by the 14,000 foot runway at Eielson built by SAC. It was also planned that the Army, which maintained units at both Ladd and Eielson, would consolidate its forces, and its northern headquarters, Yukon Command, at Ladd. Discussions and political controversy ensued throughout 1960, however the Army's decision to station a new battle group at Ladd and increase the number of personnel assigned there settled the matter. On 1 January 1961 jurisdiction of Ladd Air Force Base was transferred from the Department of the Air Force to the Department of the Army. The army renamed the facility Fort Wainwright, in honor of Lieutenant General Jonathan Mayhew Wainwright IV. The airfield, was re-designated as "Ladd Field", in honor of its long Air Force service. With the closure of Ladd, the 449th FIS was inactivated on 25 August 1960, its F-89Js being reassigned to Air Defense Command. Along with the closure of Ladd AFB, AAC inactivated the 10th and 11th Air Divisions in August 1960. They were replaced by the provisional 5070th Air Defense Wing, based at Elmendorf. The 5070th, was quickly inactivated in October 1961, its assets being assigned directly to AAC. Interceptors AAC interceptor squadrons were initially equipped with the very long-range P-51H Mustang, that was designed for B-29 escort duties for missions over Japan. The F-51 (post 1948 designation) was a fast, efficient fighter that could perform close air support missions, but was not an effective air defense interceptor because it lacked radar and did not have the speed and altitude capabilities needed to intercept high-altitude bombers. Replaced by the P-61 Black Widow (1947), and later by the F-82 Twin Mustang (1948) (449th FIS), these World War II-designed aircraft were equally unsuited for modern air defense operations. Although the Black Widow and Twin Mustang were radar-equipped, they did not perform well in adverse weather and suffered from the speed and altitude deficiencies as the F-51H. The first-generation jet aircraft assigned to AAC were F-80 Shooting Stars which arrived in 1948. The jets had a much faster rate of climb than their World War II propeller-driven predecessors, but lacked radar to find the bombers it was being used to intercept. However, it served its purpose by introducing AAC to the jet age. Its successor, the F-94 Starfire in 1951 was essentially an upgraded F-80 with a radar operator and was better equipped for all-weather operations. It also was afterburner-equipped for