Continental Air Defense Command
| Continental Air Defense Command | |
|---|---|
Until 1963, CONAD HQ was located in the 4-story former National Methodist Sanitorium building (background, behind sign)
|
|
| Active | September 1, 1954 – June 30, 1975 |
| Type | Unified Combatant Command |
| Role | Air defense |
| Part of | United States Department of Defense |
| Garrison/HQ | Colorado Springs, CO |
 1956 & two 1954 organizational charts
|
Continental Air Defense Command (CONAD) was a Unified Combatant Command of the United States Department of Defense, tasked with air defense for the Continental United States. It comprised Army, Air Force, and Navy components. It included Army Project Nike missiles (Ajax and Hercules) anti-aircraft defenses and USAF interceptors (manned aircraft and BOMARC missiles). The primary purpose of continental air defense during the CONAD period was to provide sufficient attack warning of a Soviet bomber air raid to ensure Strategic Air Command could launch a counterattack without being destroyed. CONAD controlled nuclear air defense weapons such as the 10 kiloton W-40 nuclear warhead on the CIM-10B BOMARC. The command was disestablished in 1975 and the USAF component, Aerospace Defense Command, became the executive organization for the U.S. component of the North American Air Defense Command (NORAD).
As the new U.S. Air Force was being established in 1947, consideration of a joint command for air defense began. After the USAF initiated the development of the "1954 interceptor" (WS-201) to counter expected Soviet bomber advances, the Army deployed M-33 Fire Control for AA artillery in 1950. A proposal for a joint/unified command for air defense was initiated (and failed) in 1950. The new Air Defense Command (ADC) at Ent AFB, and Army Antiaircraft Command (ARAACOM) staffed in the nearby Antlers Hotel (Colorado) was established in 1951. The same year, the Priority Permanent System began replacing the post-war Lashup Radar Network.
...
Wikipedia