Air Transport Command
Air Transport Command | |
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Air Transport Command C-47 Skytrain flying over the Pyramids, 1944 | |
Active | 1942–1948 |
Country | United States |
Branch | United States Army Air Forces |
Role | Worldwide transport of aircraft, personnel and cargo |
Size | 11,000 personnel at creation (June 1942) 30,518 personnel; 346 transports (December 1942)[1] 209,201 personnel; 3,224 transports (August 1945)[1] |
Engagements | World War II |
Insignia | |
Patch with Air Transport Command emblem(Approved 30 November 1942) | |
Air Corps Ferrying Command Distinctive Badge (Approved 14 November 1941) |
Air Transport Command (ATC) was a United States Air Force unit that was created during World War II as the strategic airlift component of the United States Army Air Forces.
It had two main missions, the first being the delivery of supplies and equipment between the United States and the overseas combat theaters; the second was the ferrying of aircraft from the manufacturing plants in the United States to where they were needed for training or for operational use in combat. ATC also operated a worldwide air transportation system for military personnel.
Inactivated on 1 June 1948, Air Transport Command was the precursor to what became the Military Air Transport Service in 1948 and was redesignated Military Airlift Command (MAC) in 1966. It was consolidated with MAC in 1982, providing a continuous history of long range airlift through 1992 when the mission was transferred to today's Air Mobility Command.
History
By no means least among the achievements of the Army Air Forces (AAF) in World War II was its development of a worldwide system of air transport. The development of transport aircraft in the 1920s and 1930s added a new dimension to the art of warfare, and around its varied capacities the AAF built an air transportation system such as had never before been envisaged. That system, and its functions, soon became synonymous with the organization which controlled it, the Air Transport Command.
Origins
ATC's origins begin during World War I with the need to transport aircraft supplies and materiel from the aircraft manufacturers to the maintenance facilities supporting the training bases in the United States. Railroads were used to move the equipment and aircraft from one base to another and to the Ports of Embarkation along the East Coast for subsequent sea shipment to the battlefields of France.[2]
It wasn't until the 1920s that the development of cargo and personnel transport aircraft began with aircraft such as the
Lend Lease
With the outbreak of war in Europe in 1939, several European governments approached the United States for military equipment. They needed immediate help for the battles they might very soon have to fight on their own soil against invading German armies. The French ordered Douglas DB-7 (A-20) two-engine light bombers;[3] Curtiss P-36 Hawks,[4] and some Curtiss P-40D Warhawks, although the P-40s were never delivered.[5] However, it was Britain's Royal Air Force which needed massive reinforcement, especially after the losses it incurred on the continent during the German invasion of the Low Countries and France during May 1940.
The idea of developing a regular military service for ferrying aircraft was the result of several factors. Production of aircraft by United States manufacturers was increasing for both the Army Air Corps and for purchase by the British. As produced and ready for delivery at the factory, these aircraft were flyable but also needed modifications before they were ready for combat service. It was advantageous to fly the aircraft to a separate modification center where changes could be made, rather than implementing these changes on the production line that would interrupt production.[6]
United States civilian pilots, contracted by the British, would pick up their aircraft at the production facility and fly them to designated transfer points in the Montreal area where the modifications could be made. From Montreal, a Canadian civilian agency under contract to the British government began ferrying US-built bombers across the North Atlantic from Newfoundland to Prestwick (near Glasgow) (Scotland / UK) under the auspices of a private British company, set up by the British Government for that purpose. By ferrying these bombers under their own power, vital shipping space was saved and factory-to-combat delivery time was cut from approximately three months to less than ten days.[6]
However, the British Government had limited funds, and was rapidly running out of resources for the purchase of war materiel of all types from the United States. In the spring of 1941, the
With the passage of the
These shipments to the British caused a shortage in the United States of multi-engine aircraft in particular. Air Corps units were in need of training in long-range navigation, weather and radio-flying that a coast-to-coast ferrying service would give them in the latest models of aircraft. On 12 May 1941 the
On 12 April 1941 plans were presented to the OCAC for the construction of a landing field on the west coast of Greenland for the staging of aircraft via Newfoundland, Greenland and Iceland to the United Kingdom. This would make possible the ferrying of medium and light bombers across the North Atlantic Ocean.[6]
Air Corps Ferrying Command
The British ferrying service was well under way when the
Ferrying Command relied initially on two-engine and single-engine pilots detailed from the Air Force Combat Command (formerly
ACFC Domestic Wing
During the fall of 1941, Ferrying Command had assumed an additional responsibility for delivery of some AAF's own planes from factory to stations within the United States. After the
To ferry aircraft purchased by the
In Southern California, the
Boeing Field, Seattle, was the location of the second concentration center, for planes manufactured by Boeing.[6] Other concentration centers used civilian airfields as they became available, as happened in Detroit and Nashville.
