The 4735th 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. It was assigned to the Boston Air Defense Sector at

Otis Air Force Base Otis may refer to: Arts and entertainment Characters * Otis (Superman), in the films ''Superman'' and ''Superman II'' and related DC Comics media ** Otis Graves, in the TV series ''Supergirl'' * Otis (''The Walking Dead''), in the Image Comics ...

, Massachusetts, where it was last active in 1959. The 4735th was formed in 1957 to provide a single command and support organization for the two fighter interceptor squadrons of Air Defense Command (ADC) at Otis when the

33rd Fighter Wing The 33rd Fighter Wing, sometimes written 33d Fighter Wing, (33 FW) is a United States Air Force unit assigned to Air Education and Training Command's Nineteenth Air Force. It is stationed at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida where it is a tenant u ...

inactivated and the 551st Airborne Early Warning and Control Wing became the host at Otis. One of its squadrons was the first ADC unit to fly the McDonnell F-101 Voodoo. 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 discontinued after the

58th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron The 58th Fighter Squadron is part of the 33d Fighter Wing, a joint graduate flying and maintenance training wing for the F-35A, B, and C, organized under Air Education and Training Command's 19th Air Force, at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. Its ...

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 Otis.

History

The 4735th Air Defense Group was organized in August 1957 at

, Massachusetts.Cornett & Johnson, p. 89 At Otis, the

replaced the

33d Fighter Group ''033'' or ''Zero Three Three'' is a 2010 Bengali film directed by Birsa Dasgupta in a directorial debut and produced by Moxie Entertainments. It stars Rudranil Ghosh and Parambrato Chattopadhyay. 033 is the STD code for Kolkata city, and the ...

(Air Defense) as the headquarters for the 33d's operational squadrons when the

(Air Defense) and its components were inactivated. The 33rd wing's 33rd Air Base Group was simultaneously replaced as the USAF host organization for Otis by elements of the 551st Airborne Early Warning and Control Wing's 551st Air Base Group. The

(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 ...

aircraft,Cornett & Johnson, p.116 and the 60th 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 ...

aircraft,Cornett & Johnson, p. 117 former squadrons of the 33rd Fighter Group, were reassigned to the 4735th.Maurer, ''Combat Squadrons'', p. 231Maurer, ''Combat Squadrons'', p. 235 The 58th's Scorpions were a mix of F-89Hs, armed with

AIM-4 Falcon The Hughes AIM-4 Falcon was the first operational guided air-to-air missile of the United States Air Force. Development began in 1946; the weapon was first tested in 1949. The missile entered service with the USAF in 1956. Produced in both heat ...

s and Mighty Mouse rockets and F-89Js, capable of carrying the nuclear armed

AIR-2 Genie The Douglas AIR-2 Genie (previous designation MB-1) was an unguided air-to-air rocket with a 1.5 kt W25 nuclear warhead. It was deployed by the United States Air Force (USAF 1957–1985) and Canada (Royal Canadian Air Force 1965–68, Air Co ...

. The 60th flew Mighty Mouse rocket armed F-94Cs. All models 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 group assumed responsibility for air defense of eastern Massachusetts. Aircraft maintenance for the two fighter squadrons was performed by the 602nd Consolidated Aircraft Maintenance Squadron (CAMS), which was activated at Otis and assigned to the group.Cornett & Johnson, p.142 In February 1959, the 60th FIS converted to McDonnell F-101 Voodoo aircraft, becoming the first F-101 squadron in Air Defense Command. The 4735th was discontinued on 1 August 1959 when the 58th FIS relocated to

Walker Air Force Base Walker Air Force Base is a closed United States Air Force base located three miles (5 km) south of the central business district of Roswell, New Mexico. It was opened in 1941 as an Army Air Corps flying school and was active during Worl ...

, New Mexico, leaving only one operational fighter squadron at Otis. The 60th FIS was reassigned directly to Boston Air Defense Sector, and the 602nd CAMS was inactivated.

Lineage

* Designated and organized as 4735th Air Defense Group on 18 August 1957 : Discontinued on 1 August 1959

Assignments

* Boston Air Defense Sector, 18 August 1957 – 1 August 1959

Components

* 58th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, 18 August 1957 – 1 August 1959 * 60th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, 18 August 1957 – 1 August 1959 * 602nd Consolidated Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, 18 August 1957 – 8 July 1958

Aircraft

* Northrop F-89H Scorpion, 1957–1959 * Northrop F-89J Scorpion, 1957–1959 * Lockheed F-94C Starfighter, 1957–1959 * McDonnell F-101B Voodoo, 1959

Commanders

* Col. David B. Tudor, 1958

References

Notes

Bibliography

* * * * {{Aerospace Defense Command, state=collapsed Air defense groups of the United States Air Force Four digit groups of the United States Air Force Aerospace Defense Command units Military units and formations established in 1957 Military units and formations disestablished in 1959 Military units and formations in Massachusetts 1957 establishments in Massachusetts 1959 disestablishments in Massachusetts