80-615: Northeast Air Command ( NEAC ) was a Major Command of the United States Air Force , responsible for the operation and defense of air bases in Greenland , Labrador , and Newfoundland . It was formed in 1950 from the facilities of the United States established during World War II in eastern Canada, Newfoundland and Greenland. It was discontinued in 1957. Northeast Air Command (NEAC) was originally formed from
160-641: A 4,000-foot (1,200 m) airstrip on the south side of the station. In the following year the Thule airstrip was used as a jump-off point for exploration and a supply point for construction of airstrips and weather stations on the Canadian side of the straits (Eureka, Resolute, and Isachsen). The first Air Transport Command aircraft landed on 9 September 1946. The Strategic Air Command East Reconnaissance Group (Project Nanook) flew B-17 mapping and photography missions from Thule's primitive facilities. In February 1947
240-592: A direction center. An air defense control center was built at Pepperrell AFB. In the late 1940s the United States studied the possibility of establishing a major operating base in Greenland when it became clear that round trip flights of planes carrying atomic bombs between US or Canadian bases and European objectives were impractical. The shortest route from the US to the Soviet Union 's most important industrial areas
320-505: A fighter OTU and RTU organization. Most P-47 Thunderbolt fighter groups were trained by I Fighter Command , along with P-39/P-63 Airacobra groups; C-47 Skytrain and later C-46 Commando groups by I Troop Carrier Command . By 1944, most of the Operational Training of groups ended, with the command concentrating on the training of individual replacements using Army Air Force Base Units (AAFBU) as training organizations at
400-840: A fighter mission, and two air defense sectors for the Eastern and Western regions of the continental United States (CONUS). First Air Force also has operational control of the Civil Air Patrol , the USAF Auxiliary headquartered at Maxwell AFB, Alabama. Administrative control of CAP, to include its Regular Air Force & Air Force Reserve CAP-USAF liaison support components, remains with Air University at Maxwell AFB. Additionally, First Air Force provides operational control of alert Air National Guard air defense fighter units and supporting non-flying units: Non-flying units On July 15, 2021, First Air Force, now AFSPACE, assumed
480-636: A joint-service unified command under direct operational control of the Joint Chiefs of Staff . NEAC was the only component of USNEC. Neither the Army nor the Navy ever established component commands, however Army and Navy officers served on the staff of USNEC. Air Force officers served in dual positions on the staff of NEAC and on the staff of USNEC until USNEC was abolished on 1 September 1956. NEAC established its headquarters at Pepperrell AFB , Newfoundland and
560-552: A major re-organization of the postwar USAAF that had included the establishment of Major Commands (MAJCOM), who would report directly to HQ United States Army Air Forces. Continental Air Forces was inactivated, and First Air Force was assigned to the postwar Air Defense Command in March 1946 and subsequently to Continental Air Command (ConAC) in December 1948 being primarily concerned with air defense. First Air Force Headquarters
640-458: A number of expeditions for the purpose of establishing radio and weather stations in northeastern Greenland, in the neighborhood of Scoresby Sound. Although manned, it would seem, by Norwegians and Danes, and led by a Dane, these weather stations were under German control and were operated for the purpose of assisting the German naval and military effort. A mixed British-Norwegian landing party seized
720-663: A number of stations on Greenland to support radio, weather, and naval patrols as part of the Battle of the North Atlantic against German U-boats and the protection of Allied convoy traffic in the North Atlantic. In 1941, the United States established a series of northern airfields and weather stations across the Canadian Northwest Territories and Labrador with the approval of the Canadian government. The original mission of these airfields and stations
800-561: A refueling and staging base. Plans were made in 1952 to station anti-aircraft units at Thule for the protection of the base. The first Army anti-aircraft personnel arrived on 3 July 1953, with the main body of troops arriving on 27 August. The units deployed were the 549th AAA Gun Battalion (90mm), 428th AAA Battery (Light) (75mm), 429th AAA Battery (Light) (75mm), 177th AAA Operations Detachment, 357th Signal Radar Maintenance Unit, 128th Ordnance Artillery Repair Detachment, and 162nd Ordnance Integrated Fire Control Repair Detachment. In mid-1956,