From the West Coast, the ferrying routes (as initially laid down) and their corresponding transatlantic transport method were:[6]
- Route One: Heavy bombers capable of crossing the North Atlantic by flight
- Boeing Field to Quebec.
- Route Two: Heavy bombers capable of crossing the North Atlantic by flight
- Boeing Field to Salt Lake City, Utah; then via Omaha, Nebraska and Wayne County to Montreal
- Route Three: Short-range, light bombardment and training aircraft, to cross the North Atlantic by ship
- Long Beach to Tucson, Arizona; thence via Midland and Dallas, Texas to New Orleans, Louisiana
- Route Four A: Short-range light bombardment and training aircraft, to cross by ship
- Long Beach to Tucson; then via Midland; Patterson Field, Ohioand Wayne County to Montreal
- Route Four B: Short-range light bombardment and training aircraft, to cross by ship
- Long Beach to Tucson; then via Midland; Dallas; Mitchel Field, New York
At the end of each route was the designated transfer point at which final inspections were accomplished and the aircraft transferred from Air Corps jurisdiction to representatives of the RAF Ferry Command or the British Air Commission.[6]
To replace and supplement Montreal as a transfer point, Ferrying Command then initiated development of airfields in northern
After Pearl Harbor, the scope of Ferrying Command's mission within the United States expanded to the domestic ferrying of all multi-engine Army aircraft, all British and Lend-Lease aircraft, and with the air movement of troops by domestic airlines as well. On 3 January 1942, the wing was divided into six geographic sectors. The sectors and headquarters were:[6]
* Northwest Sector, Boeing Field, Seattle, Washington
* California Sector, Long Beach Municipal Airport, California
* Middle Western Sector, Hensley Field, Dallas, Texas
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* Nashville Sector, Berry Field, Nashville, Tennessee
* Detroit Sector, Wayne County Airport, Romulus, Michigan
*
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ACFC Foreign Wing
From the domestic ferrying assignment it was only a step to the Command taking over the responsibility for delivering or supervising the delivery of AAF and lend-lease aircraft to theaters of war scattered across the world.[7]
After the US entered World War II, it became clear that the fastest and most economical method of moving combat aircraft from the factory to the front, which might be 10,000 to 15,000 miles away due to the worldwide nature of the conflict, was to ferry them under their own power. Also, to keep aircraft at their highest efficiency, an air transport system for the rapid delivery of spare engines and parts, auxiliary equipment of all kinds, flight crews, and ground personnel became an absolute necessity, and supplementary to the traditional and considerably slower method of surface transport.[7]
During 1941, four major air routes were developed. These were:
- The North Atlantic route, earliest to be developed for military purposes, provided an air connection between the Eastern US and Britain, while[7]
- The Northwest Staging Route connected mainland US with Alaska and the Soviet Union via Siberia.[7]
- The South Pacific air ferry route in World War II connected the US via Hawaii with Australia and islands of the Western Pacific.[7]
- The
Secondary routes between Australia and India, and between Australia and the Philippines were also developed. Later, a Mid-Atlantic route was developed via the Azores to link the US with Europe and North Africa. While this route was not opened until late 1943, the US and Britain were at all times prepared to occupy the Azores, had the security and future use of this route been threatened by the Axis Powers.[7]
By early 1942, it had become clear that the
During 1942, the South Atlantic route to West Africa and beyond assumed an importance far surpassing that of any of the others. In contrast to the slowness of the North Atlantic, South Pacific and Alaskan routes, the South Atlantic airway immediately came to support a heavy volume of air traffic that, because only four former
Later, a Mid-Atlantic route was developed via the Azores to link the US with Europe and North Africa. While this route was not opened until late 1943, the US and Britain were at all times prepared to occupy the Azores, had the security and future use of this route been threatened by the Axis Powers.[7]
