46th Air Defense Missile Squadron

Airlift Operations The squadron was first activated under the 317th Transport Group (later 317th Troop Carrier Group), an element of Air Transport Command (later I Troop Carrier Command) in May 1942 The group and squadron equipped with Douglas C-47 Skytrains and trained at several airfields in Texas, the midwest and the southeast. and stood alert during the Cold War, with IM-99A (later CIM-10) BOMARC surface to air antiaircraft missiles starting in September 1959. The squadron was tied into a Semi-Automatic Ground Environment (SAGE) direction center which could use analog computers to process information from ground radars, picket ships and airborne aircraft to accelerate the display of tracking data at the direction center to quickly direct the missile site to engage hostile aircraft. On 7 June 1960, a Bomarc and its Mark 40 nuclear warhead was destroyed by fire caused by an exploding helium tank that scattered fragments in all directions. Part of the response to this incident was to reduce the pressure on the tanks. Until a permanent fix was devised a year later, this removed all Bomarcs from alert, since it would take hours to bring the tanks up to operating pressure. In October 1962, the squadron upgraded to the CIM-10B model of the Bomarc. It trained personnel and prepared for operation of the BOMARC surface-to-air missiles; operated and maintained BOMARC missiles and associated equipment, trained personnel, and maintained a capability to intercept and destroy hostile aircraft until 1 October 1972. Consolidation The 46th Troop Carrier Squadron and the 46th Air Defense Missile Squadron were consolidated on 19 September 1985 as the 46th Tactical Missile Squadron while remaining inactive. ==Lineage==

46th Troop Carrier Squadron • Constituted as the 46th Transport Squadron on 30 May 1942 : Activated on 15 June 1942 : Redesignated as the 46th Troop Carrier Squadron on 4 July 1942 : Redesignated as the 46th Troop Carrier Squadron, Medium on 10 August 1948 : Inactivated on 1 April 1949 • Consolidated with the 46 Air Defense Missile Squadron on 19 September 1985 46th Air Defense Missile Squadron : Constituted as the 46th Air Defense Missile Squadron (BOMARC) on 10 December 1958 : Activated on 1 January 1959 : Inactivated on 31 October 1972 • Consolidated with the 46 Troop Carrier Squadron on 19 September 1985 Assignments • 317th Transport Group (later 317th Troop Carrier Group), 15 June 1942 • Fifth Air Force, 18 August 1948 – 1 April 1949 (attached to 317th Troop Carrier Wing), 18 August 1948, 6146th Station Group, 1 October 1948, 374th Troop Carrier Group, 5 March 1949 - 1 April 1949 • New York Air Defense Sector, 1 January 1959 • 21st Air Division, 1 April 1966 • 35th Air Division, 1 December 1967 – 1 October 1972 Stations • Duncan Field, Texas, 15 June 1942 • Bowman Field, Kentucky, 19 June 1942; • Lawson Field, Georgia, 10 October 1942 • Laurinburg-Maxton Airport, North Carolina, 3–12 December 1942 • Garbutt Field, Australia, 23 January 1943 • Port Moresby Airfield Complex, Papua New Guinea, 1 October 1943 • Finschhafen Airfield, Papua New Guinea, 19 April 1944 • Hollandia Airfield Complex, New Guinea, 5 July 1944 • Tanauan Airfield, Leyte, Philippines, 19 November 1944 • Clark Field, Luzon, Philippines, March 1945 • Kadena Airfield, Okinawa, 19 August 1945 • Seoul Airport, Korea, 19 October 1945 • Tachikawa Airfield, Japan, 19 January 1946 • Kimpo Airfield, Korea, 10 July 1946 • Matsushima Air Field, Japan, 1 August 1948 • Tachikawa Air Base, Japan, 1 October 1948 – 1 April 1949 • McGuire Air Force Base, New Jersey, 1 January 1959 – 1 October 1972 Awards and campaigns Aircraft and missiles • Douglas C-47 Skytrain, 1942–1945 • Curtiss C-46 Commando, 1945–1949 • Boeing IM-99 (later CIM-10) BOMARC, 1959-1972 ==See also==