The Sault Sainte Marie Air Defense Sector (SsmADS) is an inactive

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 30th Air Division, being stationed at K.I. Sawyer Air Force Base,

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and t ...

History

SsmADS was established in November 1958 assuming control of former ADC Central Air Defense Force units in

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

and the Upper Peninsula of

. The organization provided command and control over several aircraft and

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, Marine radar, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor v ...

squadrons. On 15 June 1960, the new

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) Direction Center (DC-14) became operational. DC-14 was equipped with dual AN/FSQ-7 Computers. The day-to-day operations of the command was to train and maintain tactical flying units flying jet interceptor aircraft ( F-94 Starfire;

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 purpo ...

;

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 ...

) in a state of readiness with training missions and series of exercises with SAC and other units simulating interceptions of incoming enemy aircraft. The Sector was inactivated on 1 April 1966 as part of an ADC consolidation and reorganization; and its units were reassigned to the 28th and 29th Air Divisions.

Lineage

* Established as Sault Sainte Marie Air Defense Sector on 8 November 1958 : Inactivated on 15 December 1963

Assignments

* 37th Air Division, 8 November 1958 * 30th Air Division, 1 April 1959 – 15 December 1963

Stations

* K.I. Sawyer Air Force Base,

, 8 November 1958 – 15 December 1963

Components

Wings

56th Fighter Wing The 56th Fighter Wing is a fighter wing in the United States Air Force. It is the world’s largest Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II wing and one of two Air Force F-35 training locations. Additionally, it is one of two active-duty F-16 training ...

(Air Defense) :

K. I. Sawyer AFB K. I. Sawyer Air Force Base is a decommissioned United States Air Force (USAF) installation in Marquette County, Michigan, south of the city of Marquette. Near the center of Michigan's Upper Peninsula, the base operated for nearly forty years ...

, Michigan, 1 February 1961-1 October 1963 *

507th Fighter Wing 5 (five) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number, and cardinal number, following 4 and preceding 6, and is a prime number. It has attained significance throughout history in part because typical humans have five digits on eac ...

(Air Defense) :

Kincheloe AFB Kincheloe Air Force Base was a United States Air Force (USAF) base during the Cold War. Built in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan in 1943 during World War II, the base was in service The base was known by various names, including Kinross Muni ...

, Michigan, 1 February 1961-1 October 1963

Groups

* 56th Fighter Group (Air Defense) :

, Michigan, 1 April 1960-1 February 1961 *

507th Fighter Group 5 (five) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number, and cardinal number, following 4 and preceding 6, and is a prime number. It has attained significance throughout history in part because typical humans have five digits on eac ...

(Air Defense) :

, Michigan, 1 April 1960-1 February 1961

Interceptor squadron

* 445th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron :

Wurtsmith AFB Wurtsmith Air Force Base is a decommissioned United States Air Force base in Iosco County, Michigan. It operated from 1923 until decommissioned in 1993. On January 18, 1994 it was listed as a Superfund due to extensive groundwater contaminatio ...

, Michigan, 1 April 1960-15 July 1963

Missile squadron

* 37th Air Defense Missile Squadron (BOMARC) :

, Michigan, 1 April 1960-1 October 1963

Radar squadrons

639th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron The 639th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the Sault Sainte Marie Air Defense Sector, Air Defense Command, stationed at Lowther Air Station, Ontario, Canada. It was inactiv ...

: Lowther AS, Ontario, 1 April 1960-1 July 1963 * 665th Radar Squadron : Calumet AFS, Michigan, 1 April 1960-1 October 1963 * 676th Radar Squadron :

Antigo AFS Antigo Air Force Station is a closed United States Air Force General Surveillance Radar station. It is located south-southwest of Antigo, Wisconsin. It was closed in 1977 and is currently classified as a high risk toxic waste site involving ...

, Wisconsin, 1 April 1960-1 October 1963 * 752d Radar Squadron :

Empire AFS Empire Air Force Station is a former United States Air Force Aerospace Defense Command (ADC) long range radar site located south-southeast of Empire, Michigan, in Empire Township. It was closed in 1978 by the Air Force, and turned over to ...

, Michigan, 1 April 1960-15 July 1963 * 753d Radar Squadron :

Sault Sainte Marie AFS Sault may refer to: Places in Europe * Sault, Vaucluse, France * Saint-Benoît-du-Sault, France * Canton of Sault, France * Canton of Saint-Benoît-du-Sault, France * Sault-Brénaz, France * Sault-de-Navailles, France * Sault-lès-Rethel, F ...

, Michigan, 1 April 1960-1 October 1963 * 912th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron : Ramore AS, Ontario, 1 April 1960-1 January 1962 * 913th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron : Pagwa AS, Ontario, 1 April 1960-1 June 1963

References

* Lloyd H. Cornett and Mildred W. Johnson, A Handbook of Aerospace Defense Organization 1946 - 1980, Office of History,

Aerospace Defense Center The Aerospace Defense Center (ADC) was a unit of the United States Air Force. It was under the command of the general that also commanded both North American Aerospace Defense Command and Aerospace Defense Command (ADCOM). The center included the ...

, 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. * Ravenstein, Charles A. (1984). Air Force Combat Wings Lineage and Honors Histories 1947–1977. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History. .
Radomes.org Sault Sainte Marie Air Defense Sector
{{Aerospace Defense Command, state=collapsed

Air Defense Anti-aircraft warfare, counter-air or air defence forces is the battlespace response to aerial warfare, defined by NATO as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It includes surface based ...

1958 establishments in Michigan 1966 disestablishments in Michigan Military units and formations disestablished in 1966 Military units and formations in Michigan

History

Lineage

Assignments

Stations

Components

Wings

Groups

Interceptor squadron

Missile squadron

Radar squadrons

See also

References