History
The squadron was activated on 1 March 1959 as the 26th Air Defense Missile Squadron (BOMARC) and stood alert during the Cold War, equipped with IM-99 (later CIM-10) BOMARC surface to air antiaircraft missiles. The squadron was tied into a Semi-Automatic Ground Environment (SAGE) direction center which could use analog computers to process information from ground radars, picket ships and airborne aircraft to accelerate the display of tracking data at the direction center to quickly direct the missile site to engage hostile aircraft. It was inactivated on 30 April 1972.
The BOMARC missile site was located 1 mile (1.6 km) north-northwest of Otis AFB at 41°40′56″N 070°32′21″W / 41.68222°N 70.53917°W / 41.68222; -70.53917 (26th ADMS). Although geographically separated from the base, it was an off base facility of Otis and the squadron received administrative and logistical support from Otis.
In 1985, the squadron was consolidated with the 26th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron, a World War II unit of the Army Air Forces that had provided air support for the training of ground forces, but has never been active with this designation.
Read more about this topic: 26th Tactical Missile Squadron
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