During the thirteen months of its existence, Ferrying Command had grown from an original staff of two officers and a civilian secretary to a strength of over 11,000 officers and enlisted men, in addition to its civilian employees and those of the civil air carriers operating under its supervision. As the name implies, ferrying had been its main job, and during the period its pilots ferried 13,595 aircraft to final domestic destinations, while 632 planes were delivered to foreign destinations under the supervision of the command.[7]
Air Transport Command
Change of roles
Air transport services conducted by the Ferrying Command (before the Pearl Harbor attack), were first to Britain beginning July 1941 and later in October to Cairo. They were like courier services and were secondary to the major job for which the command was created, that of ferrying aircraft from US factories to Canada and onward to Britain or to US ports of embarkation. Probably no one then foresaw that a network of long-range transport routes, supporting the daily movement of hundreds of tons of supplies and thousands of passengers, would spread across the world and that daily flights to such remote areas as the Aleutians, Australia, the Philippines, India, and China would become commonplace.[8]
Indeed, a limited view of the role of long-range air transportation in World War II persisted for some months after the US became an active belligerent. Not until the late spring and summer of 1942, when large backlogs of supplies awaiting air shipment to the front began to build up at ports of embarkation and when it became clear that almost unlimited demands would be made in future for the rapid movement of urgently needed materials and personnel, did the idea of air transport as a major instrument of logistics begin to take shape.[8]
In order to operate a worldwide air logistics system, maximum use would have to be made of the planes, men, and facilities of the civil airlines. The Ferrying Command was in no position to expand its own military transport services. The Air Corps and the
The ferrying activity continued to increase as more aircraft were turned out by the factories, as new combat units became ready for deployment overseas, and as the need for battle replacements grew more and more emphasis came to be placed on the air transportation function. Air transport had passed beyond the stage of being primarily a courier service or an adjunct of ferrying; it was well on the way to becoming a major instrument of logistical support to combat operations on the ground and in the air.[8]
The civil airlines, in addition to having the available flying personnel (most of whom had learned to fly in the Air Corps) and physical equipment, had another equally valuable though less tangible asset. They had the wealth of practical knowledge in conducting scheduled air transport operations, the administrative competence, and the mastery of techniques that came from long experience. The AAF, on the other hand, had no such expertise among its senior leadership nor experience from its nascent operations.[8]
In January 1942, Arnold established the AAF Office of Civil Aviation and recalled the chairman of the
Creation of Air Transport Command
The
Arnold saw the need for unified control of air transport and bolstered by Pogue's memorandum, which recommended that at the least all Army air transportation should be unified under one command, submitted the issue to a board of officers with instructions to consider the whole problem. Before the board could make an official report, however, Arnold made a decision on 20 June 1942 which embodied substantially Pogue's second recommendation. The Ferrying Command was renamed the Air Transport Command and the organization already bearing that name became the I Troop Carrier Command to reflect its mission of training crews and units for the combat lifts of parachute and airborne infantry.[8]
A change of command at AAF Ferrying Command took place in the meantime. In March 1942 General Olds was stricken with a heart attack, and was replaced by Colonel (eventually Lieutenant General) Harold L. George, who remained as ATC's wartime commander.[8]
Effective 1 July 1942, the new Air Transport Command was given what the official history of the AAF described as "sweeping responsibilities":[8]
- The ferrying of all aircraft within the United States and to destinations outside of the United States as directed by the Commanding General, Army Air Forces.[8]
