Duluth Air Defense Sector


The Duluth Air Defense Sector is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with the Air Defense Command 29th Air Division, being stationed at Duluth Airport, Minnesota. It was inactivated on 1 April 1969.

History

Established in October 1957 assuming control of former ADC Central Air Defense Force units with a mission to provide air defense of most of Minnesota and western Wisconsin. The organization provided command and control over several aircraft and radar squadrons.
In November 1959, the new Semi Automatic Ground Environment Direction Center became operational. DC-10 was equipped with dual AN/FSQ-7 Computers. The day-to-day operations of the command was to train and maintain tactical flying units flying jet interceptor aircraft in a state of readiness with training missions and series of exercises with SAC and other units simulating interceptions of incoming enemy aircraft.
In October 1962, during the Cuban Missile Crisis, a guard at the Direction Center mistakenly identified a bear trying to climb the security fence as a saboteur and rang the alarm, which automatically triggered similar alarms at other bases in the region. A faulty alarm system at Volk Field in Wisconsin led to nuclear-armed interceptor aircraft nearly being launched.
Inactivated April 1966 as part of ADC reorganization and consolidation, the command being redesignated as the 29th Air Division. The SAGE building was remodeled and, in 1985, given to the University of Minnesota Duluth to house the Natural Resources Research Institute signed into legislation to address the struggling economy during the early 1980s recession.

Lineage

Wings