4709th Air Defense Wing

The wing was organized as the 4709th Defense Wing at the beginning of February 1952 at McGuire Air Force Base, New Jersey as part of a major reorganization of Air Defense Command ()C responding to ADC's difficulty under the existing wing base organizational structure in deploying fighter squadrons to best advantage. It assumed operational control and the air defense mission of fighter squadrons formerly assigned to the inactivating 52d Fighter-Interceptor Wing. The 2d and 5th Fighter-Interceptor Squadrons, flying Lockheed F-94 Starfire interceptor aircraft, were located at McGuire. The federalized 105th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron was located at Berry Field, Nashville, Tennessee and was flying World War II era F-47 Thunderbolt aircraft. The wing also was assigned another federalized Air National Guard squadron, the 118th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron at Suffolk County Air Force Base Missile Annex, New York, also flying Thunderbolts, which was reassigned from the inactivating 103d Fighter-Interceptor Wing. The support elements of the 52d Wing's 52d Air Base Group and 52d Maintenance & Supply Group were replaced at McGuire by the wing's 568th Air Base Group and air base squadrons were activated at each of the dispersed bases assigned to the wing to support the fighter squadrons at those stations. The wing's mission was to train and maintain tactical units in a state of readiness to intercept and destroy enemy aircraft attempting to penetrate the air defense system in the Northeastern United States. The stay of the 105th Squadron with the wing was brief. In July 1952, it moved to McGhee Tyson Airport, Knoxville, Tennessee, and the next month as areas of responsibility for air defense were realigned, and it transferred to the 35th Air Division. A second fighter squadron, the 75th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, flying Sabres, moved to Suffolk County from Presque Isle Air Force Base, Maine in October and was assigned to the wing, while at Sewart Air Force Base, New York, the 330th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, flying Lockheed F-80 Shooting Star aircraft, was activated and assigned to the wing. In February 1953, another major reorganization of ADC activated air defense groups at ADC bases with dispersed fighter squadrons. These groups were assigned to the wing and assumed direct control of the fighter squadrons at those bases, as well as support squadrons to carry out their role as the USAF host organizations at the bases. As a result of this reorganization, the 568th Air Base Group was redesignated the 568th Air Defense Group A new unit, the 519th Air Defense Group, activated to command the squadrons at Suffolk County. The reorganization also resulted in the wing adding the radar detection, control and warning mission, and it was assigned two aircraft control & warning squadrons to perform this mission. In July 1954, McGuire transferred from ADC to Military Air Transport Service and its 1611th Air Transport Wing, which assumed base support functions from the inactivating 568th Group. As a result of the group's inactivation, the 2nd and 5th Fighter-Interceptor Squadrons once again reported directly to the wing. As a result of Project Arrow, the 52d Fighter Group (Air Defense) replaced the 518th Group at Suffolk County and the 329th Fighter Group (Air Defense) replaced the 4700th Group. and 539th Fighter-Interceptor Squadrons, which moved from other ADC bases and took over their personnel and aircraft. In preparation for the implementation of the Semi-Automatic Ground Environment (SAGE) air defense system, the 4621st Air Defense Wing (SAGE) was organized at McGuire in the Spring of 1956 and assigned to the 26th Air Division. It was initially attached to the 4709th Air Defense Wing and two squadrons programmed for the SAGE system were assigned to the 4709th as well, until the 4621st Wing assumed the mission of the 4709th Wing in October, as was a second squadron activated at Dover later that month, the 98th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, flying Northrop F-89 Scorpion aircraft. ==Lineage==