraft warfare, counter-air or air defence forces is the battlespace response to aerial warfare, defined by NATO as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It includes surface based, ...

and most of

Vermont Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...

and

New Hampshire New Hampshire is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

. The organization provided command and control over several aircraft and

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 ...

squadrons. On 1 March 1959 the new

Semi Automatic Ground Environment The Semi-Automatic Ground Environment (SAGE) was a system of large computers and associated networking equipment that coordinated data from many radar sites and processed it to produce a single unified image of the airspace over a wide area. S ...

(SAGE) Direction Center (DC-05) became operational. DC-15 was equipped with dual AN/FSQ-7 Computers. The day-to-day operations of the command was to train and maintain tactical flying units flying jet interceptor aircraft (

F-94 Starfire The Lockheed F-94 Starfire was a first-generation jet powered all-weather, day/night interceptor of the United States Air Force. A twin-seat craft, it was developed from the Lockheed T-33 Shooting Star trainer in the late 1940s. It reached ope ...

; F-102 Delta Dagger;

F-106 Delta Dart The Convair F-106 Delta Dart was the primary all-weather interceptor aircraft of the United States Air Force from the 1960s through to the 1980s. Designed as the so-called "Ultimate Interceptor", it proved to be the last specialist interceptor i ...

) in a state of readiness with training missions and series of exercises with SAC and other units simulating interceptions of incoming enemy aircraft. The Sector was inactivated 1 April 1966 as part of ADC reorganization and consolidation, most units being reassigned to

Lineage

* Established as Bangor Air Defense Sector on 8 January 1957 : Inactivated on 1 April 1966

Assignments

* 32d Air Division, 8 January 1957 *

, 15 August 1958 – 1 April 1966

Stations

* Topsham AFS,

, 8 January 1957 – 1 April 1966

Components

Groups

* 14th Fighter Group (Air Defense) :

Ethan Allen AFB Burlington International Airport is a joint-use civil-military airport serving Burlington, Vermont, the state of Vermont's largest municipality. It is owned by the City of Burlington and located in the neighboring city of South Burlington, t ...

, Vermont, 15 August 1958-25 June 1960 * 23d Fighter Group (Air Defense) :

Presque Isle AFB Presque Isle Air Force Base was a military installation of the United States Air Force located near Presque Isle, Maine. In the late 1950s and early 1960s it became a base for Strategic Air Command. The original airport was constructed in 193 ...

, Maine, 15 August 1958-1 July 1959

Interceptor Squadrons

* 27th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron :

Loring AFB Loring Air Force Base was a United States Air Force installation in northeastern Maine, near Limestone, Maine, Limestone and Caribou, Maine, Caribou in Aroostook County, Maine, Aroostook County. It was one of the largest bases of the U.S. Air Fo ...

, Maine, 1 October 1959-1 April 1966 *

75th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron The 75th Fighter Squadron (75 FS) is a United States Air Force unit. It is assigned to the 23d Fighter Group, Air Combat Command and stationed at Moody Air Force Base, Georgia. The squadron is equipped with the Fairchild Republic A-10C Thund ...

Dow AFB Bangor Air National Guard Base is a United States Air National Guard base. Created in 1927 as the commercial Godfrey Field, the airfield was taken over by the U.S. Army just before World War II and renamed Godfrey Army Airfield and later Dow Arm ...

, Maine, 18 June 1959-1 April 1966

Missile Squadron

30th Air Defense Missile Squadron (BOMARC) :

, Maine, 1 June 1959-15 December 1964

Radar Squadrons

* 654th Radar Squadron (SAGE) :

Brunswick AFS Brunswick Air Force Station is a closed United States Air Force General Surveillance Radar station. It is located east-southeast of Brunswick, Maine. It was closed in 1965. Brunswick AFS was one of the first of twenty-four stations of the 1 ...

, Maine, 15 August 1958-1 August 1962 *

672d Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron The 672d Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the Boston Air Defense Sector, Air Defense Command, stationed at Barrington Air Force Station, Nova Scotia. It was inactivated on ...

: Barrington AS, Nova Scotia, 1 July 1960 – 1 June 1962 * 764th Radar Squadron (SAGE) :

Saint Albans AFS In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and denomination. In Catholic, Eastern Ortho ...

, Vermont, 15 August 1958 – 1 June 1962 * 765th Radar Squadron (SAGE) :

Charleston AFS Charleston Air Force Station is a defunct Air Force Station that opened in 1952 and closed in 1980. It was located in Charleston, Maine and is the site of a radar station and other buildings. After closure, it was redeveloped into a juvenile ja ...

, Maine, 15 August 1958 – 1 April 1966 * 766th Radar Squadron (SAGE) :

Caswell AFS Caswell Air Force Station is a closed United States Air Force General Surveillance Radar station. It is located north of Limestone, Maine. It was closed in 1980. History Caswell was one of twenty-eight stations built as part of the second ...

, Maine, 15 August 1958 – 1 April 1966 *

907th Radar Squadron 9 (nine) is the natural number following and preceding . Evolution of the Arabic digit In the beginning, various Indians wrote a digit 9 similar in shape to the modern closing question mark without the bottom dot. The Kshatrapa, Andhra and ...

(SAGE) : Bucks Harbor AFS, Maine, 15 August 1958 – 1 April 1966 * 911th Radar Squadron (SAGE) : Lyndonville AFS, Vermont, 15 August 1958 – 1 August 1962

References

* A Handbook of Aerospace Defense Organization 1946–1980, by Lloyd H. Cornett and Mildred W. Johnson, Office of History, Aerospace Defense Center, Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado * Winkler, David F. (1997), Searching the skies: the legacy of the United States Cold War defense radar program. Prepared for United States Air Force Headquarters Air Combat Command. * Maurer, Maurer (1983). Air Force Combat Units of World War II. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History. . * Ravenstein, Charles A. (1984). Air Force Combat Wings Lineage and Honors Histories 1947–1977. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History. .
Radomes.org Bangor Air Defense Sector

External links

Bangor Air Defense Sector SAGE facilities
{{Aerospace Defense Command, state=collapsed

Air Defense Anti-aircraft warfare, counter-air or air defence forces is the battlespace response to aerial warfare, defined by NATO as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It includes surface based, ...

Radar networks