The 529th Air Defense Group is a disbanded

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

25th Air Division The 25th Air Division is an inactive United States Air Force intermediate echelon command and control organization. It was last assigned to First Air Force, Tactical Air Command (ADTAC). It was inactivated on 30 September 1990 at McChord A ...

Paine Field Paine Field , also known as Snohomish County Airport, is a commercial and general aviation airport serving the Seattle metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Washington. It is located in unincorporated Snohomish County, Washington, between the ...

, Washington. It was inactivated on 18 August 1955. 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 originally activated as a support unit for the

2d Bombardment Group 002, 0O2, O02, OO2, or 002 may refer to: Airports *0O2, Baker Airport *O02, Nervino Airport Astronomy *1996 OO2, the minor planet 7499 L'Aquila *1990 OO2, the asteroid 9175 Graun Fiction *002, fictional British 00 Agent *'' 002 Operazione Lu ...

at the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

in Italy and then acted as a depot organization until inactivating in 1946. The group was activated once again in 1953, when ADC established it as the headquarters for a dispersed fighter-interceptor squadron and the medical, maintenance, and administrative squadrons supporting it. It was replaced in 1955 when ADC transferred its mission, equipment, and personnel to the 326th Fighter Group in a project that replaced air defense groups commanding fighter squadrons with fighter groups with distinguished records during World War II.

History

World War II

The

was activated at

Amendola Airfield Amendola Air Base (ICAO: LIBA) is a military airfield of the Italian Air Force ( Aeronautica Militare). It is the home of 32nd Wing. Overview Amendola Air Base was primarily a training base for pilots of the AMX International AMX ground atta ...

, Italy as the 529th Air Service Group shortly after

V-E Day Victory in Europe Day is the day celebrating the formal acceptance by the Allies of World War II of Germany's unconditional surrender of its armed forces on Tuesday, 8 May 1945, marking the official end of World War II in Europe in the Easte ...

as part of a reorganization of Army Air Forces (AAF) support groups in which the AAF replaced Service Groups that included personnel from other branches of the Army and supported two combat groups with Air Service Groups including only Air Corps units. The group was designed to support a single combat group.Coleman, p. 208 Its 955th Air Engineering Squadron provided maintenance that was beyond the capability of the combat group, its 779th Air Materiel Squadron handled all supply matters, and its Headquarters & Base Services Squadron provided other support. The 529th supported the

(Bomb Gp). The group moved with the 2d Bomb Gp to Foggia, Italy where it added support responsibility for all military installations in the

Foggia Airfield Complex The Foggia Airfield Complex was a series of World War II military airfields located within a radius of Foggia, in the Province of Foggia, Italy. The airfields were used by the United States Army Air Force Fifteenth Air Force as part of the strat ...

. After the 2nd Bomb Gp returned to the United States, the group was apparently used as a depot unit until it was inactivated in 1946.

Cold War

The group was again activated later that year and moved to

Dow Field Bangor Air National Guard Base is a United States Air National Guard base. Created in 1927 as the commercial Godfrey Field, the airfield was taken over by the U.S. Army just before World War II and renamed Godfrey Army Airfield and later Dow Ar ...

, Maine,(erroneously marked as history of 529th Air Service Squadron) where it provided support for the

14th Fighter Group 014 may refer to: * Argus As 014 * 014 Construction Unit * Divi Divi Air Flight 014 * Pirna 014 The Pirna 014 was an axial turbojet designed in East Germany (or the GDR) in the mid- to late 1950s by former Junkers engineers, who were repatriat ...

. The group was inactivated and replaced by 14th Airdrome Group, 14th Station Medical Group, and 14th Maintenance & Supply Group in the experimental Wing/Base reorganization of 1947, designed to unify control at air bases. The group was disbanded in 1948.Department of the Air Force Letter, 322 (AFOOR 887e), 8 October 1948, Subject: Disbandment of Certain Inactive Air Force Units F-84g-51-733-137thfbw-1952

The group was reconstituted, redesignated as the 529th Air Defense Group and activated at Paine Field on 18 February 1953Cornett& Johnson, p. 83 with responsibility for air defense of the Northwestern United States. The 529th was assigned the 83d Fighter-Interceptor Squadron (FIS), which was already stationed at Paine Field, flying

Republic F-84 Thunderjet The Republic F-84 Thunderjet was an American turbojet fighter-bomber aircraft. Originating as a 1944 United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) proposal for a "day fighter", the F-84 first flew in 1946. Although it entered service in 1947, the Thun ...

s,Cornett & Johnson, p.119 as its operational component.Maurer, ''Combat Squadrons'', p. 290 The 83d FIS had been assigned directly to the

4704th Defense Wing The 4704th Defense Wing is a discontinued United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with the 25th Air Division of Air Defense Command (ADC) at McChord Air Force Base, Washington, where it was discontinued in 1954. It was es ...

