The 26th Air Defense Missile Squadron is an inactive

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

unit. It was activated in 1959 as the 26th Air Defense Missile Squadron to provide missile

air defense Anti-aircraft warfare (AAW) is the counter to aerial warfare and includes "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It encompasses surface-based, subsurface (Submarine#Armament, submarine-lau ...

for New England and was stationed at

Otis Air Force Base Otis may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Otis'' (film), a direct-to-DVD 2008 American comedy horror film * "Otis" (''The Jeffersons''), a television episode * "Otis" (''Prison Break''), a television episode Music * ...

, Massachusetts, where it was inactivated on 30 April 1972. It received its current name in 1985. when it was consolidated with the 26th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron, a

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

unit that provided

reconnaissance In military operations, military reconnaissance () or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, the terrain, and civil activities in the area of operations. In military jargon, reconnai ...

support for ground units in training until it was disbanded in 1943.

History

World War II

The first predecessor of the squadron was activated at

Gray Field Gray Army Airfield , also known as Gray AAF, is a military airfield located within Joint Base Lewis–McChord (formerly Fort Lewis) near Tacoma, in Pierce County, Washington, United States. Overview Used to support Fort Lewis, Army helicopter ...

, Washington in March 1942 as the 26th Observation Squadron and assigned to the

70th Observation Group 7 (seven) is the natural number following 6 and preceding 8. It is the only prime number preceding a cube. As an early prime number in the series of positive integers, the number seven has symbolic associations in religion, mythology, supers ...

. It was initially equipped with

North American O-47 The North American O-47 is an American observation fixed-wing aircraft monoplane designed in the mid-1930s and used by the United States Army Air Corps during the World War II. It has a low-wing configuration, retractable landing gear, and a th ...

s. The squadron participated in

maneuvers A military exercise, training exercise, maneuver (manoeuvre), or war game is the employment of military resources in training for military operations. Military exercises are conducted to explore the effects of warfare or test tactics and strat ...

and provided

support for Army ground forces training in the Pacific coast region. Until September 1942, the squadron also flew antisubmarine patrols off the coast.Maurer, ''Combat Units'', pp. 137-138 In 1943, the squadron began to fly

Bell P-39 Airacobra The Bell P-39 Airacobra is a fighter produced by Bell Aircraft for the United States Army Air Forces during World War II. It was one of the principal American fighters in service when the United States entered combat. The P-39 was used by th ...

s, becoming the 26th Reconnaissance Squadron (Fighter). With these aircraft it added fighter support to its training mission. In the spring of 1943, it moved with the 70th Group to Salinas Army Air Base, California. It became the 26th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron in August, but continued its mission from Pacific bases until moving to

Will Rogers Field Will may refer to: Common meanings * Will and testament, instructions for the disposition of one's property after death * Will (philosophy), or willpower * Will (sociology) * Will, volition (psychology) * Will, a modal verb - see Shall and will ...

, Oklahoma in November 1943, where it was disbanded.

Air defense of New England

The 26th Air Defense Missile Squadron was activated at

on 1 March 1959 and became operational with IM-99A (later CIM-10) BOMARC

surface to air ''Surface To Air'' is the second full-length album by Zombi. It was released in the United States by Relapse Records Relapse Records is an American independent record label based in Upper Darby Township, Pennsylvania. It was founded by Matt ...

antiaircraft Anti-aircraft warfare (AAW) is the counter to aerial warfare and includes "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It encompasses surface-based, subsurface ( submarine-launched), and air-ba ...

missiles.Cornett & Johnson, p. 150Air Defense Command Historical Data 1946-1973, Air Defense Command Office of History, Vol. II, p. 157 It stood alert during the

Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

. In September 1962, it upgraded to the IM-99B. The squadron was tied into a

Semi-Automatic Ground Environment The Semi-Automatic Ground Environment (SAGE) was a system of mainframe computer, large computers and associated computer network, networking equipment that coordinated data from many radar sites and processed it to produce a single unified image ...

(SAGE) direction center which could use analog computers to process information from ground radars, picket ships and airborne aircraft to accelerate the display of tracking data at the direction center to quickly direct the missile site to engage hostile aircraft.Winkler & Webster, p. 3 It became non operational on 1 April 1972 and was inactivated on 30 April 1972. The BOMARC missile site was located north-northwest of Otis AFB at . Although located outside of the base (but within the borders of the

Massachusetts Military Reservation The Joint Base Cape Cod is a state-designated joint base created by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the United States War Department in 1935. Governor James Curley signed the state bill to allocate and purchase land for a military facility ...

, it was treated as an off base facility and the squadron received administrative and logistical support from Otis. In 1985, the squadron was consolidated with the 26th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron,DAF/MPM Letter 662q, 19 Sep 1985, Subject: Reconstitution, Redesignation, and Consolidation of Selected Air Force Tactical Squadrons but has never been active with this designation.

Lineage

; 26th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron * Constituted as the 26th Observation Squadron (Light) on 5 February 1942 : Activated on 2 March 1942 : Redesignated 26th Observation Squadron on 4 July 1942 : Redesignated 26th Reconnaissance Squadron (Fighter) on 2 April 1943 : Redesignated 26th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron on 11 August 1943 : Disbanded on 30 November 1943 * Reconstituted on 19 September 1985 and consolidated with the 26th Air Defense Missile Squadron as the 26th Tactical Missile Squadron ; 26th Air Defense Missile Squadron * Constituted as the 26th Air Defense Missile Squadron on 23 January 1959 : Activated on 1 March 1959 : Inactivated on 30 April 1972 * Consolidated with the 26th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron as the 26th Tactical Missile Squadron on 19 September 1985

Assignments

* 70th Observation Group (later 70th Reconnaissance Group, 70th Tactical Reconnaissance Group), 2 March 1942 – 30 November 1943 *

Boston Air Defense Sector The Boston Air Defense Sector (BADS) is an inactive United States Air Force Air Defense Command (ADC) organization. Its last assignment was with the 26th Air Division at Hancock Field, New York. History BADS was established in 1956 at Stewar ...

, 1 March 1959 *

35th Air Division The 35th Air Division (35th AD) is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with Air Defense Command, assigned to First Air Force, at Hancock Field Air National Guard Base, Hancock Field, New York. It was inac ...

, 1 April 1966 * 21st Air Division, 19 November 1969 – 30 April 1972

Stations

* Gray Field, Washington, 2 March 1942 * Salinas Army Air Base, California, 15 March 1943 *

Redmond Army Air Field Redmond Municipal Airport (Roberts Field) is in Deschutes County, Oregon, United States. It is owned and operated by the city of Redmond, Oregon. It is the main commercial airport in Central Oregon, with nonstop scheduled passenger airline f ...

, Oregon, 16 August 1943 * Corvallis Army Air Field, Oregon, 31 October 1943 * Will Rogers Field, Oklahoma, 14–30 November 1943 * Otis Air Force Base, Massachusetts, 1 March 1959 – 30 April 1972

Awards

Aircraft and missiles

* North American O-47, 1942-1943 * Bell P-39 Airacobra, 1943 * Boeing IM-99 (later CIM-10) BOMARC, 1959 -1972

References

Notes

; Explanatory notes ; Citations

Bibliography

* * * *
AF Pamphlet 900-2, Unit Decorations, Awards and Campaign Participation Credits
Department of the Air Force, Washington, DC, 15 June 1971
AF Pamphlet 900-2, Unit Decorations, Awards and Campaign Participation Credits, Vol II
Department of the Air Force, Washington, DC, 30 September 1976]

External links

{{Aerospace Defense Command, state=autocollapse Missile squadrons of the United States Air Force, 026