The 529th Air Defense Group is a disbanded

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 ...

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 Air ...

Paine Field Seattle Paine Field International Airport — also known as Paine Field and 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 uni ...

, Washington, where 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 iden ...

was originally activated as the 529th Air Service Group, 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 Luna'' ...

at the end of

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 ...

in Italy and then acted as a depot organization until inactivating in 1946. It was reactivated later that year and served at

Dow Field Bangor Air National Guard Base is a United States Air National Guard base located on the grounds of Bangor International Airport in Bangor, Maine. Created in 1927 as the commercial Godfrey Field, the airfield was taken over by the U.S. Army ju ...

, Maine as the support unit for the

14th Fighter Group 014 may refer to: * Argus As 014 * 014 Construction Unit * Divi Divi Air Flight 014 * Pirna 014 * Tyrrell 014 The Tyrrell 014 was a Formula One car, designed for Tyrrell Racing The Tyrrell Racing Organisation was an auto racing team and F ...

, serving until it was replaced in the Wing Base reorganization of 1947. The group was activated as the 529th Air Defense Group once again in 1953, 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) established it as the headquarters for a dispersed fighter-interceptor squadron and the medical,

aircraft maintenance Aircraft maintenance is the performance of tasks required to ensure the continuing airworthiness of an aircraft or aircraft part, including overhaul, inspection, replacement, defect rectification, and the embodiment of modifications, compliance ...

, and administrative

squadrons Squadron(s) may refer to: Military * 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 ...

supporting it. It was replaced in 1955 when ADC transferred its mission, equipment, and personnel to the

326th Fighter Group 3 (three) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 2 and preceding 4, and is the smallest odd prime number and the only prime preceding a square number. It has religious and cultural significance in many societies ...

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, 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; it marked the official surrender of all German military operations ...

as part of a reorganization of

Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

(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

. The group moved with the 2d Group to

Foggia Foggia (, ; ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) of Apulia, in Southern Italy, capital of the province of Foggia. In 2013, its population was 153,143. Foggia is the main city of a plain called Tavoliere delle Puglie, Tavoliere, also know ...

, 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 Forces' Fifteenth Air Force as part of the st ...

. After the 2nd Group 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

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

. 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

, Washington on 18 February 1953Cornett& Johnson, p. 83 with responsibility for

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 ...

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 is 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 Thunde ...

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 est ...

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

equipped and

Mighty Mouse rocket Mighty may refer to: Businesses *Mighty Audio, an American company known for its product ''Mighty'', a portable audio player *Mighty Animation, an animation studio based in Guadalajara, Mexico Films *''The Mighty'', a 1998 comedy–drama * ''The ...

armed

North American F-86D Sabre The North American F-86D/K/L Sabre (initially known as the YF-95 and widely known informally as the "Sabre Dog") is an American transonic jet interceptor aircraft, interceptor. Developed for the United States Air Force in the late 1940s, it was ...

s. 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

(Air Defense) in 1955 as part of

'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 c. 16 December 1944 : Activated on 18 May 1945 : Inactivated on 15 September 1946 : Activated c. 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 Air Service Command, Mediterranean Theater of Operations was a United States Army Air Forces logistics formation. It had its headquarters and an HQ squadron at Naples, Italy. It was originally XII Air Force Service Command, part of Twelfth Air F ...

, 1945 * Air Force General Depot, Naples 11 November 1945 * IX Air Force Service Command, ''ca''. July 1946 – 15 September 1946 * Unknown c. 1 October 1946 – 15 August 1947 * 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 and fictional characters *Mitchell (surname), including lists of both people and fictional characters *Mitchell (given name), lists of people and fictional characters Places Australia * Mitchell, Australian Ca ...

, New York, c. 1 October 1946 * Dow Field, Maine, c. 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, c. 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

Notes

; Explanatory notes ; Citations

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