The 4727th Air Defense Group is a discontinued

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 the

Syracuse Air Defense Sector The Syracuse Air Defense Sector (SADS) is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with the Air Defense Command (ADC) 26th Air Division at Hancock Field, New York. SADS was established in October 1956 as the 46 ...

Griffiss Air Force Base Griffiss Air Force Base is a former United States Air Force installation in the northeastern United States, located in Central New York state at Rome, about northwest of Utica. Missions included fighter interceptors, electronic research, ...

, New York, where it was discontinued in 1959. The group was formed to provide a single command and support organization for the two fighter interceptor squadrons of

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 ...

(ADC), that were tenants at Griffiss, an

Air Materiel Command Air Materiel Command (AMC) was a United States Army Air Forces and United States Air Force command. Its headquarters was located at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. In 1961, the command was redesignated the Air Force Logistics Command ...

(AMC) base. It was also assigned a maintenance squadron to perform aircraft maintenance. It was discontinued after the 27th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron moved in 1959, leaving only a single fighter squadron at Griffiss.

History

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 ide ...

was established to provide a headquarters for

(ADC) Fighter-Interceptor Squadrons (FIS) stationed at

,Cornett & Johnson, p. 89 an

base, whose Rome Air Force Depot (until February 1958) and 2856th Air Base Wing (after February 1958) acted as host base organizations for the group. The 4727th was assigned the 27th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron (FIS), flying

Lockheed 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 o ...

Cornett & Johnson, p. 114 aircraft and 465th FIS, flying

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 ...

sCornett & Johnson, p. 129 as its operational components.Maurer, p. 138Maurer, p.572 The

interceptor aircraft An interceptor aircraft, or simply interceptor, is a type of fighter aircraft designed specifically for the defensive interception role against an attacking enemy aircraft, particularly bombers and reconnaissance aircraft. Aircraft that are ...

assigned to these squadrons were armed with Mighty Mouse rockets. The F-89s were also armed with

Falcon Falcons () are birds of prey in the genus ''Falco'', which includes about 40 species. Falcons are widely distributed on all continents of the world except Antarctica, though closely related raptors did occur there in the Eocene. Adult falcons ...

missiles or

Genie Jinn ( ar, , ') – also romanized as djinn or anglicized as genies (with the broader meaning of spirit or demon, depending on sources) – are invisible creatures in early pre-Islamic Arabian religious systems and later in Islamic myt ...

rockets. All assigned aircraft were equipped with

data link A data link is the means of connecting one location to another for the purpose of transmitting and receiving digital information (data communication). It can also refer to a set of electronics assemblies, consisting of a transmitter and a recei ...

for interception control through 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. S ...

system The 27th and 465th FIS were already stationed at Griffiss and had been assigned to the

4711th Air Defense Wing The 4711th Air Defense Wing is a discontinued United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with the 30th Air Division of Air Defense Command (ADC) at Selfridge Air Force Base, Michigan, where it was discontinued in 1956. It was ...

. Group aircraft maintenance was centralized in the 606th Consolidated Aircraft Maintenance Squadron (CAMS), which was activated at Griffiss in August.Cornett & Johnson, p.142 The 27th FIS converted to

Convair F-102 Delta Dagger 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 purpos ...

s in the fall of 1957. In July 1959 The 465th FIS and the

49th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron The 49th Fighter Training Squadron is part of the 14th Flying Training Wing based at Columbus Air Force Base, Mississippi. It operates T-38 Talon aircraft conducting flight training. The squadron was first activated as the 49th Pursuit Squadro ...

, which was stationed at Hanscom Air Force Base, Massachusetts, swapped equipment, personnel, and stations.Maurer, pp. 213-214 The group was discontinued when the 27th FIS moved to

Loring Air Force Base Loring Air Force Base was a United States Air Force installation in northeastern Maine, near Limestone and Caribou in Aroostook County. It was one of the largest bases of the U.S. Air Force's Strategic Air Command during its existence, and was t ...

, Maine in October 1959, leaving only a single operational ADC squadron at Griffiss. The 49th FIS was then assigned directly to the Syracuse Air Defense Sector, and the 606th CAMS was inactivated.

Lineage

* Designated as 4727th Air Defense Group and organized on 8 February 1957 : Discontinued on 15 October 1959

Assignments

32d Air Division The 32d Air Division (32d AD) is an inactive United States Air Force organization. It was last active with Air Defense Command, assigned to First Air Force at Gunter Air Force Base, Alabama, where it was inactivated on 31 December 1969. The di ...

, 8 February 1957 – 1 August 1958 * Syracuse Air Defense Sector, 1 August 1958 – 15 October 1959

Stations

* Griffiss Air Force Base, New York, 8 February 1957 – 15 October 1959

Components

* 27th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, 8 February 1957 – 1 October 1959 * 49th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, 1 July 1959 −15 October 1959 * 465th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, 8 February 1957 – 1 July 1959 * 606th Consolidated Aircraft Maintenance Squadron 8 August 1957 - 1 July 1959

Commanders

* Col. Frank J. Keller, by 1 January 1958 - after 31 December 1958

Aircraft

* North American F-89H Sabre, 1957-1959 * Northrop F-89J Scorpion, 1957-1959 * Lockheed F-94C Starfighter, 1957 * Convair F-102A Delta Dagger, 1957-1959

References

Notes

Bibliography

* * Further reading * {{Aerospace Defense Command, collapsed Air defense groups of the United States Air Force Aerospace Defense Command units Four digit groups of the United States Air Force Military units and formations in New York (state) Military units and formations established in 1957 Military units and formations disestablished in 1959 1957 establishments in New York (state) 1959 disestablishments in New York (state)