880-510: A second west coast base further north, at Sondrestrom or Bluie West Eight , began in September 1941. A third field was placed on the east coast almost directly across from BW-1 at Angmagssalik In addition, the United States obtained rights to build bases in Greenland. In July 1941, a task force of service troops arrived at Narsarsuaq . This site had been chosen as a major staging base between Labrador and Newfoundland. Work began at once on
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#1732783335448960-591: A site code-named Crystal II in the Northwest Territories. These airfields, along with airfields in Iceland, Greenland and Newfoundland established several transport routes for which aircraft could be ferried to Great Britain from manufacturing plants in different locations in the United States to Prestwick Field in Scotland. By thus following the great circle course, long one of the goals of airmen,
1040-531: A supply of aviation gasoline, dismantled several radio stations, and took into custody a number of heavily armed Danish "hunters" found on the coast. This was in late August or early September 1940. A few weeks afterward the British intercepted another vessel off the coast of Greenland with about fifty Germans, some of them meteorologists, on board. All this activity at the top of the Western Hemisphere
1120-433: A temporary dock, and started work on the airfield. By the time the civilian construction force arrived they had finished grading one of the two runways and had a metal landing mat partly laid. Bluie West I was thus one of the earliest U.S. Army airfields, if not the first, to make actual use of Pierced Steel Planking (PSP) in runway construction, an important engineering development and one that afterwards contributed greatly to
1200-898: A variety of Air Control Wings in the early warning role in Newfoundland, Labrador and Baffin Island. NEAC RADAR stations were part of the complex of stations built throughout Canada under the Canada-United States Radar Extension Plan (known as the Pinetree Line ). In addition to the Pinetree stations located in Canada, three stations were built in Greenland. The Pinetree stations consisted of three direction centers and seven early warning stations. In Greenland, there were two early warning stations and
1280-752: Is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Air Combat Command (ACC). It is headquartered at Tyndall Air Force Base , Florida. Its primary mission is the air defense of the Contiguous United States (CONUS), United States Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico . Since May 2022, it also provides the Air Force contribution to United States Space Command , as Air Forces Space (AFSPACE), including support functions for NASA human space flight. It
1360-584: Is organized into nine MAJCOMS (seven functional and two geographic), with the Air National Guard component reporting to Headquarters, United States Air Force (HAF). The most recent major command, Air Force Global Strike Command , was activated in August 2009. The other MAJCOMs have either inactivated or lost their command status. First Air Force The First Air Force ( Air Forces Northern & Air Forces Space ; 1 AF-AFNORTH & AFSPACE )
1440-791: Is organized on a functional basis in the United States and a geographical basis overseas. A major command (MAJCOM) represents a major Air Force subdivision having a specific portion of the Air Force mission. Each MAJCOM is directly subordinate to Headquarters, Air Force. MAJCOMs are interrelated and complementary, providing offensive, defensive, and support elements. An operational command consists (in whole or in part) of strategic, tactical, or defense forces; or of flying forces that directly support such forces. A support command may provide supplies, weapon systems, support systems, operational support equipment, combat material, maintenance, surface transportation, education and training, or special services and other supported organizations. From 1948 to 1991 MAJCOMs had
1520-543: The 64th Air Division (Defense). As a result of the Cold War the mission of NEAC was to provide RADAR cover over the northwest Atlantic Ocean, to provide a fighter interceptor force to defend against approaching enemy aircraft, and to support United States Army anti-aircraft defense forces. These units initially included F-94 Starfire squadrons at Goose AFB in Labrador, and Ernest Harmon AFB in Newfoundland, as well as
