627th Radar Squadron explained

Unit Name:	627th Radar Squadron
Dates:	1946–1948; 1957-1968
Role:	Air defense radar surveillance

The 627th Radar Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the 32d Air Division, Air Defense Command (ADC), stationed at Crystal Springs Air Force Station, Mississippi. It was inactivated on 8 September 1968.

The squadron was originally activated in 1946^[1] as one of the first Aircraft Control & Warning Squadrons (AC&W Sq) when the Army Air Forces assumed the radar detection mission from the Signal Corps in 1946. Its mission was to provide air defense for the island of Guam. It was inactivated when its parent group moved from Guam to Okinawa.^[2]

The unit was reactivated in 1957^[3] as a General Surveillance Radar unit under ADC, providing for the air defense of the Gulf Coast of North America, although it was apparently only a paper unit without personnel or equipment until moving to its programmed site in Mississippi. In 1958, the squadron provided support to contractors participating in the radar frequency diversity test program.^[4] In 1959, the squadron joined the Semi Automatic Ground Environment system and was redesignated as a Radar Squadron.^[3] It was discontinued and inactivated in 1968, when the Department of Defense decided to draw down air defenses in the Gulf Coast region.^[5]

Lineage

• Constituted as the 627th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron, ca. June 1946

Activated ca 18 July 1946

Inactivated on 22 June 1948

Activated on 8 April 1957

Redesignated 627th Radar Squadron (SAGE) on 1 October 1959

Discontinued and inactivated on 8 September 1968

Assignments

• Probably 529th Aircraft Control and Warning Group, 18 July 1946–22 June 1948
• 35th Air Division, 1 September 1957^[3]
• 32d Air Division, 15 November 1958^[3]
• Montgomery Air Defense Sector, 1 November 1959^[3]
• 32d Air Division, 1 April 1966 – 8 September 1968^[3]

Stations

• Northwest Guam Air Force Base, Guam, ca 18 July 1946–20 March 1948^{[6] [7]}
• Harmon AFB, Guam, 20 March 1948–22 June 1948^[7]
• Dobbins AFB, Georgia, 8 April 1957–1 September 1958^[3]
• Crystal Springs AFS, Mississippi, 1 September 1958–8 September 1968^[3]

References

Bibliography

• Book: Cornett, Lloyd H. Johnson, Mildred W. A Handbook of Aerospace Defense Organization, 1946 - 1980. 1980. Office of History, Aerospace Defense Center. Peterson AFB, CO. 1 April 2012. 23 November 2006. https://web.archive.org/web/20061123115752/http://www.usafpatches.com/pubs/handbookofadcorg.pdf. dead.
• Book: Leonard, Barry. History of Strategic Air and Ballistic Missile Defense, Vol II, 1955-1972. 2009. Center for Military History. 978-1-4379-2131-1. 1 April 2012. 16 December 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20191216135402/https://history.army.mil/html/books/bmd/BMDV2.pdf. dead.
• Book: Mueller, Robert. Air Force Bases, Vol. I, Active Air Force Bases Within the United States of America on 17 September 1982. 1989. Office of Air Force History. Washington, DC. 0-912799-53-6.
• Book: Winkler, David F.. Webster, Julie L. Searching the skies : the legacy of the United States Cold War Defense Radar Program. 1997. US Army Construction Engineering Research Laboratories. Champaign, IL. 97020912.

Notes and References

1. see Web site: Abstract, History of 529th AC& W Gp, Jul 1946-Dec 1946. Air Force History Index. April 1, 2012.
2. Web site: Abstract, History of 627th AC&W Sq, Mar 1948-Jun 1948. Air Force History Index. April 1, 2012.
3. Cornett & Johnson, p. 154 (Cornett & Johnson do not provide exact dates for the squadron's period at Dobbins AFB)
4. Web site: Abstract, History of 627th AC&W Sq, Jul 1958-Sep 1959. Air Force History Index. April 1, 2012.
5. see Leonard, p. 173 for the need to rebuild these defenses in 1972.
6. Web site: Abstract, History of 627 AC&W Sq CY 1947. Air Force History Index. April 1, 2012.
7. Web site: Abstract, History of 627th AC&W Sq, Jan 1948-Mar 1948. Air Force History Index. April 1, 2012.