The 637th Radar 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 last assigned to the 25th Air Division,

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 ...

, stationed at Othello Air Force Station, Washington.

History

The squadron was originally activated at Long Beach Municipal Airport CA as the 637th Aircraft Control & Warning Squadron as part of the initial cold war air defenses of the Western United States. The following year it moved to Lashup Site L-32 at

McChord AFB McChord Field (formerly and still commonly known as McChord Air Force Base) is a United States Air Force base in the northwest United States, in Pierce County, Washington. South of Tacoma, McChord AFB is the home of the 62nd Airlift Wing, ...

, WA.Mueller, p. 394 In 1959, it moved to Site L-29 at Moses Lake AFB, WA. The squadron finally moved to its final station at site LP-40 (later P-40, Z-40) on Saddle Mountain, WA in 1951.Cornett& Johnson, p.155 In 1960, the unit was integrated into the

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) control system and was redesignated the 637th Radar Squadron (SAGE). Because it was stationed at a Backup Interceptor Control (BUIC) site, it was inactivated in 1970 and replaced by the like numbered 637th Air Defense Group (ADG). As defense systems against manned bomber threats were reduced, it was activated once again in 1974 to replace the 637th ADG. It was last inactivated on 31 March 1975. The unit was a General Surveillance Radar squadron providing for the air defense of the United States.

Lineage

* Constituted as the 637th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron, 1947 : Activated on 21 May 1947 : Redesignated 637th Radar Squadron (SAGE), 1 September 1960 : Inactivated, 1 March 1970 : Activated, 1 January 1974 : Inactivated on 31 March 1975

Assignments

505th Aircraft Control and Warning 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. Humans, and many other animals, have 5 digits on their limbs. Mathematics 5 is a Fermat pri ...

, 21 May 1947 * 162d Aircraft Control and Warning Group (Federalized AZ ANG), 25 May 1951 * 25th Air Division, 6 February 1952 *

4702d Defense Wing The 4702nd Defense Wing (Def Wg) is a discontinued wing of the United States Air Force, last assigned to the 25th Air Division at Geiger Field, Washington. It was established in 1952 at Hamilton AFB, California in a general reorganization of Air ...

, 1 January 1953 * 9th Air Division, 8 October 1954 * 25th Air Division, 15 August 1958 *

4700th Air Defense Wing The Spokane Air Defense Sector (SPADS) is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with the Air Defense Command 25th Air Division (25th AD) at Larson Air Force Base in Grant County, Washington History SAGE ...

, 1 September 1958 *

Spokane Air Defense Sector The Spokane Air Defense Sector (SPADS) is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with the Air Defense Command 25th Air Division (25th AD) at Larson Air Force Base in Grant County, Washington History SAGE ...

, 15 March 1960 *

Seattle Air Defense Sector The Western Air Defense Sector (WADS) is a unit of the Washington Air National Guard located at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Tacoma, Washington. As a state militia unit, the Western Air Defense Sector is not in the normal United States Air Force com ...

, 1 September 1963 * 25th Air Division, 1 April 1966 - 1 March 1970 * 25th Air Division, 1 January 1974 - 31 March 1975 * Source

Stations

* Long Beach Municipal Airport, CA, 21 May 1947 * McChord AFB, WA, 16 April 1948 * Moses Lake AFB (later

Larson AFB Larson Air Force Base is a former United States Air Force base located five miles (8 km) northwest of the central business district (CBD) of Moses Lake, in Grant County, Washington. After its closure in 1966, the airport facility became ...

) WA, 1 May 1949 * Saddle Mountain, WA, 1 January 1951 : Site renamed Othello Air Force Station, 1 December 1953 - 31 March 1975 * Source

References

* * *

External links

{{Use dmy dates, date=June 2017 Radar squadrons of the United States Air Force Aerospace Defense Command units