1600-667: The Bahamas . No destroyers, or any other war material, was leased to Britain in exchange for the bases in Newfoundland or Bermuda, which were vital both as links in Britain's trans-Atlantic air routes and to waging the Battle of the Atlantic against Germany's submarines. The detailed lease agreements were not signed until March 1941. But by that time, American troops were already in Newfoundland. The first United States troops arrived in Newfoundland on 29 January 1941. The first base occupied
1680-528: The Cold War had erupted and a more urgent note was struck in the air defense of North America. The new Continental Air Command (ConAC), with headquarters at Mitchel Field , New York was established. Overall responsibility for air defense was vested in ConAC, and plans were made for a chain of Ground Control Intercept radar stations in Greenland and northeast Canada to detect any long-range Soviet aircraft approaching, with squadrons of interceptor aircraft to defend
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#17327833354481760-623: The Distant Early Warning Line radar stations in Canada and Greenland. Jurisdiction of stations and units reassigned to Strategic Air Command, 1957 The 64th Air Division was the primary operational component of the Northeast Air Command. It was an outgrowth of the 152d Aircraft Control and Warning Group (New York Air National Guard). Upon activation of the 64th AD, it inherited operational control of United States Army Anti-Aircraft units within
1840-760: The GHQ Air Force on 18 December 1940, at Mitchel Field , Long Island , New York. It was redesignated First Air Force on 9 April 1941 with a mission for the defense of the Northeast and Great Lakes regions of the United States. During the initial months after the Pearl Harbor Attack , First Air Force organized what would eventually become the core of the Army Air Forces Antisubmarine Command (AAFSC), obtaining most of its forces from I Bomber Command to combat
1920-531: The United States Space Force became an independent military service and Air Force Space Command was transferred and redesignated as Space Operations Command . Since its inception in 1947, a total of 27 organizations have been designated as major commands. Over time, the role of MAJCOMs have changed: some were replaced with NAFs, while some NAFs were replaced with MAJCOMs. Currently, the USAF
2000-650: The World War II facilities of the United States Army Newfoundland Base Command (NBC), which formed on 15 January 1941. The NBC was formed to command bases in Newfoundland which came under United States control as a result of the 1940 Destroyers for Bases Agreement ; the 1941 US-Danish Agreement on Greenland, and the development by Air Transport Command of airfields in the Canadian Northwest Territories and Greenland to support aircraft ferry routes to Great Britain. In
2080-424: The 1970s and 1980s, the role of the Air National Guard in the defense of North America increased. As this role changed, discussions between the active Air Force and the Air National Guard commenced concerning roles and responsibilities. As the Cold War began to wind down and budgetary constraints became realities, more and more of the missions previously carried out by active duty forces began to be transferred into
2160-679: The American Continent by Nazi Germany. The agreement, after explicitly recognizing the Danish sovereignty over Greenland, granted to the United States the right to locate and construct airplane landing fields and other facilities for the defense of Greenland and for the defense of the North American Continent. As soon as the agreement with the Danish Government was concluded, President Roosevelt authorized
2240-569: The CONUS NORAD Region (CONR) for North American Aerospace Defense Command , CONR provides air defense in the form of airspace surveillance and airspace control. 1AF (AFNORTH) is also the designated air component for the United States Northern Command (USNORTHCOM). USNORTHCOM's area of responsibility includes the continental United States, Canada, and Mexico , and its air, land and maritime approaches. With
2320-609: The Eighth Air Force began its movement in the summer of 1942, work was still in progress all along the route. At that time it was hoped that some of the disadvantages of the existing route might be overcome by developing a more northerly airway extending from Great Falls, Montana, across Canada to Hudson Bay and thence by way of Baffin Island to Bluie West Eight in Greenland. In Canada, airfields were established at The Pas and Churchill in Manitoba; Southampton Island and
