Duluth Air National Guard Base is a

United States Air National Guard The Air National Guard (ANG), also known as the Air Guard, is a federal military reserve force of the United States Air Force, as well as the air militia of each U.S. state, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the ter ...

base located on the grounds of

Duluth International Airport : ''For the United States Air Force use of this facility, see Duluth Air National Guard Base.'' Duluth International Airport is a city-owned public-use joint civil-military airport located five nautical miles (9 km) northwest of the centra ...

. It is home to the

148th Fighter Wing The 148th Fighter Wing is a unit of the Minnesota Air National Guard located at Duluth Air National Guard Base, Minnesota. The 148th is equipped with the General Dynamics F-16C Fighting Falcon. If activated to federal service, the Wing is gain ...

History

The City of Duluth purchased the original property for the airport in 1929 from St. Louis County. The airport was constructed on of land with two sod runways. Subsequently, in 1930, the airfield was dedicated as a public airport. The airport was called the Williamson-Johnson Municipal Airport until 1963 at which time it was renamed Duluth International Airport.

Air Defense Command

11th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron Convair F-102A-80-CO Delta Dagger 56-1485

After World War II, the

U.S. 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 Sign ...

constructed permanent and semi-permanent facilities on land leased from the City of Duluth for use by the active Air Force and the Air National Guard. Beginning in 1948, the

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 ...

built permanent facilities on the east end of the field.

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 ina ...

(ADC) activated the 11th Fighter Interceptor Squadron on 1 December 1952 and the 515th Air Defense Squadron on 16 February 1953 under the

Central Air Defense Force The Central Air Defense Force (CADF) is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with Air Defense Command being stationed at Richards-Gebaur Air Force Base, Missouri. It was inactivated on July 1, 1960. History ...

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 ...

. The 11th flew from Duluth until 1968, flying F-51H Mustangs,

F-86 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 ...

D Sabrejets, F-89H/J Scorpions,

F-102 The Convair F-102 Delta Dagger was an American interceptor aircraft designed and manufactured by Convair. Built as part of the backbone of the United States Air Force's air defenses in the late 1950s, it entered service in 1956. Its main pur ...

A Delta Daggers, and lastly

F-106 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 ...

A Delta Dart interceptors. In 1968, the squadron was redesignated the 87th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron and continued to operate F-106s until 1979. 11th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron-2-F-106s-about 1967

11th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron-2-F-106s-about 1967

In 1966, the

29th Air Division The 29th Air Division (29th AD) is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with Air Defense Command, being stationed at Duluth International Airport, Minnesota. It was inactivated on 15 November 1969. History ...

, operated a

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) radar command and control center from the airport. SAGE was an automated control system for tracking and intercepting enemy bomber aircraft used by

NORAD North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD ), known until March 1981 as the North American Air Defense Command, is a combined organization of the United States and Canada that provides aerospace warning, air sovereignty, and protection ...

. In later versions, the system could automatically direct aircraft to an interception by sending commands directly to the aircraft's autopilot. In 1969, the SAGE facility closed and the

23d Air Division 3-D, 3D, or 3d may refer to: Science, technology, and mathematics Relating to three-dimensionality * Three-dimensional space ** 3D computer graphics, computer graphics that use a three-dimensional representation of geometric data ** 3D film, a ...

replaced it. The 23d AD which was responsible for the air defense of the upper midwest.

Minnesota Air National Guard

The USAF phased out its Air Defense facilities in 1982, but the Minnesota ANG continues its operations. Along with its commercial airport usage, the

(148 FW), an

Air Combat Command Air Combat Command (ACC) is one of nine Major Commands (MAJCOMs) in the United States Air Force, reporting to Headquarters, United States Air Force (HAF) at the Pentagon. It is the primary provider of air combat forces for the Air Force, and i ...

(ACC)-gained unit, is located at the airport. The air national guard base occupies on the northeast corner of the airport. The munitions storage area, which is physically separated from the main base, occupies north of Runway 09/27. The base has a total of 37 buildings; 18 industrial and 19 administrative. Normal ANG population is 320 personnel but surges to 1100 at least once each month during unit training assembly (UTA) drill sessions for the entire wing. The 148th previously flew the F-16A ADF and currently flies the F-16C Fighting Falcon.

Known ADCOM units assigned

* 23d ADCOM Region, 8 December 1978 : Transferred to ADTAC as 23d NORAD Region, 1 October 1979-31 December 1983 *

Duluth Air Defense Sector The Duluth Air Defense Sector (DUADS) is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with the Air Defense Command 29th Air Division, being stationed at Duluth Airport, Minnesota. It was inactivated on 1 April 1969 ...

, 8 October 1957 : Re-designated:

, 1 April 1966 : Re-designated:

, 19 November 1969-15 April 1982 *

514th Air Defense Group The 514th Air Defense Group is a disbanded United States Air Force (USAF) organization. Its last assignment was with the 31st Air Division at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, Minnesota. It was inactivated on 18 August 1955. The group ...

, 16 February 1953 : Re-designated: 343d Fighter Group, 18 August 1955-1 January 1959 ::

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), 1 December 1952-30 June 1968 * 4787th Air Base Squadron, 1 December 1952 : Re-designated: 4787th Air Base Group, 28 August 1970-31 December 1983 * 4645th Air Defense Squadron (SAGE), 1 July 1972 : Re-designated: 23d Air Defense Squadron (ADS)/(SAGE), 1 January 1975-31 December 1983 *

179th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron The 179th Fighter Squadron (179 FS) is a unit of the Minnesota Air National Guard 148th Fighter Wing located at Duluth Air National Guard Base, Minnesota. The 179th is equipped with the General Dynamics F-16C Fighting Falcon. History World W ...

(Federalized

) (ANG), 2 March 1951 – 1 December 1952 (F-51D) * 74th Air Defense Missile Squadron (BOMARC), 1 April 1960 – 30 April 1972

Based units

Flying and notable non-flying units based at Duluth Air National Guard Base.

United States Air Force

Air National Guard *

*** Headquarters 148th Fighter Wing *** 148th Operations Group ****

179th Fighter Squadron The 179th Fighter Squadron (179 FS) is a unit of the Minnesota Air National Guard 148th Fighter Wing located at Duluth Air National Guard Base, Minnesota. The 179th is equipped with the General Dynamics F-16C Fighting Falcon. History World ...

–

F-16C Fighting Falcon The General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is a single-engine multirole fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force (USAF). Designed as an air superiority day fighter, it evolved into a successful ...

**** 148th Operations Support Flight *** 148th Maintenance Group **** 148th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron **** 148th Maintenance Operations Flight **** 148th Maintenance Squadron *** 148th Medical Group *** 148th Mission Support Group **** 148th Civil Engineering Squadron **** 148th Communications Squadron **** 148th Logistics Readiness Squadron **** 148th Security Forces Squadron

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.
Information for Duluth AFS, MN

information for Duluth (BOMARC), MN
{{Aerospace Defense Command Installations of the United States Air Force in Minnesota Installations of the United States Air National Guard Buildings and structures in Duluth, Minnesota Duluth–Superior metropolitan area Military facilities in Minnesota Semi-Automatic Ground Environment sites 1948 establishments in Minnesota Military airbases established in 1948