The Central Air Defense Force (CADF) 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 Si ...

organization. Its last assignment was with

Air Defense Command Aerospace Defense Command was a major 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 established in 1946, briefly inac ...

being stationed at Richards-Gebaur Air Force Base,

Missouri Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...

. It was inactivated on July 1, 1960.

History

CADF was an intermediate-level command and control organization of Air Defense Command. Its origins date to 1 March 1949 when

Continental Air Command Continental Air Command (ConAC) (1948–1968) was a Major Command of the United States Air Force (USAF) responsible primarily for administering the Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve. During the Korean War, ConAC provided the necessary augm ...

(ConAC) reorganized Air Defense Command when it became an operating agency. Air defense units within the Continental United States (CONUS) were given to the Eastern and Western Air Defense Liaison Groups, with Western and Eastern Air Defense Forces activated on 1 September 1949. Central Air Defense Force (CADF) was activated as a third subordinate region under the re-established Air Defense Command in February 1951 to better organize ADC units in the Central and Southeast United States, its initial region being defined in the west as the area east of the 102nd degree of longitude, from the Canada–US border in the north to the

Rio Grande The Rio Grande ( and ), known in Mexico as the Río Bravo del Norte or simply the Río Bravo, is one of the principal rivers (along with the Colorado River) in the southwestern United States and in northern Mexico. The length of the Rio G ...

border between the United States and Mexico in the south. The eastern boundary of the CADF was the area west of the 90th degree of longitude from the Michigan shoreline of Lake Superior south to the point of the Missouri, Kentucky and Tennessee state boundaries, and eastward to the Atlantic Ocean coastline along the Tennessee–Kentucky and Virginia–North Carolina border, with all areas south and west of those boundaries. The delineation was again adjusted in March 1956 to the region generally to the east of the 114th degree of longitude, roughly along the eastern borders of Idaho, Nevada and California from the Canada–US border in the north to the Mexican border in the south. The southeast region east of the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the List of longest rivers of the United States (by main stem), second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest Drainage system (geomorphology), drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson B ...

to the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United ...

was reassigned to EADF. Central Air Defense Force was inactivated on 1 July 1960, with its assigned units reassigned either to 29th, 30th or 33rd Air Divisions, or to the new Air Defense Sectors created with the advent of the

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. SA ...

(SAGE) system.

Lineage

* Constituted as Central Air Defense Force (CADF) on 5 February 1951 : Activated on 1 March 1951 : Inactivated on 1 July 1960

Assignments

, 1 February 1951 – 1 July 1960

Stations

Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more th ...

, Missouri, 5 February 1951 * Grandview AFB, Missouri, 24 February 1954 : Site re-designated: Richards-Gebaur AFB, Missouri, 27 April 1957 – July 1, 1960

Components

Air Divisions

* 20th Air Division : Activated at: Grandview AFB, Missouri on 8 October 1955 : Assigned to Central Air Defense Force : Site re-designated: Richards-Gebaur AFB, Missouri, 27 April 1957 : Inactivate on 1 July 1960 * 29th Air Division : Stationed at: Great Falls AFB, Montana : Re-assigned to Central Air Defense Force 16 February 1953 from Western Air Defense Force (WADF) : Site re-designated:

Malmstrom AFB Malmstrom Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base and census-designated place (CDP) in Cascade County, Montana, United States, adjacent to the city of Great Falls. It was named in honor of World War II POW Colonel Einar Axel Malmstrom. ...

, 15 June 1956 : Re-designated 29th Air Division (SAGE) and reassigned to Air Defense Command, 1 January 1960 * 31st Air Division : Stationed at:

Fort Snelling Fort Snelling is a former military fortification and National Historic Landmark in the U.S. state of Minnesota on the bluffs overlooking the confluence of the Minnesota and Mississippi Rivers. The military site was initially named Fort Saint Anth ...

, Minnesota on 20 May 1951 : Re-assigned to Central Air Defense Force 16 February 1953 from

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 ...

(EADF) : Inactivated 1 January 1960 * 33d Air Division : Stationed at:

Tinker AFB Tinker Air Force Base is a major United States Air Force base, with tenant U.S. Navy and other Department of Defense missions, located in Oklahoma County, Oklahoma, surrounded by Del City, Oklahoma City, and Midwest City. The base, original ...

, Oklahoma, 20 May 1951 : Re-assigned to Central Air Defense Force 16 February 1953 from

(EADF) : Moved to Oklahoma City AFS, 1 July 1956 : Re-designated 33d Air Division (SAGE) and reassigned to Air Defense Command, 1 January 1960 *

34th Air Division The 34th Air Division (34th AD) is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with Air Defense Command at Custer Air Force Station, Michigan. It was inactivated on 31 December 1969. History Assigned to Air De ...

