9th Space Division

9th Space Division
Emblem of the 9th Space Division
Active	1949–1950, 1954-1958, 1961-1968, 1990-1991
Country	United States
Branch	United States Air Force
Role	Command and Control
Part of	Continental Air Command Air Defense Command Air Force Space Command

9th Air Division (Defense), 1954-1958

323d Fighter-Interceptor Squadron North American F-86D-60-NA Sabre 53-4032, Larson AFB, Washington, 1954

9th Air Division (Defense), 1954-1958

Emblem of the 9th Aerospace Defense Division, 1961-1968

The 9th Space Division (9th SD) is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with Air Force Space Command, being stationed at Patrick Air Force Base, Florida. It was inactivated on 1 October 1991.

History

The organization has had several periods of activation over its lifetime. Initially established in April 1949 as the 9th Air Division (Tactical) under Fourteenth Air Force, Continental Air Command at Pope AFB, North Carolina, the command had no units assigned but was to act as a headquarters over tactical units. It was inactivated in August 1950.

It was redesignated and reactivated in October 1954 by Air Defense Command (ADC) and assigned to Western Air Defense Force (WADF) at Geiger Field, Washington, taking over control of air defense units in eastern Washington, Oregon and Idaho from the 25th Air Division (AD), after the 25th AD was realigned over the Washington and Oregon coastal area west of the Cascade Mountains. It participated in the United States Air Force collateral mission of antisubmarine warfare and administered, equipped, and trained for combat. It was inactivated in 1958 when the Spokane Air Defense Sector was established by ADC to take over its responsibilities.

The third incarnation of the organization began in 1961 with its reactivation as the 9th Aerospace Defense Division was associated with the North American Aerospace Defense Command by ADC, assuming responsibility for the Ballistic Missile Early Warning System, the Missile Defense Alarm System, the Space Detection and Tracking System, the NORAD Combat operations Center, the Bomb Alarm System, and the Nuclear Detonation System. It was inactivated in 1968 when its mission was elevated to a Numbered Air Force level, being assumed by the Fourteenth Aerospace Force on 1 July.

The most recent incarnation the 9th Space Division began in 1990 when Air Force Space Command (AFSPACECOM) reactivated the organization to provide an action mechanism to "operationalize" the space launch capabilities of Eastern Space and Missile Center (ESMC) and Western Space and Missile Center (WSMC) units transferred from Air Force Systems Command to AFSPACECOM during 1990–1991. ESMC and WSMC became respectively the 45th Space Wing and 30th Space Wing within two months of the Division's inactivation in 1991.

Lineage

• Constituted as 9th Air Division (Tactical) on 7 April 1949

Activated on 1 May 1949

Inactivated on 1 August 1950

• Redesignated 9th Air Division (Defense) on 21 June 1954

Activated on 8 October 1954

Inactivated on 15 August 1958

• Redesignated 9th Aerospace Defense Division, and activated on 14 July 1961

Organized on 15 July 1961

Discontinued and inactivated on 1 July 1968

• Redesignated 9th Space Division on 11 September 1990

Activated on 1 October 1990

Inactivated on 1 October 1991.

Assignments

• Fourteenth Air Force, 1 May 1949 – 1 August 1950
• Western Air Defense Force, 8 October 1954 – 15 August 1958
• Air (later, Aerospace) Defense Command, 14 July 1961 – 1 July 1968
• Air Force Space Command, 1 October 1990 – 1 October 1991.

Stations

• Pope AFB, North Carolina, 1 May 1949 – 1 August 1950
• Geiger Field, Washington, 8 October 1954 – 15 August 1958
• Ent AFB, Colorado, 15 July 1961 – 1 July 1968
• Patrick AFB, Florida, 1 October 1990 – 1 October 1991.

