The Boston Air Defense Sector (BADS) 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 ...

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) organization. Its last assignment was with the

26th Air Division The 26th Air Division (26th AD) is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with Air Defense Tactical Air Command, assigned to First Air Force, being stationed at March Air Force Base, California. It was inactiv ...

at Hancock Field, New York.

History

BADS was established in 1956 at Stewart Air Force Base (AFB), New York as the 4622nd Air Defense Wing pending completion of the new

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 (DC-02) and Combat Center (CC-04) which became operational 15 September 1958. DC-02 was equipped with dual AN/FSQ-7 Computers. Early in 1957, the wing was redesignated as the Boston Air Defense Sector. The mission of the BADS was to provide

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 ...

over

New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...

initially in an area covering southern Maine, southern New Hampshire, southern Vermont, Massachusetts, northern Rhode Island and Connecticut and part of New York. The day-to-day operations of the command were to train and maintain tactical units flying jet

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 ...

(

North American F-86 Sabre The North American F-86 Sabre, sometimes called the Sabrejet, is a transonic jet fighter aircraft. Produced by North American Aviation, the Sabre is best known as the United States' first swept-wing fighter that could counter the swept-wing Sov ...

Northrop F-89 Scorpion The Northrop F-89 Scorpion is an night fighter, all-weather, twin-engined interceptor aircraft designed and produced by the American aircraft manufacturer Northrop Corporation. It was the first jet propulsion, jet-powered aircraft to be design ...

Lockheed F-94 Starfire The Lockheed F-94 Starfire is a first-generation jet powered all-weather day/night interceptor aircraft designed and produced by Lockheed Corporation. It was the first operational United States Air Force (USAF) fighter equipped with an afterbu ...

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 ...

Lockheed F-104 Starfighter The Lockheed F-104 Starfighter is an American single-engine, supersonic interceptor. Created as a day fighter by Lockheed as one of the " Century Series" of fighter aircraft for the United States Air Force (USAF), it was developed into an ...

) and operating

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 ...

s and interceptor missiles ( Boeing CIM-10 Bomarc) in a state of readiness with training missions and series of exercises with

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 ...

and other units simulating interceptions of incoming enemy aircraft. From 1960 to 1962, BADS was also responsible for a squadron in Nova Scotia that controlled interceptors "manually" (by voice instructions rather than by

data link A data link is a means of telecommunications link, connecting one location to another for the purpose of transmitting and receiving digital information (data communication). It can also refer to a set of electronics assemblies, consisting of a t ...

). The Otis Bomarc SAMs (26th ADMS) were directed from the Air Defense Direction Center (CC-01/DC-03) at Hancock Air Force Base,

Syracuse, New York Syracuse ( ) is a City (New York), city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, United States. With a population of 148,620 and a Syracuse metropolitan area, metropolitan area of 662,057, it is the fifth-most populated city and 13 ...

. Continental Air Defense Command, in setting up the air defence command and control system in the area, had designated the Boston Air Defense Sector as 1 of 4 sectors in the

"effective April 1, 1958" DC-03 was operational on 1 December 1958; and the division was the 1st operational in the SAGE Air Defense Network — 1 January 1959 (CC-01 was the "first SAGE regional battle post", beginning operations "in early 1959".) The radar network supporting BADS required near-total coverage, with radar beams overlapping and sites no more than 25 miles apart. Early gap-filling radars included two SCR-584 units at Scituate and Rockport, Massachusetts—these were World War II-era radars developed by the MIT Radiation Laboratory. Their initial performance was disappointing, requiring significant improvements before they could be used effectively. The SAGE system, which BADS relied on, was the direct impetus for the founding of MIT Lincoln Laboratory. The lab’s early work included not only radar netting but also the development of advanced radar data filtering and digital relay systems, which were first tested at Cape Cod and then implemented in the BADS region. The Sector was moved on paper to Hancock Field, New York and was eliminated on 1 April 1966 due to a general reorganization of ADC. Most of its assigned units were reassigned to the 34th or

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 ...

Lineage

* Designated as the 4622d Air Defense Wing, SAGE on 1 April 1956 and organized : Redesignated as Boston Air Defense Sector on 8 January 1957 : Discontinued and inactivated on 1 April 1966

Assignments

Eastern Air Defense Force The Eastern Air Defense Force (EADF) 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 1960. History EADF wa ...

