The 4730th Air Defense Group is a discontinued

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Aerial warfare, air military branch, 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 ...

organization. Its last assignment was with the New York Air Defense Sector at McGuire Air Force Base, New Jersey, where it was discontinued in 1959. 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 formed to provide a single command and support organization for the two fighter interceptor squadrons of Air Defense Command that were tenants at McGuire, a Military Air Transport Service base. It was also assigned a squadron to perform aircraft maintenance. The 4730th was discontinued when the

332d Fighter-Interceptor Squadron The 332d Fighter-Interceptor Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with the 4683rd Air Defense Wing at Thule Air Base, Greenland, where it was inactivated on 31 May 1965. The squadron was first organize ...

moved in 1959, leaving only a single fighter

squadron Squadron may refer to: * Squadron (army), a military unit of cavalry, tanks, or equivalent subdivided into troops or tank companies * Squadron (aviation), a military unit that consists of three or four flights with a total of 12 to 24 aircraft, ...

at McGuire.

History

The 4730th Air Defense Group was established to provide a headquarters for the two Air Defense Command (ADC) Fighter-Interceptor Squadrons (FIS) stationed at McGuire Air Force Base, New Jersey,Cornett & Johnson, p. 89 a Military Air Transport Service (MATS) base.Mueller, p. 413 MATS' 1611th Air Base Group acted as host base organization for McGuire. The

was assigned the 332d and

539th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron The 539th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with the 26th Air Division at McGuire Air Force Base, New Jersey, where it was inactivated on 31 August 1967. During World War II, the ...

s (FIS), flying

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, we ...

equipped and Mighty Mouse rocket armed North American F-86D Sabre aircraft as its operational components.Cornett & Johnson, p. 127Cornett & Johnson, p. 131 Some of the Sabres were F-86Ls, which were equipped with a

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.Maurer, p. 410Maurer, p.646 The group mission was to train and maintain tactical flying units to defend the Mid-Atlantic United States. The two fighter squadrons were already stationed at McGuire and had been assigned to the New York Air Defense Sector. Maintenance for the two squadrons was provided by the 601st Consolidated Aircraft Maintenance Squadron (CAMS), which was activated at McGuire along with the rest of the group.Cornett & Johnson, p.142 The 332d 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 ...

aircraft in July 1957, while the 539th FIS retained its F-86s until the Spring of 1959, when it converted to

Convair 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 ...

s. The group was discontinued shortly after the 332d FIS departed for

England Air Force Base England Air Force Base is a former United States Air Force base in Louisiana, located northwest of Alexandria and about northwest of New Orleans. Originally known as Alexandria Army Air Base, on 23 June 1955 the facility was renamed England Ai ...

, Louisiana, leaving only a single operational ADC squadron at McGuire. The 601st CAMS was inactivated with the group, while the 539th FIS was assigned directly to the New York Air Defense Sector.

Lineage

* Designated as the 4730th Air Defense Group and organized on 8 February 1957 : Discontinued on 1 August 1959 Assignments * New York Air Defense Sector, 8 February 1957 – 1 August 1959 Components * 332d Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, 8 February 1957 – 10 July 1959 * 539th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, 8 February 1957 – 1 August 1959 * 601st Consolidated Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, 8 February 1957 – 1 August 1959 Stations * McGuire Air Force Base, New Jersey, 8 February 1957 – 1 August 1959

Aircraft

* F-86D: 1957–59 * F-86L: 1957–59 * F-102A: 1957–59 * F-106A: 1959

Commanders

* Col. Herbert L. Phillips, by 1 January 1958 – ''ca''. 31 December 1958 * Col. Phillip Brooks, ''ca''. 1 January 1959 – 1959

References

Notes

Bibliography

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