- The control, operation, and maintenance of establishments and facilities on air routes outside of the United States.[8]
- The transportation by air of personnel, materiel, and mail for all War Department agencies, except those served by Troop Carrier units.[8]
In addition, before the end of June plans by the Army's
The new Air Transport Command was initially only a semi-military organization, with most of its leadership coming from the ranks of airline executives who accepted direct USAAF commissions, usually as colonels or majors.[11] Until 1944, ATC also drew heavily on the airlines for manpower, using experienced civil airline pilots, radio operators, and other aircrew personnel from the airlines to crew transports that had been purchased by the Army from civilian sources.[11] ATC's original mission was ferrying airplanes to overseas destinations, a mission that had been originally performed by the AAF Ferrying Command that preceded it and from which ATC headquarters military personnel were drawn. As the war progressed, ATC's air transport division became more and more involved in transporting military personnel and cargo overseas.[11][12]
At the time it was redesignated and given its enlarged mission, the command was already in the process of reorganization.[8]
Operations
The newly designated Air Transport Command consisted of two main divisions, the Ferrying Division and the Air Transportation Division, corresponding roughly to the two primary responsibilities of the command. The ATC Ferrying Division was responsible for the transfer of combat aircraft to overseas bases, and their replacement. Thousands of bombers, transport aircraft and fighters flown by combat crews on their way overseas were under ATC control during these movements. Ferrying of combat aircraft by ATC personnel became a major ATC mission to the end of the war as vast numbers of replacement aircraft had to be transferred from factory to combat theaters.[12] The command ferried 30,000 aircraft in 1942, 72,000 in 1943, 108,000 in 1944, and 57,000 in 1945, for a total of more than 267,000 in all.[7]
In addition, five major field organizations, known as wings, were constituted on 12 June 1942 and activated at various dates during the latter part of the month. Initially, they were known as the 23d through the 27th AAF Ferrying wings, but the command quickly requested and secured a change to more descriptive geographical names. On 5 July, they were redesignated the North Atlantic, Caribbean, South Atlantic, Africa-Middle East, and South Pacific wings. Over the course of the war, additional wings and divisions were created as the scope and complexity of the command increased.[7]
More than 130 two- and four-engine transport aircraft had become available to the command by 1 July 1942, of which 10 or 15 were being flown by military crews and the remainder by the contract carriers. Many of these had come from new production, some were acquired from Air Service Command, but others became available as the result of a presidential order of 6 May directing the
In the beginning of ATC operations, the Douglas
In 1942, the Consolidated
In 1942, at the personal request of General 'Hap' Arnold, C. R. Smith, formerly president of American Airlines, was commissioned a colonel in ATC and made its executive officer, thereafter assuming the positions of Chief of Staff and Deputy Commander.[14] During his tenure as Chief of Staff, Smith was largely responsible for ATC's considerable expansion in operations.[14] In the same year, Smith proposed that ATC assume responsibility for the Hump airlift operation,[14] as he believed that ATC would do a better job of transporting cargo to China.[12] However, due to a lack of navigation aids, personnel, suitable airfields and maintenance facilities, and above all, sufficient multi-engine transport aircraft suited to the difficult flight conditions, tonnage levels flown to China over The Hump did not appreciably increase until late 1943.[12][15]
As the war progressed, ATC received improved aircraft types for transport duty, including the Curtiss-Wright
ATC transports were used primarily to deliver high value cargo and important personnel to overseas destinations. For example, ATC C-87s delivered new engines to Libya to replace those worn out on the B-24s used on the famous low-level mission against
While little known the Caribbean Division And South Atlantic Divisions of ATC also operated its own small navy for rescue of downed pilots comprising converted
