World War II Initial organization and training The
division was first activated at
Mitchel Field, New York as the
3rd Air Defense Wing in December 1942. After a short period of organization and training, the
wing departed the United States aboard the MV
Sloterdijk on 7 February 1943,
North African campaign The wing's initial mission was
air defense of
Algiers from
Oran Es Sénia Airport under
XII Fighter Command. However, this mission was already in the hands of the
Royal Air Force (RAF), and within a few days, the wing moved to
Thelepte Airfield, Tunisia, where it became part of
XII Air Support Command. At Thelepte, the 561st Signal Aircraft Warning Battalion and three independent signal warning companies were assigned to the wing. These units, which had been operating independently, were organized into a provisional battalion for unified control. This arrangement became more regular in July 1943, when the aircraft warning unit was renamed the 2691st Signal Aircraft Warning Battalion (Provisional)(Mobile). These units provided radar coverage over the combat zone and warning of German attacks for installations to the rear. The wing's 82nd Fighter Control Squadron directed strike aircraft and provided
radio direction finding for aircraft returning to base. During this operation, the wing operated as XII Air Support Command, Advanced, operating to maintain air superiority and providing
reconnaissance support for
I Armored Corps. For these operations, fighter and reconnaissance units began being assigned to the wing. The
111th Reconnaissance Squadron: was attached to the wing in June 1943, and the
31st and
33d Fighter Groups and
86th Fighter-Bomber Group were assigned in July. Wing elements landed near
Gela with advanced elements, and set up two radar sites on the island. On shore radar operations ceased on 10 July, when wing personnel were pressed to act as infantry to help repel a German counterattack. Operations resumed on 13 July. On 12 July, wing headquarters moved to Gela, Recognizing the changed mission of the wing with the addition of tactical groups, it was redesignated the
64th Fighter Wing in late July.
Italian campaign At the beginning of September 1943, the wing moved to
Milazzo Airfield, Sicily, Elements of the wing disembarked at Salerno on 9 September and by that evening were able to provide warning of enemy air attacks. An experiment with the use of aircraft
VHF radios modified for ground use led to the deployment of controllers in jeeps with radios mounted on them to control attacking aircraft. However, landline communications with ground forces were still required. With this system, fighter-bombers could be launched to receive their targets once they were near the battle area. However, limitations on the system still required a majority of strikes to be against targets determined before takeoff. More offensive missions were being controlled, and strikes nearer the front lines were possible. The addition of the
415th Night Fighter Squadron to the wing permitted interceptions against night raids. In January 1944, during
Operation Shingle, the landings at
Anzio, an element of the wing aboard directed American fighters defending the landing forces. By 24 January, the wing had established a control unit near the
Villa Borghese Prior to this operation, air support missions, as a safety measure, were conducted across a bomb safety line, typically five to ten miles ahead of the front lines. With the aid of a wing detachment located with
VI Corps headquarters and a radio equipped
halftrack near the front lines,
Curtiss P-40 Warhawks of the
324th Fighter Group conducted strikes against enemy strong points close to friendly troops. This system proved particularly effective against transportation, and the wing claimed the destruction of thousands of enemy vehicles during the Anzio campaign. In March, officers of
Ninth Air Force, which was preparing for the invasion of Normandy, visited the wing for briefings on the system of air-ground cooperation the wing had developed in North Africa and Italy. In June 1944, the wing experimented with the use of
Piper L-4 Grasshoppers with observers from the
1st Armored Division aboard to control strikes. Later using
Stinson L-5 Sentinels and flying low and typically within ten to twenty miles of the battle line, these light planes could identify targets and call fighter bombers to strike them. When needed, they could also point out targets to the strike aircraft. Similarly, tactical reconnaissance aircraft flew further to the rear and radioed wing controllers, who could direct strikes. These were usually transportation targets, trains or trucks. During the Italian campaign, wing fighter and fighter-bombers supported ground forces in a wide range of operations that included cover patrols, battle-area patrols, escort missions, dive bombing missions, and reconnaissance. Primary targets included enemy gun positions, road junctions, traffic concentrations, assembly areas, bridges, and targets of opportunity. A headquarters detachment went aboard the , which would be the headquarters afloat for the invasion,while a control team went to
Malta, where they trained aboard HMS
Stuart Prince. The control ships for the landing would once again be the
Ulster Queen, plus Fighter Director Tender 13 (FDT 13), an
LST converted for fighter direction with a control room and two radars. On 15 August 1944 the landings began. Using techniques developed during the two previous invasions, wing personnel controlled air operations from FDT 13. This now included tactical reconnaissance aircraft patrolling the landing areas and reporting on potential targets. In addition, a control team from the 328th Fighter Control Squadron landed with the 550th Glider Infantry Battalion at
Le Muy, operating with the advance elements of the airborne forces with a radio equipped Jeep. In addition to controlling fighter-bombers, this team also relayed reports by tactical reconnaissance planes to the airborne troops. For the first few days following the landings, this became the team's primary function. Light resistance in most landing areas permitted two control centers to land on D-Day, and wing headquarters was established near
St Tropez, France the same day. The
Allies had not made plans for an air establishment to support
Sixth Army Group, which was conducting the advance up the Rhone. Many of the air units that had been attached for Operation Dragoon had been withdrawn to their permanent commands. In October 1944,