2400-1064: The German U-boat threat along the Atlantic Coast. AAFSC would eventually expand that mission to the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean until the antisubmarine mission was taken over completely by the Navy in mid-1943. Beginning in May 1942, the mission of First Air Force became operational training of units and crews, and the replacement training of individuals for bombardment, fighter, and reconnaissance operations. It received graduates of Army Air Forces Training Command flight schools; navigator training; flexible gunnery schools and various technical schools, organized them into newly activated combat groups and squadrons, and provided operational unit training (OTU) and replacement training (RTU) to prepare groups and replacements for deployment overseas to combat theaters. The First Air Force became predominantly
2480-576: The Joint Chiefs of Staff completed a worldwide reorganization plan, the Unified Command Plan . Its aim was a more efficient structure and reduced cost. It achieved this by consolidating organizations and eliminating excess superstructures. As part of this consolidation, United States Northeast Command (USNEC) was disestablished as a joint-service unified command, with control being assumed by the Air Force. The Army anti-aircraft group in
Northeast Air Command - Misplaced Pages Continue
2560-653: The Newfoundland Base Command. Shortly afterwards, on 1 January 1946, Newfoundland Base Command was transferred from the Army Eastern Defense Command and was placed under the control of Air Transport Command . NBC's mission being to maintain key airfields used by ATC between the United States and Great Britain. ATC was inactivated and control of NBC was reassigned to the new Military Air Transport Service (MATS) on 1 June 1948. This arrangement continued until late 1950. By 1948,
2640-576: The North Atlantic and to provide convoy overflights over the shipping lanes, patrolling for U-boats . Both Canada and the United States built radar stations in Newfoundland. Beginning in the spring of 1944, the American stations were phased over to the RCAF so that American personnel could be moved to more active theaters. While the exchange of destroyers for a string of Atlantic bases was under negotiation, and then, while plans and preparations for developing
2720-564: The North Carolina/Virginia Border. In 1949 Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve units were placed under First Air Force command, with its active-duty units being reassigned to Eastern Air Defense Force (EADF) or to the 30th, 32d or 26th Air Divisions. The command was inactivated on 23 June 1958 for budgetary reasons, its assigned units being placed under ConAC. First Air Force was reactivated at Stewart Air Force Base , Newburgh, N.Y., on 20 January 1966 due to
2800-621: The Northeast Greenland dog sledge patrol organized in the summer of 1941 as a joint endeavor of the Army, the United States Coast Guard, and the Greenland Government. All the activity on the east coast the year before had demonstrated the ease with which anyone could establish a foothold in the vast Arctic wastes, the near impossibility of finding a hostile force that had established itself, and
2880-743: The Northeastern Defense Command became the Eastern Theater of Operations (ETO) and assumed First Army's role in continental defense. In March 1942 the ETO was renamed the Eastern Defense Command. The NBC was under the direct control of US Army General Headquarters for U.S. Troops in Newfoundland in the defense of the northeastern seaboard through First Army/Eastern Defense Command. The Base Command
2960-531: The Red Cross who were using the same route for medical evacuation of wounded soldiers from the European Theatre . As an alternate to the previously developed base at Gander Lake in southern Newfoundland, the Canadian government in September 1941 began the development of Goose Bay in Labrador. During the preceding July the United States had sent engineers to Narsarssuak in Greenland for the building of
3040-578: The US. Thule AB was constructed in secret under the code name Operation Blue Jay, with construction beginning in 1951. Construction took place around the clock. The workers lived on board the ship until quarters were built. It was built with a 10,000-foot (by 200') runway and a fuel storage capacity of about 100 million US gallons (380,000 m). On 1 July 1951, the 6622nd AB Squadron of NEAC arrived and air operations commenced on 11 September 1951. The first fighter interceptors assigned to Thule were four F-9ABs and began operations on 11 September 1952. This
3120-671: The United States Air Force This is a list of major commands ( MAJCOM ) of the United States Air Force . A major command is a significant Air Force organization subordinate to Headquarters, US Air Force. Major commands have a headquarters staff and subordinate organizations, typically formed in numbered air forces, centers, wings, and groups. Historically, a MAJCOM is the highest level of command, only below Headquarters Air Force (HAF), and directly above numbered air forces (NAFs). The USAF
