4709th Air Defense Wing The 4709th Air Defense Wing is a discontinued United States Air Force organization . Its last assignment was with the 26th Air Division of Air Defense Command ( ADC ) at McGuire Air Force Base , New Jersey , where it was discontinued in 1956 . It was established in 1952 at McGuire as the 4709th Defense Wing in a general reorganization of Air Defense Command ( ADC ) , which replaced wings responsible for a base with wings responsible for a geographical area . It assumed control of several fighter Interceptor squadrons that had been assigned to the 52d Fighter - Interceptor Wing , some of which were Air National Guard squadrons mobilized for the Korean War . It also assumed host responsibility for McGuire through its subordinate 568th Air Base Group . In early 1953 it also was assigned two radar squadrons guarding the approaches to New York City and its dispersed fighter squadron s combined with colocated air base squadrons into air defense groups . When Mcguire became a Military Air Transport Service ( MATS ) base in 1954 , the 4709th became a tenant at McGuire . The wing was redesignated as an air defense wing he same year . Starting in 1956 , in preparation for the implementation of the Semi - Automatic Ground Environment ( SAGE ) automated air defense system , the 4621st Air Defense Wing was activated at McGuire and attached to the 4709th . Its radar units were transferred to the 4621st and the wing was discontinued in 1956 . History . The wing was organized as the 4709th Defense Wing at the beginning of February 1952 at McGuire AFB , New Jersey as part of a major reorganization of ADC responding to ADC ' s difficulty under the existing wing base organizational structure in deploying fighter squadrons to best advantage . It assumed operational control and the air defense mission of fighter squadron s formerly assigned to the inactivating 52d Fighter - Interceptor Wing ( FIW ) . The 2d Fighter - Interceptor Squadron ( FIS ) and the 5th FIS , flying F - 94 Starfire interceptor aircraft , were located at McGuire . The federalized 105th FIS was located at Berry Field , Nashville , Tennessee and was flying World War II era F - 47 Thunderbolt aircraft . The wing also was assigned another federalized Air National Guard ( ANG ) squadron , the 118th FIS at Suffolk County AFB , New York , also flying Thunderbolts , which was reassigned from the inactivating 103d FIW . The support elements of the 52d FIW ' s 52d Air Base Group ( ABG ) and 52d Maintenance & Supply Group were replaced at McGuire by the wing ' s 568th ABG and air base squadron s were activated at each of the dispersed bases assigned to the wing to support the fighter squadrons at those stations . The wing ' s mission was to train and maintain tactical units in a state of readiness to intercept and destroy enemy aircraft attempting to penetrate the air defense system in the Northeastern United States . The stay of the 105th FIS with the wing was brief . In July 1952 , it moved to McGhee Tyson Municipal Airport , Knoxville , Tennessee , and the next month as areas of responsibility for air defense were realigned , transferred to the 35th Air Division . In November , the 118th FIS was returned to the Connecticut ANG and its personnel and equipment handed over to the newly activating 45th FIS . A second fighter squadron , the 75th Fighter - Interceptor Squadron , flying Sabres , moved to Suffolk County from Presque Isle AFB , Maine in October and was assigned to the wing , while at Sewart AFB , New York , the 330th Fighter - Interceptor Squadron , flying F - 80 Shooting Star aircraft , was activated and assigned to the wing . In February 1953 , another major reorganization of ADC activated Air Defense Groups ( Air Def Gp ) at ADC bases with dispersed fighter squadrons . These group s were assigned to the wing and assumed direct control of the fighter squadrons at those bases , as well as support squadrons to carry out their role as the USAF host organizations at the bases . As a result of this reorganization , the 568th ABG was redesignated the 568th Air Def Gp and assumed control of the fighter squadrons at McGuire . , and the 4700th Air Base Group at Sewart was redesignated the 4700th Air Defense Group and was assigned the 330 FIS . A new unit , the 519th Air Defense Group , activated to command the squadrons at Suffolk County . The reorganization also resulted in the wing adding the radar detection , control and warning mission , and it was assigned two Aircraft Control & Warning Squadrons ( AC & W Sq ) to perform this mission . In July 1954 , McGuire AFB transferred from ADC to Military Air Transport Service and its 1611th Air Transport Wing , which assumed base support functions from the inactivating 568th Air Def Gp . As a result of the group ' s inactivation , the 2nd FIS and 5th FIS once again reported directly to the wing . In 1955 , ADC implemented Project Arrow , which was designed to bring back on the active list the fighter units which had compiled memorable records in the two world wars . As a result of Project Arrow , the 52d Fighter Group ( Air Defense ) replaced the 518th Air Def Gp at Suffolk County and the 329th Fighter Group ( Air Defense ) replaced the 4700th Air Def Gp . Because Project Arrow called for fighter squadrons to be assigned to their traditional group headquarters , the 2nd and 5th FIS at McGuire AFB moved to Suffolk County AFB and were replaced at McGuire by the 332d FIS and the 539th FIS , which moved from other ADC bases and took over their personnel and aircraft . In preparation for the implemation of the Semi - Automatic Ground Environment ( SAGE ) air defense system , the 4621st Air Defense Wing ( SAGE ) was organized at McGuire in the Spring of 1956 and assigned to the 26th Air Division . It was initially attached to the 4709th Air Defense Wing and two squadrons programmed for the SAGE system were assigned to the 4709th as well , until the 4621st Wing assumed the mission of the 4709th wing in October , and the 4709th was discontinued shortly thereafter . Because areas of responsibility were changing with the implementation of SAGE , Dover AFB , Delaware ' s 46th FIS , flying Starfires had been transferred to the wing from the 4710th Air Defense Wing in March , as was a second squadron activated at Dover later that month , the 98th FIS , flying F - 89 Scorpion aircraft . Lineage . Components . Squadrons . Fighter Squadrons Support Squadrons Radar Squadrons References . Bibliography . Further reading