By the end of World War II, Air Transport Command had developed into a huge military air carrier with a worldwide route pattern. From an organization of approximately 37,000 personnel (6,500 of them overseas) in December 1942, it numbered nearly 210,000 in August 1945, the bulk stationed overseas (150,000). By the end of the war the command had 3,090 major transports assigned. Although in the first half of 1944 the C-46 appeared to be headed for ascendancy as the predominant transport type of the command, and ATC more than tripled its inventory of C-54s in the final year of the war to 839 transports, the C-47 remained the workhorse transport of ATC throughout the conflict, never exceeded in total by any other type. Its numbers remained steady throughout 1942 and 1943, but increased dramatically in the last 18 months of the war, rising to a total of 1,341.[1]
Routes had been established to places where aircraft had been unheard of before the war. Airline personnel who had never left the United States before joining the military had become veterans of long over-water flights to the remotest regions of earth.[11] In its final full month of wartime operations (July 1945), ATC carried 275,000 passengers (50,000 domestically) and 100,000 tons of mail and cargo, 96.7% of it overseas.[7]
Sports
The Air Transport Command fielded the Rockets football team with several notable former college and professional players, such as Vernon Martin of the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Postwar era
With the end of the war, the Air Transport Command found itself in limbo. Senior USAAF authorities considered ATC to be a wartime necessity that was no longer needed, and expected its civilian personnel, including former airline pilots, to return to their peacetime occupations. Senior ATC officers, on the other hand, thought that ATC should be developed into a national government operated airline, an idea that was soundly opposed by the airline industry. While the war had firmly established the necessity of a troop carrier mission, most military officers believed the role performed by ATC should be provided by contract carriers.[17]
When the
The DOD believed it should have its own air transport service and decided that ATC should become the Military Air Transport Service, supported by the USAF, even though not listed as a formal military mission. When the ATC commander wrote a mission statement for the proposed new command he inserted "deployment of troops" as a mission, although the change had never been formally requested, the
Lineage
- Established as the Air Corps Ferrying Command on 29 May 1941
- Redesignated Army Air Forces Ferry Command on 9 March 1942
- Redesignated Army Air Forces Ferrying Command on 31 March 1942
- Redesignated Air Transport Command on 1 July 1942
- Discontinued on 1 June 1948[2]
- Consolidated on 13 May 1982 with Military Airlift Command
Assignments
- Office of the Chief of Air Corps, 29 May 1941
- Headquarters, United States Army Air Forces, 9 March 1942
- Headquarters, United States Air Force, 18 September 1947 – 1 June 1948[2]
Headquarters
- Gravelly Point, Virginia, 29 May 1941
- The Pentagon, Virginia, 15 January 1943 – 1 June 1948[18]
Major Components
Ferrying Division
Established 1 July 1942, to replace the Domestic Wing, Army Air Forces Ferrying Command, established 28 December 1941 as the Domestic Division ACFC and redesignated Domestic Wing, AAFFC on 26 February 1942.
Initially conducted aircraft ferrying operations within the
Operated primarily by civilian contract pilots, including the
Air Transportation Division
Established 28 December 1941 as the Foreign Division, ACFC; redesignated Foreign Wing, AAFFC on 26 February 1942; redesignated Air Transportation Division 1 July 1942. The division was dissolved in March 1943 and its wings placed directly under command of Headquarters ATC.
- North America
- Alaskan Wing (redesignated Alaskan Division on 1 July 1944)
- Established October 1942. Supported Ladd Field, Alaska, where Soviet pilots collected the aircraft to fly them westward to air bases in Siberia. Also operated transport route into Northern Canada.
- Central/South America
- Caribbean Wing (established as 27th AAF Ferrying Wing 19 June 1942; redesignated Caribbean Wing on 1 July 1942; redesignated Caribbean Division on 1 July 1944)
- Transported aircraft, personnel and cargo from , (Peru).