3200-663: The United States Air Force . The USAF's last major reorganization of commands was in 1992. In July 2006, the Air Force Network Operations (AFNETOPS) command was stood up at Barksdale Air Force Base . At the time, it was anticipated that it would be transformed into a new MAJCOM: the Air Force Cyber Command . However, this did not occur, and AFNETOPS was integrated into Air Force Space Command . On 20 December 2019,
3280-803: The United States. Activation of the Continental NORAD Region on 1 October 1986, resulted in a new structure for North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD). The Continental NORAD Region, along with the Alaskan and Canadian regions, commanded North American air defense forces. The Air Defense Sectors were transferred by the Air Force to the National Guard Bureau and allotted to the Air National Guard on 1 October 1990. They were operationally gained by First Air Force, Tactical Air Command. First Air Force
Northeast Air Command - Misplaced Pages Continue
3360-537: The War Department to go ahead with the preparations for building airfields and other facilities in Greenland. $ 5 million in funds previously allocated for constructing the bases acquired from the British in the Bases for Destroyers agreement was re-allocated to Greenland. On 30 June construction of the first U.S. Army and Navy base in Greenland, code-named Bluie West I began. Greenland Base Command (GBC)
3440-606: The Western Hemisphere and within the scope of the Monroe Doctrine . The Department of State reached an agreement on 9 April 1941 with Danish Foreign Minister, Henrik de Kauffmann, acting on behalf of His Majesty the King of Denmark in his capacity as sovereign of Greenland. The agreement recognized that as a result of the European war there was danger that Greenland may be converted into a point of aggression against nations of
3520-557: The air base that came to be known as BLUIE WEST 1 (BW-1), and in the following September work began on BW-8, a much more northerly base on the western coast of Greenland. United States forces had taken over the defense of Iceland in July 1941, where they improved airstrips previously occupied by the RAF and began in the spring of 1942 to build two new air bases (Meeks and Patterson) near Keflavik. The eastern terminal lay at Prestwick in Scotland. When
3600-455: The air defense of the North American continent. Upon its reactivation, First Air Force was composed of units of the active Air Force and the Air National Guard. Because of its unique mission and its binational responsibilities, First Air Force works closely with the Canadian Forces. Canadian personnel are stationed at First Air Force Headquarters at Tyndall Air Force Base Florida, and at the various regional air defense sectors located throughout
3680-502: The airfield was used to recover the crew of the downed B-29 Kee Bird . The War Department decided that there was no longer a requirement for active defense of the areas of the North Atlantic bases. The Army began withdrawing personnel and equipment from the area, and on 1 September 1945, Greenland Base Command was consolidated with Newfoundland Base Command and became a subordinate organization of NBC. All United States Army and USAAF forces in Labrador and Northeast Canada were placed under
3760-420: The airfields controlled by First Air Force. Air Defense Wings were also organized for the major metropolitan areas along the northeast coast, using training units attached to the Wings. By 1944 the likelihood of an air attack along the eastern seaboard was remote, and these air defense wings were reduced to paper units. By 1944, the vast majority of the USAAF was engaged in combat operations in various parts of
3840-429: The airspace of North America. The Newfoundland Base Command was inactivated on 1 October 1950, and control of units and the former Newfoundland and Greenland Base Commands facilities was transferred to the Northeast Air Command (NEAC). Similar to the Military Air Transport Service, NEAC was a Unified Department of Defense Command, under the jurisdiction of the United States Northeast Command (USNEC) . USNEC operated as
3920-565: The area, the 7th at Thule, was assigned to Army Anti-Aircraft Command . On 1 April 1957 the USAF discontinued NEAC. Air Defense Command and Strategic Air Command divided the Air Force units and equipment that had been under NEAC. ADC took over the USAF defense forces (including the 64th Air Division ). ADC also took possession of Pepperrell AFB and all U.S. RADAR stations. SAC assumed ownership of Goose, Harmon, Thule, Narsarssuak, Sondrestrom, and Frobisher Bay Airport. Finally, ADC succeeded NEAC in its responsibilities for supporting and operating
