Editing McChord Field (section)

====Air Defense Command====
: ''see also: [[25th Air Division]]''
[[File:319th FAWS North American F-82F Twin Mustang 46-494.jpg|thumb|319th Fighter Squadron (All Weather) North American F-82F Twin Mustang 46–494 at McChord AFB, Washington, October 1949]]
On 1 August 1946, McChord was assigned to the new [[Air Defense Command]], with a mission of air defense of the United States. During the [[Cold War]], numerous fighter-interceptor squadrons were stationed at the base, as well as Radar and Command and Control organizations, the [[25th Air Division]] being headquartered at McChord from 1951 until 1990.

The [[325th Fighter Group|325th Fighter Group (All-Weather)]] operated two squadrons of [[F-82|F-82F Twin Mustang]]s from McChord between 1948 and 1950, the first postwar fighter optimized for the air defense interceptor mission. Designed for very-long range bomber escort missions in the Pacific during World War II, the design became operational too late to see service and was adapted for the air defense mission.<ref name="mchist"/>

Other interceptor squadrons stationed at McChord were:
* [[64th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron]]
* [[317th Fighter Interceptor Squadron]]
* [[318th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron]]
* [[465th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron]]
* [[498th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron]]

The base was the location of the first of twenty-eight stations built by ADC as part of the permanent air defense radar network, and was the top-priority site for ADC radars.<ref name="ReferenceA">A Handbook of Aerospace Defense Organization 1946 – 1980, by Lloyd H. Cornett and Mildred W. Johnson, Office of History, Aerospace Defense Center, Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado</ref><ref name="Winkler, David F. 1997">Winkler, David F. (1997), Searching the skies: the legacy of the United States Cold War defense radar program. Prepared for United States Air Force Headquarters Air Combat Command.</ref> The 505th Aircraft Control and Warning Group, the first postwar general surveillance radar organization was activated at McChord on 21 May 1947. Defensive warning radars became operational at McChord on 1 June 1950 with [[World War II]]-era [[AN/CPS-4]] and [[AN/CPS-5]] radars being operated by the [[635th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron]]. ADC completed installation of two [[AN/CPS-6]]B medium-range search and height-finder radars in February 1951. Performance of these new radars was deemed inferior to the World War II vintage models and the calibration process delayed operational readiness at this and other sites. An [[AN/FPS-6]] height-finder radar was installed in the mid-1950s.<ref name="mchist"/>

In 1958, a [[Semi Automatic Ground Environment]] (SAGE) Data Center (DC-12), and Combat Center (CC-3) was established at McChord. It became operational in 1960. The SAGE system was a network linking Air Force (and later FAA) General Surveillance Radar stations into a centralized center for Air Defense, intended to provide early warning and response for a Soviet nuclear attack. It was initially under the command of the [[Seattle Air Defense Sector]] (SeADS), activated on 8 January 1958.<ref name="mchist"/>

The ADC radar site (P-1) was deactivated 1 April 1960 and repositioned to [[Fort Lawton AFS]] (RP-1) where the Air Force consolidated its anti-aircraft radars with the [[United States Army]] [[Seattle Defense Area]] Army Air-Defense Command Post (AADCP) S-90DC for [[Nike missile]] operations.<ref name="mchist"/>

SeADS was inactivated on 1 April 1966 and the SAGE headquarters combat center came under the 25th Air Division. The Command Center (CC-3) was active until 30 June 1966 when it was inactivated as part of an ADC reorganization. The Data Center (DC-12), with its [[AN/FSQ-7]] computer remained active until 4 August 1983 under the 25th AD when technology advances made the SAGE system obsolete.<ref name="mchist"/>

Today, the successor organization to the 25th AD, the [[Western Air Defense Sector]] (WADS), is a major tenant organization at McChord, being one of two air defense sectors responsible for the security and integrity of continental United States air space. WADS is staffed by members of the Washington [[Air National Guard]] (WANG) and the [[Royal Canadian Air Force]] (RCAF). Operationally, WADS reports to the [[North American Aerospace Defense Command]] (NORAD) headquartered at [[Peterson Air Force Base]], [[Colorado]].<ref name="mchist"/>