- South Atlantic Wing (established as 24th AAF Ferrying Wing 27 June 1942; redesignated South Atlantic Wing on 1 July 1942; redesignated South Atlantic Division on 1 July 1944)
- Responsible for operating the South Atlantic Route from Waller Field, Trinidad along the north-eastern coast of Asuncion(Paraguay).
- Europe
- North Atlantic Wing (established as 23d AAF Ferrying Wing20 June 1942; redesignated North Atlantic Wing on 1 July 1942; redesignated North Atlantic Division on 1 July 1944)
- Operated North Atlantic Route for aircraft, personnel and cargo from Presque Isle AAF to .
- European Wing (redesignated European Division on 1 July 1944)
- Created in July 1941 at in 1945.
- Atlantic Wing
- Operated the Mid-Atlantic Route from the Eastern United States ( to provide connections with intra-European routes after 1944 as part of the North Atlantic Division.
- Africa/Middle East
- Middle East Wing (established as 26th AAF Ferrying Wing 27 June 1942; redesignated 1 July 1942 as Africa-Middle East Wing; redesignated June 1943 as Middle East Wing)
- Delivered lend-lease aircraft, personnel and cargo from Cairo, Egypt to destinations in the Middle East. Operated the Eastern Mediterranean Route via Lydda (British-Mandated Palestine) and Beirut (Lebanon) to Adana (Turkey. It also ferried lend-lease aircraft to Tehran (Iran) for onward shipment to Russia via Baku. A connecting route linked Baghdad (Iraq) with Karachi, India, along the Persian Gulfcoast.
- Central African Wing (redesignated Central African Division on 1 July 1944)
- Established June 1943 from a split of the Africa-Middle East Wing with headquarters in French Morocco became available in 1943. Also operated a transport route to Leopoldville (Belgian Congo) for the transport of uranium to the United States. This route was later extended to Pretoria(South Africa Rep.) via Elizabethville (Belgian Congo).
- North African Wing (redesignated North African Division on 1 July 1944)
- Established June 1943 from a split of the Africa-Middle East Wing. Moved aircraft, supplies and cargo from West African transport hub supporting Twelfth and Fifteenth Air Forces. Also part of South Atlantic Route transport extension via West Africa to Casablanca (French Morocco) and to Britain. Operated the Mediterranean Air Transport Service from Casablanca (French Morocco) to Cairo (Egypt) and later from Algiers (Algeria) to Naples (Italy) in 1944.
- Pacific/CBI Theater
- Pacific Wing (established as 25th AAF Ferrying Wing 27 June 1942; redesignated South Pacific Wing on 1 July 1942; redesignated Pacific Wing in January 1943; redesignated Pacific Division on 24 July 1944)
- Operated the South Pacific Air Route from Noumea, New Caledonia for cargo and passengers. Later on, links were established with New Zealand and via Honiara, Solomon Islands with Hollandia and Biak, Dutch East Indies.
- India-China Wing(redesignated India-China Division on 1 July 1944.)
- Established 1 December 1942. Responsible for transport operations across the Himalayan Mountains ("The Hump") between airfields in India and China, formerly performed by the 10th AF India-China Ferrying Command, and operated a western Indian sector in Karachi. Responsible for the materiel support of the Fourteenth Air Force in China and of the Tenth Air Forceoperations. Four component wings in ICD: Assam Wing (activated 1 July 1944); India Wing (1 July 1944); Bengal Wing (1 December 1944); China Wing (1 December 1944)
- West Coast Wing
- Established January 1943 from a split of the South Pacific Wing. Operated a transport route from Seattle, Washington to Elmendorf AAF, Alaska, along the coast of British Columbia primarily to deliver Boeingaircraft to Alaska. Component of Pacific Division 1 August 1944.
- Central Pacific Wing (activated 1 August 1944, Pacific Division)
- Operated route from Hawaii via , China.