4000-470: The authority to form wings using manpower authorizations under their control. Each MAJCOM or other organization reporting directly to USAF was assigned a block of four digit numbers to use for units it organized. The system terminated in 1991 when USAF assumed control of all units except for provisional ones. While the majority of MAJCOM wings were support units, combat commands could (and did) create combat units on their own as shown at List of MAJCOM wings of
4080-402: The base, which was given the code name Bluie West One (BW-1), and the first plane set down on 24 January 1942. Work on a second west coast base further north, at Sondrestrom or Bluie West Eight , began in September 1941. A third field was placed on the east coast almost directly across from BW-1 at Angmagssalik (Bluie East Two). An interesting contribution to the defense of Greenland was
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#17327833354484160-403: The control of TAC, which established a component called Air Defense, Tactical Air Command (ADTAC), at the level of a numbered air force. On 6 December 1985 HQ USAF reactivated First Air Force at Langley Air Force Base , Virginia, and assigned it to Tactical Air Command (TAC), replacing ADTAC. First Air Force was given the mission to provide, train and equip combat ready air defence forces for
4240-442: The difficulty of dislodging one, once it was discovered. An air patrol of the east coast, even after the new bases were completed proved its worth by assisting in the capture of the trawler Buskoe on 12 September, as that vessel, a small German-controlled Norwegian ship, was attempting to establish a radio and weather station in the Mackenzie Bay area. In addition to the Army Airfields, the United States Navy Atlantic Fleet established
4320-400: The distance from southern California, where much of the U.S. aircraft industry was concentrated, to Iceland was reduced by almost 600 miles (970 km), with no leg of the journey longer than 850 miles (1,370 km). Nearly 900 aircraft were ferried through the North Atlantic bases to active combat theaters in 1942, approximately 3,200 in 1943, over 8,400 in 1944, and approximately 2,150 in
4400-467: The eastern seaboard, just as it had during World War II. On 16 January 1968 Air Defense Command was re-designated Aerospace Defense Command (ADCOM) as part of a restructuring of USAF air defense forces. First Air Force's second period of service was short lived, however, and the command was again inactivated as the result of a major ADCOM reorganization on 31 December 1969 of the First, Fourth, Tenth Air Forces and several Air Divisions. This reorganization
4480-565: The former NBC area. Reassigned to Air Defense Command , 1957 Performed inta-theater transport of materiel and personnel. Reassigned to Strategic Air Command , 1957 Interceptor squadrons Interceptor Squadrons reassigned to Air Defense Command, 1957 Aircraft Control and Warning (Radar) Squadrons Units and jurisdiction of stations reassigned to Air Defense Command, 1957 [REDACTED] This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency List of Major Commands of
4560-412: The inactivation of the ADC Air Defense Sectors. First Air Force assumed responsibility for the ADC 21st, 33d, 34th, 35th, and 36th Air Divisions, primarily located in the northeast and upper Midwest regions of the United States. It also was responsible for the air defense of Greenland , Iceland and parts of Canada. By July 1968, First Air Force had again assumed total responsibility for the air defense of
4640-428: The last five months of the European conflict in 1945; in all nearly 15,000 planes. Equally important, and indeed fundamental to the fulfilment of the ferrying mission itself, was the development of a safe, dependable service for strategic air transportation between the United States and the United Kingdom. In 1946,the Navy built a new and much larger weather station at Thule, Greenland. The Army Corps of Engineers built
4720-419: The new bases were getting under way, the United Kingdom and Canada were consolidating their position in the North Atlantic by stationing troops in Iceland and were attempting to counter German activities in Greenland . With United States bases were under construction in Newfoundland, a number of possible sites for airfields in Greenland were made in late 1940. Greenland being a Danish colony with Denmark under