, 1 April 1956 – 18 October 1956 * 26th Air Division, 18 October 1956 – 1 October 1966

Stations

* Stewart AFB, New York, 1 April 1956 – 1 April 1966 * Hancock Field, New York, 1 April 1966 – 1 April 1966

Components

Wings

* 33d Fighter Wing (Air Defense) :

Otis AFB Otis Air National Guard Base is an Air National Guard installation located within Joint Base Cape Cod, a military training facility located on the western portion of Cape Cod in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States. It was known ...

, Massachusetts, 8 January - 18 August 1957

Groups

329th 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 ...

(Air Defense) : Stewart AFB, New York, 18 October 1956 – 1 August 1959 * 4729th Air Defense GroupCornett & Johnson, p. 89 :

Westover AFB Westover Air Reserve Base is an Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC) installation located in the Massachusetts communities of Chicopee and Ludlow, near the city of Springfield, Massachusetts. Established at the outset of World War II, today Westo ...

, Massachusetts, 1 July 1957 – 30 April 1958 * 4735th Air Defense Group : Otis AFB, Massachusetts, 18 August 1957 – 1 September 1959

Interceptor squadrons

* 49th Fighter-Interceptor SquadronCornett & Johnson, pp. 116-19 : Laurence G. Hanscom Field, Massachusetts, 1 August 1958 – 1 July 1959; 4 September 1963-1 April 1966 *

60th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron The 60th Fighter Squadron is a United States Air Force unit that is part of the 33d Fighter Wing at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida; It is tasked with training pilots on the Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II. History World War II Activated in ...

: Otis AFB, Massachusetts, 1 August 1959 – 1 April 1966 * 76th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron : Westover AFB, Massachusetts, 1 February 1961 – 1 July 1963 *

324th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron The 324th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with the 316th Air Division, stationed at Sidi Slimane Air Base, Morocco. It was inactivated on 8 March 1960. History World War II ...

: Westover AFB, Massachusetts, 8 October 1956 – 8 July 1957 * 337th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron : Westover AFB, Massachusetts, 18 October 1956 – 8 July 1957, 25 June 1958-8 July 1960 * 465th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron : Laurence B. Hanscom Field, Massachusetts, 1 July 1959 – 15 March 1960

Missile squadron

* 26th Air Defense Missile Squadron (BOMARC) :

, Massachusetts, 1 March 1959 – 1 April 1966

Radar squadrons

* 644th Aircraft Control and Warning SquadronCornett & Johnson, pp. 155-57 : Rye Air Force Station (AFS), New Hampshire, 18 October 1956 – 30 October 1957 * 648th Aircraft Control & Warning Squadron (later 648th Radar Squadron (SAGE)) : Benton AFS, Pennsylvania, 18 October 1956 – 15 August 1958; 4 September 1963 - 1 April 1966 * 654th Radar Squadron (SAGE) : Brunswick AFS, Maine, 1 August 1962 – 25 June 1965 * 655th Radar Squadron (SAGE) : Watertown AFS, New York, 4 September 1963 – 1 April 1966 * 656th Aircraft Control & Warning Squadron (later 656th Radar Squadron (SAGE)) : Saratoga Springs AFS, New York, 18 October 1956 – 1 April 1966 * 672d Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron : Barrington AS, Nova Scotia, 1 July 1960 – 1 June 1962 * 762nd Aircraft Control & Warning Squadron (later 762d Radar Squadron (SAGE))Cornett & Johnson, p. 165-66 : North Truro AFS, Massachusetts, 18 October 1956 – 1 April 1966 * 764th Radar Squadron (SAGE) : Saint Albans AFS, Vermont, 1 August 1962 – 1 April 1966 * 820th Radar Squadron (SAGE) (later 820th Aircraft Control & Warning Squadron) : Fort Heath, Massachusetts, 18 October 1959 – 1 December 1962 * 911th Radar Squadron (SAGE)Cornett & Johnson, p. 173 : Lyndonville AFS, Vermont, 1 August 1962 – 1 August 1963

Weapons Systems

* F-86D, 1957-1957 * F-86L, 1957-1960 * F-89H, 1957-1960 * F-89J, 1957-1961 * F-94C, 1957-1959 * F-101B, 1959-1966 * F-102A, 1961-1963 * F-104A, 1958-1960 * IM-99 (later CIM-10), 1959-1966

References

Notes

; Explanatory notes ; Citations

Bibliography

*
Radomes.org Boston Air Defense Sector
* ; Further Reading * * *

External links

Radomes.org Photos of Boston Air Defense Sector SAGE facilities
{{Aerospace Defense Command, state=autocollapse 1956 establishments in New York (state) 1966 disestablishments in New York (state) Aerospace Defense Command units

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 ...

Military units and formations established in 1956 Military units and formations in New York (state)