- Southwest Pacific Wing (activated on 1 August 1944, Pacific Division)
- Logistical support for Thirteenth Air Forces in New Guinea and later to the Philippines.
- Eastern Pacific Wing (activated on 10 April 1946)
- Western Pacific Wing (activated on 10 April 1946)
- Postwar reorganization of Pacific transport routes within Far East Air Force connecting Hawaii, Australia, the Philippines, Okinawa and Japan.
Installations
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Ferrying Division found it necessary to provide transition instruction on many planes, so its pilots could qualify on all major U.S. models. A transition school was established at
Overseas Stations
Overseas ATC stations are listed and described in the following articles:
- Alaska Route[34]
- Also known as the Northwest Staging Route. List of ATC stations located in Canada and the Alaska Territory, originating at Wold/Chamberlain Field, Minnesota; terminating at Ladd Army Airfield, Alaska Territory. Ladd is where Soviet pilots took over the ferrying mission into the Soviet Union
- Part of the South Atlantic Air Ferry Route. List of ATC stations in the Caribbean, originating at Morrison Field, Florida; terminating at Atkinson Field, British Guiana.
- Extension of the South Atlantic Air Ferry Route, set up by Pan American pilots prior to the Axis capitulation in Tunisia in 1943. Originated at Khartoum Airport, Khartoum, north to Payne Field, Cairo Egypt.[35]
- The ATC Middle East Wing flew from Khartoum across Arabia to RAF Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates; The 14th Ferrying Group flew south to Wonderboom Airport, Union of South Africa, carrying valuable minerals from Central and Southern Africa.[35]
- After September 1943, The ATC North Atlantic Division flew from Dakar Airport, Senegal via French Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya into Payne Field, Cairo Egypt.[35]
- Flown by the India-China Division. Began at Chabua Airfield in the Assam Valley which was used as a transshipment point for supplies, equipment and aircraft ferried to Kunming Airport China over the Himalayas from Northeast India.[36]
- Established in 1943 after the Portuguese government allowed British Leases in the Anfa Airport, Casablanca, French Morocco.[37]
- North Pacific Route
- Flown by the West Coast Wing between
- North Atlantic Route
- Flown by the North Atlantic Wing, direct ferrying route between the Northeast United States and the United Kingdom. Originated at Prestwick Airport, Scotland.[37]
- Flown by the South Atlantic Division began at Roberts Airfield, Liberia. With the opening of an air base on Ascension Island in July 1942, the ocean crossing was divided into two fairly easy stages and ceased to be a serious operational problem The base on Ascension Island was located on British territory[39]
- Flown by the Pacific Division, began at Clark Field in the Philippines. With the Japanese conquests in the Western Pacific in 1942, the route was changed into be a supply route to Australia, with several routes cries-crossing the Pacific, and eventually returning to the Philippines and after the end of the war to Tokyo where an extension of the India-China Route allowed a complete circumnavigation of the world.[40]
References
This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
- ^ a b c AAF Statistical Digest, Tables 11 and 20 (personnel) and Table 204 (aircraft)
- ^ a b c d Part I, Organization & Its Responsibilities, Chapter 2, "The AAF": Craven, Wesley and Cate, James, The Army Air Forces In World War II, Volume Six: "Men and Planes". New Imprint by the Office of Air Force History Washington, D.C., 1983
- ^ Baugher, Douglas DB-7 in French Service
- ^ Baugher, Curtiss Hawk with Armee de l'Air
- ^ Curtiss P-40D (Kittyhawk I)