4800-444: The occupation of Nazi Germany at the time. These surveys were made with the justification that the defense of the American bases in Newfoundland and of the northeastern United States would be affected by a German military air base in Greenland. Neither the United States, nor Canada or the UK desired any Wehrmacht facilities or armed forces in Greenland to obtain weather data. During the summer of 1940 Nazi Germany had organized in Norway
4880-424: The operational command and control of the Human Space Flight Support (HSFS) mission, previously carried out by the Combined Force Space Component Command at Vandenberg Space Force Base , California. This mission is executed by its assigned Detachment 3, First Air Force, based at Patrick Space Force Base, Florida. Detachment 3, formerly commanded by Space Launch Delta 45 , came under First Air Force control during
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#17327833354484960-474: The reserve components. By the 1990s, 90 percent of the air defense mission was being handled by the Air National Guard. In October 1997, First Air Force became primarily composed of Air National Guard units charged with the air defense of the North American continent. Today, First Air Force consists primarily of members of the Air National Guard. Its headquarters is located at Tyndall Air Force Base , Florida and it comprises 9 fighter wings, 1 composite wing with
5040-461: The summer of 1940, President Roosevelt began negotiating with British Ambassador to the United States, Lord Lothian for the American lease of British bases, the "rental" to take the form of fifty over-age destroyers. On 2 September 1940, the negotiations were completed. In exchange for the destroyers, the U. S. got ninety-nine-year leases for bases in Dominion of Newfoundland , Bermuda , British Guiana , Antigua , Trinidad , St. Lucia , Jamaica and
5120-414: The transfer of responsibility for continental air defense from the active duty component of the Air Force to the Air National Guard , 1 AF became the first numbered air force to be made up primarily of citizen airmen. Furthermore, 1AF now has operational control (OPCON) of the Civil Air Patrol . One of the four original numbered air forces, First Air Force was activated as the Northeast Air District of
5200-415: The winning of the war, particularly in the Pacific. After the arrival of the civilian construction force the engineer battalion, reinforced by a company of the 42nd Engineers (General Service), concentrated exclusively on airfield construction. They continued to do so until February 1942 when the civilian force took over this work as well. By then the first runway was ready for limited use. Construction work on
5280-482: The world, such as the Eighth Air Force in Europe and the Twentieth Air Force in the Pacific. The training units located within the United States (known as the Zone of the Interior , or "ZI".) under First, Second, Third and Fourth Air Force were all placed under the unified command of the Continental Air Forces (CAF) on 13 December 1944, with the Numbered Air Forces becoming subordinate commands of CAF. In March 1946, USAAF Chief General Carl Spaatz had undertaken
5360-481: Was Detachment 1 of the 59th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, which went to Thule AB, Greenland with four F-94B's. Additional interceptor squadrons were established at Goose AFB in Labrador and Ernest Harmon AFB in Newfoundland and were composed of F-94s and F-89s. Also, there were numerous deployments of fighter-interceptor squadrons from the Tactical Air Command and Air Defense Command to NEAC bases, along with Strategic Air Command tankers and bombers, primarily using Thule as
5440-470: Was a source of much concern to the United States. In addition to seizing German ships and weather equipment on Greenland, the British and Canadians were planning on building air bases on the island to conduct antisubmarine warfare in the North Atlantic. Although the United States Government had acquiesced in the British garrisoning of Iceland , it had no desire to see Britain make the same move into Greenland; for Greenland was, unlike Iceland, definitely within
5520-521: Was a temporary tent camp near St. John's called Camp Alexander. Nearby Fort Pepperrell (renamed Pepperrell Air Force Base on 16 June 1949) received its first troops in November 1941. Newfoundland Base Command (NBC) was assigned to the Northeastern (later Eastern) Defense Command , a subordinate continental defense command of First United States Army , whose area included the east coast of the United States, with both commanded by Lt. General Hugh A. Drum , based at Fort Jay in New York City. In December 1941
