Command and Control for North American Air Defense, 1959-1963

Command and Control for North American Air Defense, 1959-1963, is the third in a series of studies prepared by the USAF Historical Division Liaison Office (AFCHO) on command and control. This study discusses the issues and problems involved in centralizing authority and control over forces responsible for maintaining airspace vigilance in peacetime and combating any aircraft attack, as distinct from space (missile) attacks. Preliminary sections summarize the steps taken to remove the doctrinal and structural barriers which long served to dissipate the ability of air defense commanders to control their forces and trace conversion of the system from manual to semi-automatic operation. The main body of the study is concerned with the impact that the threat of missile attack had on aircraft defense command and control systems. A final section charts the likely course of future command and control developments as they appeared at the close of 1963. This study forms a part of the larger History of Headquarters USAF, Fiscal Year 1963. It is being published separately to make it more readily available throughout the Air Force.