The 4683d Air Defense Wing is a discontinued

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 ...

(USAF) organization. Its last assignment was with

Aerospace Defense Command Aerospace Defense Command was a major command of the United States Air Force, responsible for air defense of the continental United States. It was activated in 1968 and disbanded in 1980. Its predecessor, Air Defense Command, was establishe ...

(ADC)'s

Goose Air Defense Sector The Goose Air Defense Sector (GADS) is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with the 26th Air Division, being stationed at Goose Air Force Base, Labrador, Canada. It was inactivated on 1 April 1966 and re ...

Thule Air Base Pituffik Space Base ( ; ; ), formerly Thule Air Base (), is a United States Space Force base located on the northwest coast of Greenland in the Kingdom of Denmark under a defense agreement between Denmark and the United States. 150 United Stat ...

Greenland Greenland is an autonomous territory in the Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark. It is by far the largest geographically of three constituent parts of the kingdom; the other two are metropolitan Denmark and the Faroe Islands. Citizens of Greenlan ...

, where it was discontinued in 1965. The

wing A wing is a type of fin that produces both Lift (force), lift and drag while moving through air. Wings are defined by two shape characteristics, an airfoil section and a planform (aeronautics), planform. Wing efficiency is expressed as lift-to-d ...

was organized in 1960 and assigned a fighter interceptor squadron and a squadron operating a

radar Radar is a system that uses radio waves to determine the distance ('' ranging''), direction ( azimuth and elevation angles), and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It is a radiodetermination method used to detect and track ...

for

ground controlled interception Ground-controlled interception (GCI) is an air defence tactic whereby one or more radar stations or other observational stations are linked to a command communications centre which guides interceptor aircraft to an airborne target. This tactic was ...

. The 4683d also acted as the host organization at Thule until October, when support units were transferred to the 4683d Air Base Group, which was attached to the wing, but assigned to the

64th Air Division The 64th Air Division is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with Air Defense Command, being stationed at Stewart Air Force Base, New York. It was inactivated on 1 July 1963. History World War II The orga ...

in Newfoundland. It supported the

Ballistic Missile Early Warning System The RCA 474L Ballistic Missile Early Warning System (BMEWS, 474L System, Project 474L) was a United States Air Force Cold War early warning radar, computer, and communications system, for ballistic missile detection. The network of twelve rada ...

when the system was activated at Thule, but was discontinued when that mission supplanted the wing's traditional

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 ...

mission.

History

The 4683d Air Defense Wing was established in 1960 when

Air Defense Command Aerospace Defense Command was a major command (military formation), command of the United States Air Force, responsible for air defense of the continental United States. It was activated in 1968 and disbanded in 1980. Its predecessor, Air De ...

(ADC) assumed host responsibility for

from

Strategic Air Command Strategic Air Command (SAC) was a United States Department of Defense Specified Command and a United States Air Force (USAF) Major Command responsible for command and control of the strategic bomber and intercontinental ballistic missile compon ...

. Its operational mission was to act at the command and control echelon, controlling both a

and a fighter squadron in Greenland to provide forward

of northeast North America. Through the attached 4683rd Air Base Group, the

also acted as the

host organization for Thule. The wing also provided support for an Army

Nike Missile Project Nike (Greek: Νίκη, "Victory") was a U.S. Army project proposed in May 1945 by Bell Laboratories, to develop a line-of-sight anti-aircraft missile system. The project delivered the United States' first operational anti-aircraft mi ...

air defense unit. The 931st Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron, already at Thule, was reassigned to the wing from the

immediately upon organization of the wing.Cornett & Johnson, p. 105 The 931st was located on Pingarssuit Mountain (Site N-32), 20 miles south of the main base. The wing was assigned the 332d Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, flying

Convair F-102 Delta Dagger The Convair F-102 Delta Dagger is an interceptor aircraft designed and produced by the American aircraft manufacturer Convair. A member of the Century Series, the F-102 was the first operational supersonic interceptor and delta-wing fighter op ...

interceptor aircraft An interceptor aircraft, or simply interceptor, is a type of fighter aircraft designed specifically for the defensive interception role against an attacking enemy aircraft, particularly bombers and reconnaissance aircraft. Aircraft that are c ...

when the squadron moved to Thule from

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 A ...

, Louisiana in September 1960. It also supported the

(BMEWS) when the system was activated at Thule. The 332d was inactivated at the end of May 1965. The wing was discontinued in July and replaced as host organization at Thule by the 4683d Air Base Group.Cornett & Johnson, p. 88 The wing's 931st AC&W Sq was assigned to the 4683d Air Base Group until the squadron was inactivated on 24 December 1965. The Army's NIKE operations also ended in 1965, and Thule's primary mission became BMEWS operations.

Lineage

* Designated as the 4683d Air Defense Wing and organized on 1 July 1960 : Discontinued on 1 July 1965

Assignments

* 64th Air Division, 1 July 1960 * Goose Air Defense Sector, 1 July 1963 – 1 July 1965

Stations

* Thule AB, Greenland, 1 July 1960 – 1 July 1965

Components

Group * 4683d Air Base Group (attached) : Designated, organized, assigned to Goose Air Defense Sector and attached to 4683d Air Defense Wing on 1 October 1960 : Redesignated 4683d Combat Support Group on 1 April 1963 : Redesignated 4683d Air Base Group on 1 July 1965 and relieved from attachment to 4683d Air Defense Wing : Reassigned to the

37th Air Division The 37th Air Division (37th AD) is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with Air Defense Command at Goose Air Force Base, Labrador, Canada It was inactivated on 30 June 1970. History Strategic Air Command Es ...

on 1 April 1966 : Reassigned to the

21st Air Division The 21st Air Division (21st AD) is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with Tactical Air Command, being stationed at Griffiss Air Force Base, New York. It was inactivated on 23 September 1983. History World ...

on 1 December 1969 : Discontinued on 31 March 1977 Operational Squadrons * 332d Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, 1 September 1960 – 31 May 1965 * 931st Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron, 1 July 1960 – 1 July 1965 * 4683d Operations Squadron, 1 July 1960 – 1 October 1960 Support Units * 4683d USAF Hospital, 1 July 1960 - 1 October 1960''See'' Fletcher, p. 185, list of units * 4683d Air Police Squadron, 1 July 1960 - 1 October 1960 * 4683d Civil Engineering Squadron, 1 July 1960 - 1 October 1960 * 4683d Consolidated Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, 1 July 1960 - 1 July 1965 * 4683d Food Service Squadron, 1 July 1960 - 1 October 1960 * 4683d Supply Squadron, 1 July 1960 - 1 October 1960 * 4683d Transportation Squadron, 1 July 1960 - 1 October 1960

Aircraft

* Convair F-102A Delta Dagger, 1960-1965

Awards

Commanders

* Col. Chester L. Sluder, 1 July 1960 - 29 Oct 1960 * Col. David B. Tudor, 20 Jul 1962-18 July 1963 * Col. James W. Lancaster, by Jan 1965 - 1 July 1965

References

Notes

Bibliography

* * *
AF Pamphlet 900-2, Unit Decorations, Awards and Campaign Participation Credits, Department of the Air Force, Washington, DC, 15 Jun 71
Further Reading * * {{Aerospace Defense Command, state=collapsed 4683 Air defense wings of the United States Air Force Military units and formations established in 1960 Military units and formations disestablished in 1965