Aerospace Defense Command
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The Aerospace Defense Command (ADC), was created by the War Department as the Air Defense Command on 26 February 1940. As a component of the U.S. First Army, its mission was to plan for and execute the air defense of the continental United States.
During World War II, the ADC operated four distinct air defense districts within the US. As the threat of an attack by enemy forces on the US homeland diminished it was decided such a structure was no longer needed and the districts were abolished in mid-1944. The first iteration of the ADC vanished as well.
The second iteration of the ADC was established on 21 March 1946 as a component of the United States Army Air Forces, again with the mission of planning for and executing the air defense of the United States. On 1 December 1948, the ADC became a subordinate component of the Continental Air Command. The ADC was renamed the Aerospace Defense Command on 15 January 1968.
The ADC lasted throughout most of the Cold War. But as the air defense of the US shifted more to the Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve, the need for the ADC diminished. In 1980, the duties of the ADC were split among Tactical Air Command and Strategic Air Command. The ADC was inactivated on 31 March 1980.