(Defense) : Stationed at: Kirtland AFB, New Mexico, 16 February 1953 : Re-assigned to Central Air Defense Force 16 February 1953 from Western Air Defense Force (WADF) : Inactivated 1 January 1960 * 35th Air Division : Activated at:

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the List of United States cities by populat ...

on 1 July 1951 : Assigned to Central Air Defense Force : Moved to Dobbins AFB, Georgia on 1 September 1951 : Re-assigned to

(EADF), 10 April 1955

Wings

* 122d Fighter-Interceptor Wing : Federalized

Indiana Air National Guard The Indiana Air National Guard (IN ANG) is the aerial militia of the State of Indiana, United States of America. It is, along with the Indiana Army National Guard, an element of the Indiana National Guard. As state militia units, the units in t ...

, 10 February 1951 : Stationed at

Baer Field Baer (or Bär, from german: bear, links=no) or Van Baer is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: Baer * Alan Baer, American tuba player * Arthur "Bugs" Baer (1886–1969), American journalist and humorist * Buddy Baer (1915–1986) ...

, Indiana : Re-assigned to Central Air Defense Force 1 December 1951 from

(EADF) : Inactivated and returned to state control, 7 February 1952 * 128th Fighter-Interceptor Wing : Federalized Wisconsin Air National Guard, 10 February 1951 : Stationed at Truax Field, Wisconsin : Re-assigned to Central Air Defense Force 20 May 1951 from

(EADF) : Inactivated and returned to state control, 6 February 1952 * 133d Fighter-Interceptor Wing : Federalized

Minnesota Air National Guard The Minnesota Air National Guard (MN ANG) is the aerial militia of the U.S. state of Minnesota. It is, along with the Minnesota Army National Guard, an element of the Minnesota National Guard. As state militia units, the units in the Minnesota Ai ...

, 10 February 1951 : Stationed at Holman Field, Minnesota : Re-assigned to Central Air Defense Force 20 May 1951 from

(EADF) : Moved to Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport, 28 June 1951 : Inactivated and returned to state control, 6 February 1952

Groups

* 153d Aircraft Control and Warning Group : Federalized

Pennsylvania Air National Guard The Pennsylvania Air National Guard (PA ANG) is the aerial militia of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States of America. It is, along with the Pennsylvania Army National Guard, an element of the Pennsylvania National Guard. As commonwe ...

, 16 January 1952 : Stationed at

New Cumberland, Pennsylvania New Cumberland is a borough (Pennsylvania), borough in easternmost Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, United States. New Cumberland was incorporated on March 21, 1831. The population was 7,277 at the 2010 census. The ...

, assigned to Central Air Defense Force : Personnel used to fill vacancies in the 35th Air Division; inactivated 6 February 1952 * 159th Aircraft Control and Warning Group : Federalized Oklahoma Air National Guard, 1 June 1951 : Stationed at

, Oklahoma : Attached to 33d Air Division, 19 June 1951 : Inactivated and returned to state control, 6 February 1952 * 161st Aircraft Control and Warning Group : Federalized

California Air National Guard The California Air National Guard (CA ANG) is one of three components of the California National Guard, a reserve of the United States Air Force, and part of the National Guard of the United States. As militia units, the units in the California ...

, 28 January 1952 : Stationed at

Berkeley, California Berkeley ( ) is a city on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in northern Alameda County, California, United States. It is named after the 18th-century Irish bishop and philosopher George Berkeley. It borders the cities of Oakland and E ...

, assigned to Central Air Defense Force : Personnel used to fill vacancies in numerous CADF units; inactivated 6 February 1952 *

543d Aircraft Control and Warning Group The 543d Aircraft Control and Warning Group is a disbanded United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the 31st Air Division, Air Defense Command, stationed at Fort Snelling, Minnesota. It was inactivated on 10 February 1952. History T ...

: Assigned to Central Air Defense Force : Stationed at

, Minnesota on 1 January 1951 : Re-assigned to 31st Air Division (Defense), 10 July 1951 * 4676th Air Defense Group : Assigned to Central Air Defense Force : Stationed at Grandview AFB, Missouri : Re-assigned to 33d Air Division, 2 March 1954

References

* USAF Aerospace Defense Command publication, The Interceptor, January 1979 (Volume 21, Number 1) * 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. * 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.

External links

{{Aerospace Defense Command, state=collapsed Aerospace Defense Command units 1951 establishments in Missouri 1960 disestablishments in Missouri