Truax Field Air National Guard Base , also known as Truax Field, is a military facility located at Dane County Regional Airport. It is located five miles (8 km) northeast of the center of Madison, a city in Dane County,

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

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. Truax Field was named in honor of Wisconsin native Lieutenant Thomas L. Truax, who was killed in a P-40 training accident in November 1941. The airport is home to both the Wisconsin Army National Guard and the Wisconsin Air National Guard.

History

Originally known as Madison Army Airfield, Truax Field was activated as an Army Air Forces airfield in June 1942 during

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 ...

. During the war it was used by the Army Air Force Eastern Technical Training Center, a major school operating at Truax AAF for training radio operators and mechanics, and later expanded to training in radar operations, control tower operations and other communications fields for the Army Airways Communication Service. A special unit established in 1943 trained radio operators and mechanics on

B-29 Superfortress The Boeing B-29 Superfortress is a retired American four-engined Propeller (aeronautics), propeller-driven heavy bomber, designed by Boeing and flown primarily by the United States during World War II and the Korean War. Named in allusion to ...

communications equipment. The host unit on the airfield was the 334th (later 3508th) Army Air Force Base Unit. On 17 September 1945, the airfield's mission was changed to that of a separation center, and it was closed as an active AAF airfield on 30 November 1945. Conveyed to local civilian authorities, the "Madison Municipal Airport" also became the home of the Wisconsin Air National Guard and its present-day 115th Fighter Wing (115 FW), an

Air National Guard The Air National Guard (ANG), also known as the Air Guard, is a Reserve components of the United States Armed Forces, federal military reserve force of the United States Air Force, as well as the air militia (United States), militia of each U.S. ...

fighter wing operationally-gained by the

Air Combat Command The Air Combat Command (ACC) is one of nine List of Major Commands of the United States Air Force, Major Commands (MAJCOMs) in the United States Air Force, reporting to Headquarters, United States Air Force (HAF) at the Pentagon. It is the prim ...

(ACC) and which still operates from the base, flying the

F-16 Fighting Falcon The General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is an American single-engine supersonic Multirole combat aircraft, multirole fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force (USAF). Designed as an air superio ...

Reactivated by the

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 ...

on 1 February 1952 and renamed Truax Air Force Base, the installation was brought up to active duty status during the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

as an

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) fighter-interceptor base. The initial USAF unit assigned to Truax was the 78th Air Base Squadron. ADC assigned Truax AFB to its Central Air Defense Force and activated the Wisconsin Air National Guard's 128th Fighter-Interceptor Group, normally based in Milwaukee. The 128th FIG flew F-80 Shooting Stars from Truax until returning to

Milwaukee Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

in February 1952. After some construction of additional runways, taxiways, aprons and support facilities, the 78th Fighter-Interceptor Group with its 432d and 433d Fighter-Interceptor Squadrons arrived on 1 November 1952, replacing the 78th ABS as the host operating unit at Truax. The 78th was reassigned from Hamilton AFB,

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

and flew the

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 ...

and F-89 Scorpion aircraft in a fighter-interceptor role. On 9 April 1955, Truax AFB became the headquarters of ADC's 37th Air Division (Defense). The 37th AD was responsible for the air defense of parts of

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, and

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, including

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. On 1 April 1959, ADC's

30th Air Division The 30th Air Division (30th AD) is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with Air Defense Command, assigned to Tenth Air Force, being stationed at Sioux City Air National Guard Base, Sioux City Municipal Air ...

, operating 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) system, replaced the 37th AD. The 30th was a command and control organization responsible for radar coverage of the midwest using the

(SAGE) automated control system for tracking and intercepting enemy bomber aircraft. SAGE, in later versions, could also automatically direct aircraft to an interception by sending commands directly to the aircraft's autopilot. In the late 1950s, the aircraft assigned to the base changed to the F-102 Delta Dagger and the 78th was replaced by the 327th Fighter-Interceptor Group, which arrived in 1956, replacing the 78th. The 327th's squadrons were the 61st, 323d and 325th Fighter-Interceptor Squadrons. In 1966, Headquarters, 30th Air Division, was reassigned to Sioux City Municipal Airport, Iowa, and the 20th Air Division replaced it at Truax. The 20th AD was responsible for air defense of parts of Wisconsin,