. The group also replaced the 86th Air Base Squadron as USAF host organization at Paine Field. It was assigned three

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, ...

s to perform its support responsibilities.Cornett & Johnson, p. 147''See'' It was also assigned the 17th Crash Rescue Boat Flight for water rescue duties. By December 1953, the 83d FIS converted to

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 Sabres. When the 4704th Defense Wing was discontinued in 1954, the group was reassigned directly to the 25th Air Division. The group was inactivated and replaced by 326th Fighter Group (Air Defense) in 1955 as part of Air Defense Command's Project Arrow, which was designed to bring back on the active list the fighter units which had compiled memorable records in the two world wars.Buss, Sturm, Volan, & McMullen, p.6 The group was disbanded again in 1984.Department of the Air Force/MPM Letter 575q, 27 Sep 1984, Subject: Disbandment of Units

Lineage

* Constituted as 529th Air Service Group ''ca''. 16 December 1944 : Activated on 18 May 1945 : Inactivated on 15 September 1946 : Activated ''ca''. 1 October 1946 : Inactivated on 15 August 1947 : Disbanded on 8 October 1948 * Reconstituted and redesignated 529th Air Defense Group on 21 January 1953 : Activated on 16 February 1953 : Inactivated on 18 August 1955 : Disbanded on 27 September 1984

Assignments

* XV Air Force Service Command, 18 May 1945 * Air Service Command, Mediterranean Theater of Operations, 1945 * Air Force General Depot, Naples 11 November 1945 * IX Air Force Service Command, ''ca''. July 1946 – 15 September 1946 * Unknown ''ca''. 1 October 1946 – 15 August 1947 (probably First Air Force) * 4704th Defense Wing, 16 February 1953 * 25th Air Division 8 October 1954 – 18 August 1955

Stations

* Amendola Airfield, Italy 18 May 1945 * Foggia, Italy c. July 1945 – unknown *

Mitchel Field Mitchell may refer to: People *Mitchell (surname) *Mitchell (given name) Places Australia * Mitchell, Australian Capital Territory, a light-industrial estate * Mitchell, New South Wales, a suburb of Bathurst * Mitchell, Northern Territor ...

, New York, c. 1 October 1946 * Dow Field, Maine, ''ca''. 20 November 1946 – 15 August 1947 * Paine Field, Washington, 16 February 1953 – 18 August 1955

Components

Operational Squadron * 83d Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, 16 February 1953 – 18 August 1955 Support Units * 529th Air Base Squadron, 16 February 1953 – 18 August 1955 * 529th Materiel Squadron, 16 February 1953 – 18 August 1955 * 529th Medical Squadron (later 529th USAF Infirmary), 16 February 1953 – 18 August 1955 * 779th Air Materiel Squadron, 18 May 1945 – 15 August 1947''See'' (listing assigned units) * 955th Air Engineering Squadron, 18 May 1945 – 15 August 1947 * 17th Crash Rescue Boat Flight, ''ca''. 16 February 1953 – 18 August 1955

Aircraft

* Republic F-84G Thunderjet, 1953 * North American F-86D Sabre, 1953–1955

Commanders

* Lt Col. James J. Groves, 18 May 1945 – unknown * Unknown 16 February 1953 – 18 August 1955

References

Explanatory Note

Notes

Bibliography

* Buss, Lydus H.(ed), Sturm, Thomas A., Volan, Denys, and McMullen, Richard F., History of Continental Air Defense Command and Air Defense Command July to December 1955, Directorate of Historical Services, Air Defense Command, Ent AFB, CO, (1956) * * * * * Further reading * Grant, C.L., (1961
The Development of Continental Air Defense to 1 September 1954, USAF Historical Study No. 126
*

External links

{{USAAF 15th Air Force World War II 0529 Aerospace Defense Command units Military units and formations established in 1953 Military units and formations disestablished in 1984