First Tactical Air Force (Provisional) (1 TAF) was established, although not on a permanent basis. Although the 64th Wing remained assigned to XII Tactical Air Command for administration, it would be attached to 1 TAF for operations for the remainer of the war. The wing commanded all American fighter forces in the command, which, with the exception of the 415th Night Fighter Squadron, flew
Republic P-47 Thunderbolts. Its control elements also controlled strikes by
medium bombers of the
42nd Bombardment Wing and fighters and bombers of the
Free French 1er Corps Aerien, using attached French controllers. Due to bad weather during the winter of 1944-45, the wing developed a technique called "Eggbasket." Eggbasket targets were identified strongpoints. When fighters were unable to attack targets because clouds prevented them from identifying their targets, they would receive radar vectors to Eggbasket targets, and the controller would tell them when to drop their bombs. Additionally, a wing
Ground-controlled interception (GCI) site provided "Popeye Letdown"s directing planes flying above an overcast to visual conditions below, using the site's radar. The wing's aircraft warning units began re-equipping with more advanced
SCR-584 microwave radars. The first of the 593rd Battalion's radars went into operation on 10 April 1945 at a site combining both the warning functions of the battalion and the control functions of the fighter control squadrons. After providing training on systems operations and maintenance, by 1945, control teams operating with the French ground forces of Sixth Army Group were composed of French military personnel. On 15 March 1945, Sixth Army Group attacked into Germany. Wing fighter-bombers flew as many as four sorties daily per plane, flying 943 sorties, 93% of which were close air support missions. This was more than 300 sorties over the previous high for the wing. The record only lasted a day, when the wing flew 974 sorties on the 16th, then flew 984 sorties on the 18th. The wing's
50th and
358th Fighter Groups each received a
Distinguished Unit Citation ((DUC) for their effective attacks isolating enemy troop formations and preventing their withdrawal during this operation. Although preceded by control teams, wing headquarters moved into Germany, and established itself at
Edenkoben on 1 April. Shortly thereafter, the wing's fighter units began moving into Germany. Sortie numbers had dropped as the army advanced farther from their bases in France, extending time spent flying to and from targets. Two combat commands of the
10th Armored Division outran their supply lines, and on 8 April 1945 were surrounded in
Crailsheim by German forces. For the next two days,
Douglas C-47 Skytrains of
IX Troop Carrier Command provided emergency relief through an airfield within their perimeter. Wing fighter groups provided fighter cover for the transports, destroying at least a dozen German aircraft before the emergency airlift ended on the 10th. The 358th earned another DUC for this and following actions. In late April, the wing's 50th and 358th Groups destroyed 157 aircraft, including
Me 262 jet fighters on the ground near
Munich, earning the 50th another DUC.
Occupation duty The wing moved to Germany at the end of April 1945, establishing its headquarters at
Schwäbisch Hall. After
V-E Day, it served in the
occupation of Germany, returning to the control of XII Tactical Air Command, when 1 TAF was discontinued in May 1945. The 415th Night Fighter Squadron returned to the United States in February 1946. The
417th Night Fighter Squadron converted to the newer and more capable
Northrop P-61 Black Widow. When it was joined by the
416th Night Fighter Squadron in August 1946, both squadrons were attached to the All-Weather Group (Provisonal), 64th Fighter Wing. In November 1946, both squadrons were inactivated when the
52d Fighter-All Weather Group was activated to assume the
air defense mission in Germany. In August 1946, the
27th Fighter Group replaced the
366th Fighter Group at
AAF Station Fritzlar. During 1946 and 1947, two
liaison squadrons were assigned to the wing. These squadrons maintained detachments at various locations in Germany and Austria, and their mission included supporting the
United States Constabulary. The wing was inactivated in Germany on 5 June 1947. In late December 1952, the
division was reorganized, The 152d Group was inactivated and its squadrons at
Harmon Air Force Base,
McAndrew Air Force Base, and
Red Cliff Air Station, Newfoundland;
Goose Bay Airport, Labrador and
Thule Air Base, Greenland were assigned directly to division headquarters, with the exception of the 106th Air Control Squadron, which was also inactivated with its mission and equipment being absorbed into the division, which changed organizationally to a "table of distribution" unit. The following August, the division's three ANG squadrons were inactivated and their mission, personnel and equipment transferred to newly-activated regular squadrons. and those of the
61st Fighter-Interceptor Squadron at
Ernest Harmon Air Force Base in August. The 61st upgraded to
Northrop F-89 Scorpions in 1954. In 1956, the
Joint Chiefs of Staff implemented the
Unified Command Plan. Under this plan, responsibility for air defense of North America was given to the
Continental Air Defense Command (CONAD). As CONAD implemented its expanded responsibility, NEAC was inactivated in April 1957, and its
air defense mission was transferred to
Air Defense Command (ADC). The
4731st,
4732nd,
4733rd, and
4734th Air Defense Groups were organized and most of the division's fighter and radar units were assigned to them. The 4733rd Group, which had no fighter units assigned, was discontinued on 1 April 1958. Its radar squadrons were transferred to the other three groups, while its
Distant Early Warning Line (DEW Line) support mission was transferred to the 4601st Support Group (DEW), which reported directly to ADC. The following month, the 4734th Group was discontinued and its squadrons returned to the direct control of the division. The sector assumed operational control of most of the division's units. On 1 July 1960, the division headquarters moved from Newfoundland to
Stewart Air Force Base, New York, In October, the 4601st Support Wing at
Paramus, New Jersey, which managed support to the DEW Line was transferred from ADC headquarters to the division In January 1061, the 4602nd Support Wing. located at
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, also became part of the division. On 1 July 1962,
Air Forces Iceland at
Keflavik Airport, Iceland, was assigned to the division when it was transferred from
Military Air Transport Service to ADC. The Division was inactivated in July 1963. Most of its units were transferred to the
26th Air Division, Goose Air Defense Sector, or the 4601st Support Wing, ==Lineage==