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Administrative History of the Ferrying Command, 29 May 1941 – 30 June 1942. Army Air Forces Historical Studies: No. 33. Prepared by Assistant Chief of Air Staff, Intelligence, Historical Division, HQ USAAF, Washington, D.C., June 1945
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Part I, Plans And Early Operations, January 1939 to August 1942, Chapter 9: "The Early Development of Air Transport and Ferrying": Craven, Wesley and Cate, James, The Army Air Forces In World War II. New Imprint by the Office of Air Force History Washington, D.C., 1983
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Craven & Cate, Section Four: The Air Transport Command Responsibilities, Chapter 9: "The Early Development of Air Transport and Ferrying"
- ISBN 978-0-252-03433-6, p. 50
- ^ Serling, Robert J. "America's Airlines," Flying Magazine, September 1977, Vol. 63 No. 9, p. 229
- ^ ISBN 0-671-63603-0, pp. 160–164
- ^ a b c d e Glines, C.V., Flying the Hump, Air Force Association Magazine (March 1991) Vol. 74 http://www.afa.org/magazine/1991/0391hump.asp Archived 2008-07-08 at the Wayback Machine
- ISBN 0-671-63603-0, pp. 213–217
- ^ a b c Hall of Fame, Major General Cyrus Rowlett Smith, Air Transport Association http://www.atalink.org/hallfame/c.r.smith.html Archived 2008-09-05 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ CBI Hump Pilots Association, Flying the Hump: A Fact Sheet for the Hump Operations During World War II, (USAAF) China-Burma-India (CBI) Theater of Operations http://www.cbi-history.com/part_xii_hump5.html
- ^ Hearst Magazines (February 1945). "The Army's Navy to the Rescue". Popular Mechanics. Hearst Magazines. pp. 72–74.
- ^ a b c Stanley M. Ulanoff, MATS: The Story of the Military Air Transport Service, 1964, The Moffa Press, Inc.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Shaw, Frederick J. (2014), Locating Air Force Base Sites History’s Legacy, Air Force History and Museums Program, United States Air Force, Washington DC, 2004. (Updated Edition, 2014)
- ^ AFHRA Search, Gore Field MT
- ^ AFHRA Document 00172675, Great Falls AAB MT
- ^ AFHRA Search, Hamilton Field CA
- ^ AFHRA Search, Morrison Field FL
- ^ AFHRA Search, Presque Isle ME
- ^ AFHRA Search, Houlton Field ME
- ^ AFHRA Document 00180405 Lunken Field OH
- ^ AFHRA Search New Castle DE
- ^ AFHRA Search Romulus Army Airfield MI
- ^ AFHRA Search Charleston SC
- ^ AFHRA Document 00172776 Greenwood Army Air Base MS
- ^ a b c d e f Part III Recruitment & Training, Chapter 20 Other Training Programs, "Ferry Pilots and Transport Crews"; Craven and Cate, The AAF in World War II
- ^ AFHRA Search Homestead FL
- ^ AFHRA Search Reno Nevada
- ^ AFHRA Search, Wold MN
- ISBN 0-89096-711-3.
- ^ a b c d e Stanley, William R. (1994), Trans-South Atlantic air link in World War II, Professor, Department of Geography, University of South Carolina, Geo Journal, Issue Volume 33, Number 4 / August, 1994 pp. 459–463 ISSN 0343-2521
- ^ Volume VII, Services Around the World. The Army Air Forces in World War II
- ^ a b Chapter 4, The North Atlantic Route. The Army Air Forces in World War II
- ^ The Army Almanac, Armed Forces Information School (U.S), Washington. D.C.: U.S. G.P.O., 1950
- ISBN 0-415-70176-7
- ^ Army Air forces in World War II: The Air Transport Command, VII Services Around the World
Bibliography
- Maurer, Maurer (1983). Air Force Combat Units Of World War II. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0-89201-092-4.
- Stanley M. Ulanoff, MATS: The Story of the Military Air Transport Service, 1964, The Moffa Press, Inc.
- Office of Air Force History, The United States Army Air Forces in World War II, edited by Craven and Cate
- James Lee, Operation Lifeline – History and Development of the Naval Air Transport Service, 1947, Ziff-Davis Publishing Company
- Army Air Forces Statistical Digest, World War II. Office of Statistical Control, Headquarters AAF. Washington, D.C. December 1945