5600-425: Was active in 1941–42; 1942–58; 1966–69; and with minor name and function changes from 1985 to the present. First Air Force is commanded by Lieutenant General M. Luke Ahmann. Its Command Chief Master Sergeant is Chief Master Sgt. Denny L. Richardson. It has the responsibility for ensuring the air sovereignty and air defense of the Contiguous United States (CONUS), United States Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico . As
5680-436: Was established on 1 September 1941 with headquarters at Bluie West I to take charge of the U.S. forces and facilities being planned. By the end of September 1941, when the contractor's people arrived, the troops at Bluie West I had erected 85 buildings, about two-thirds of the total needed for the initial force, and had begun to install the necessary utilities. They had built three miles (5 km) of access roads, constructed
5760-411: Was given several additional units. In this form it had two primary missions, the former MATS mission supporting air transport and logistics, and a new role defending the defensive air bases of interceptors and radar stations being established in the region. NEAC's Area of Operations was defined as Newfoundland, Labrador, northeastern Canada, and Greenland. The operational units of NEAC were organized into
5840-506: Was headquartered at Fort Pepperrell , St. John's , Newfoundland . Another major base was Naval Station Argentia . The first USAAF presence in Newfoundland was in May 1941 when six B-18 Bolos from the First Air Force 21st Reconnaissance Squadron arrived at RCAF Station Gander . Later, the Army Air Forces Antisubmarine Command (AAFAC) used both Gander and RCAF Station Torbay near St. John's for antisubmarine patrols over
5920-613: Was located at Fort Slocum , New York, from 1946 to 1949. The command was originally assigned the region of the New England states, along with New York and New Jersey. With the inactivation of the ADC Eleventh Air Force on 1 July 1948 due to budget restrictions, command's region of responsibility was increased to include the upper Midwest states of Michigan and Ohio, along with the Mid-Atlantic region south to
6000-688: Was one of the four original pre- World War II numbered air forces formed during the existence of the United States Army Air Corps . It was activated as the Northeast Air District on 18 December 1940, at Mitchel Field , Long Island , New York with a mission of air defense of the Northeastern United States and Great Lakes regions. Its primary mission was the organization and training of new combat units prior to their deployment overseas. It
6080-567: Was over the North Pole , and Thule is at the precise midpoint between Moscow and New York. Thule became a key point in the whole American military strategy. Strategic Air Command bombers flying over the Arctic presented less risk of early warning than using bases in England. Defensively, Thule could serve as a base for intercepting bomber attacks along the northeastern approaches to Canada and
6160-592: Was responsible for its own supply, which was to be provided by the Second Corps Area , the service of supply organization also headquartered at Fort Jay, to the same extent as for units of the field forces. NBC provided ground, antiaircraft, and harbor defense of U.S. bases in Newfoundland and Labrador , to work with Canada in defending Newfoundland, and to cooperate with the United States Navy in Newfoundland defense. Newfoundland Base Command
6240-616: Was the result of the need to eliminate intermediate levels of command in ADCOM driven by budget reductions and a perceived lessening of the need for continental air defense against attacking Soviet aircraft. ADCOM reassigned the units under the inactivated First Air Force were reassigned primarily to the 20th, 21st or 23d Air Divisions. ADCOM was reorganized on 1 October 1979. The interceptors and warning radars were reassigned to Tactical Air Command (TAC). With this move many Air National Guard units that had an air defense mission also came under
6320-479: Was to aid in moving military aircraft to Great Britain as part of the Lend-Lease Act prior to American entry into World War II. The Canada-U.S. Permanent Joint Board on Defence made the plan official as Recommendations 17 and 26 in July 1941 and June 1942 respectively. First referred to as the "North East Staging Route," it eventually became known as the "Crimson Project" or " Crimson Route ", supposedly after
6400-424: Was transferred to Air Combat Command along with the rest of TAC on 1 June 1992. In the years since its third activation, more of the responsibility for the defense of American air sovereignty has primarily shifted to the Air National Guard . Also, reorganization of the command structure of the U.S. Air Force saw the assignment of air defense to Tactical Air Command and later, its successor, Air Combat Command . In
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