Components

Centers

• Eastern Space and Missile Center: 1 October 1990 – 1 October 1991

Patrick AFB, Florida

• Western Space and Missile Center: 1 October 1990 – 1 October 1991

Vandenberg AFB, California

Wings

• 71 Surveillance (later, 71 Missile Warning) Wing: January 1962 – 1 July 1968

Ent AFB, Colorado

• 73d Aerospace Surveillance Wing: 1 January 1967 – 1 July 1968.

Ent AFB, Colorado

Groups

• 10th Aerospace Defense Group: 1 January 1967 - 1 July 1968

Vandenburg AFB, California

• 84th Fighter Group (Air Defense), 18 August 1955 - 15 August 1958

Geiger Field, Washington

• 530th Air Defense Group: 18 February 1953 - 18 August 1955

Geiger Field, Washington

• 4721st Air Defense Group: 1 December 1956 - 15 August 1958.

Larson AFB, Washington

Squadrons

• 1 Aerospace Surveillance and Control (later, l Aerospace Control): 1 October 1961 – 1 July 1968

Ent AFB, Colorado

• 2 Surveillance (Sensor): 1 February 1962 – 1 January 1967

Ent AFB, Colorado

• 10 Aerospace Defense: 1 August 1964 – 1 January 1967

Vandenberg AFB, California

• 31st Fighter-Interceptor Squadron: 8 October 1954 – 18 August 1955

Larson AFB, Washington

• 322d Fighter-Interceptor Squadron: 18 August 1955 – 1 December 1956

Larson AFB, Washington

• 323d Fighter-Interceptor Squadron: 8 October 1954 – 18 August 1955

Larson AFB, Washington

• 538th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron: 18 August 1955 – 1 December 1956

Larson AFB, Washington

• 4755th Ground Observer Squadron: 1 January 1955 – 25 March 1959

Geiger Field, Washington

• 634th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron: 20 October 1954 – 15 August 1958

McChord AFB, Washington

• 636th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron: 8 October 1954 – 15 August 1958

Condon AFS, Oregon

• 637th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron: 8 October 1954 – 15 August 1958

Othello AFS, Washington

• 638th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron: 8 October 1954 – 15 August 1958

Curlew AFS, Washington

• 760th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron: 8 October 1954 – 15 August 1958

Colville AFS, Washington

• 821st Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron: 8 September 1957 – 15 August 1958

Baker AFS, Oregon

• 822d Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron: 8 September 1956 – 15 August 1958

Cottonwood AFS, Idaho

• 823d Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron: 8 April 1955 – 15 August 1958

Mica Peak AFS, Washington

See also

• List of United States Air Force air divisions
• List of USAF Aerospace Defense Command General Surveillance Radar Stations
• Aerospace Defense Command Fighter Squadrons
• List of United States Air Force aircraft control and warning squadrons

References

 This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency website http://www.afhra.af.mil/.

• "ADCOM's Fighter Interceptor Squadrons". The Interceptor (January 1979) Aerospace Defense Command, (Volume 21, Number 1).
• Cornett, Lloyd H; Johnson, Mildred W (1980). A Handbook of Aerospace Defense Organization, 1946 - 1980. Peterson AFB, CO: Office of History, Aerospace Defense Center. http://www.usafpatches.com/pubs/handbookofadcorg.pdf. 
• Maurer, Maurer, ed (1982) [1969]. Combat Squadrons of the Air Force, World War II (reprint ed.). Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0-405-12194-6. http://www.airforcehistory.hq.af.mil/Publications/fulltext/combat_sq_of_the_af_wwii.pdf. 
• Winkler, David F.; Webster, Julie L (1997). Searching the skies : the legacy of the United States Cold War Defense Radar Program. Champaign, IL: US Army Construction Engineering Research Laboratories. LCCN 9720912. http://www.dtic.mil/cgi-bn/GetTRDoc?Location=U2&doc=GetTRDoc.pdf&AD=ADA331231. 

External links

• [1] Air Force Historical Research Agency: 9th Space Division