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

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, and all of

. It also supervised

units that flew interception sorties using, among others, the F-101 Voodoo and F-106 Delta Dart aircraft, while at the same time controlling numerous ground-based USAF radar squadrons. By the late 1960s, the need for air defense against crewed aircraft was diminishing and the renamed Aerospace Defense Command (ADC) was consolidating and drawing down its forces. On 31 December 1967, the 20th AD was reassigned to Fort Lee AFS, Virginia and Truax AFB was deactivated as an active Aerospace Defense Command base in early 1968. Those portions of Truax AFB not reverting to civilian control were turned over to the Wisconsin Air National Guard as Truax Field Air National Guard Base and Dane County Regional Airport/Truax Field has been a joint military/civil airport ever since. ACC Shield

Truax Field ANGB remains the home installation of the 115th Fighter Wing (115 FW), an

unit operationally gained by the

(ACC), formerly flying the Lockheed F-16 Fighting FalconC/D multi-role fighter aircraft. The 115 FW has two distinct missions. The Federal mission under Title 10 USC is to staff and train flying and support units to augment

general purpose fighter forces to effectively and rapidly project F-16 combat power anywhere in the world to perform wartime or peacetime missions as well as operations other than war. The 115 FW maintains mobilization readiness as part of the Air Reserve Component (ARC) and conducts training as directed by ACC. The State mission under Title 32 USC is to provide trained and equipped units to protect life and property and to preserve peace, order, and public safety as directed by the Governor of Wisconsin.

ADC units assigned

* 20th Air Division, 1 April 1966 – 31 December 1967 *

, 1 April 1959 – 1 April 1966 * 37th Air Division, 8 September 1955 – 1 April 1959 * Chicago Air Defense Sector, 8 March 1957 – 1 April 1966 * 128th Fighter-Interceptor Wing (Federalized Wisconsin ANG), 16 February 1951 – 6 February 1952 * 128th Air Base Group, 10 February 1951 – 6 February 1952 * 128th Fighter-Interceptor Group, 16 February 1951 – 6 February 1952 * 520th Air Defense Group, 16 February 1953 : Re-designated: 327th Fighter Group (Air Defense), 18 August 1955 – 25 June 1966 * 61st Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, 1 November 1957 – 25 July 1960 (F-86D, F-102) * 128th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, 10 April 1951 – 1 December 1952 (F-80A, F-86F) * 176th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, 16 February 1951 – 1 November 1952 (F-51D) * 323d Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, 18 August 1955 – 1 October 1957 (F-86D) * 325th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, 18 August 1955 – 25 June 1966 (F-86D, F-102) * 432d Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, 1 December 1952 – 18 August 1955 (F-86F) * 433d Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, 1 November 1952 – 20 July 1954 (F-89C) * 456th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, 8 August 1954 – 18 August 1955 (F-86D) * 639th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron, 1 December 1956 – 1 July 1957

2020s

In April 2020, the Air Force announced that the F-35A Lightning II would be based at Truax Field, with the 115th Fighter Wing receiving its first aircraft in 2023. The 115 FW's last F-16 left Truax field in October 2022. The first three F-35As arrived in 25 April 2023.

References

* A Handbook of Aerospace Defense Organization 1946 - 1980, by Lloyd H. Cornett and Mildred W. Johnson, Office of History, Aerospace Defense Center, Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado * Winkler, David F. (1997), Searching the skies: the legacy of the United States Cold War defense radar program. Prepared for United States Air Force Headquarters Air Combat Command.
Truax Field, WI
* Aerospace Defense Command publication, The Interceptor, January 1979 (Volume 21, Number 1).
Air Force Historical Research Agency: 20th Air Division

Air Force Historical Research Agency: 30th Air Division

Air Force Historical Research Agency: 37th Air Division

External links

* * {{USAAF Training Bases World War II Buildings and structures in Dane County, Wisconsin Installations of the United States Air National Guard Airfields of the United States Army Air Forces in Wisconsin Buildings and structures in Madison, Wisconsin Aerospace Defense Command military installations Semi-Automatic Ground Environment sites 1942 establishments in Wisconsin Military installations established in 1942

History

ADC units assigned

2020s

See also

References

External links