Military Air Transport Service

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Military Air Transport Service
RC-130 Hercules


The Military Air Transport Service (MATS) is an inactive

Air Transport Command (ATC) into a single joint command. It was inactivated and discontinued on 8 January 1966, superseded by the Air Force's Military Airlift Command
(MAC) as a separate strategic airlift command, and it returned shore-based Navy cargo aircraft to Navy control as operational support airlift (OSA) aircraft.

In 1966, the World War II Air Transport Command (ATC) (1942–1948) and the Military Air Transport Service were consolidated with Military Airlift Command (MAC) (1966–1992).

Overview

The Military Air Transport Service (MATS) was activated under United States Air Force

Major General Laurence S. Kuter
, in order to harness interservice efforts more efficiently. It was an amalgamation of Navy and Army air transport commands, jointly placed by the Department of Defense under the control of the newly created United States Air Force (USAF) as a unified (joint) command.

During the Second World War, the Army Air Force's aerial transportat arm was the

Air Transport Command, which had a dual function of ferrying new aircraft from factories to combat theaters and transportation of troops and supplies, also organized by Tunner. The Naval Air Transport Service
focused on supporting deployed Naval and Marine personnel transporting vital cargo, specialist personnel and mail to the Fleet and ground forces, especially in advanced areas of operation.

MATS was the first Joint-Service command, and naval aircrews participated in every major MATS airlift operation. MATS would organizationally be under the Department of the Air Force, as the vast majority of its equipment and personnel of ATC had been inherited by the Air Force with the inactivation of the USAAF.

During the

Rear Admiral
commanded the MATS Pacific Division and another rear admiral served as MATS vice-commander. During the 1958 reorganization, senior Naval officers were on the staffs of the commanders of both EASTAF and WESTAF, and at MATS Headquarters.

In 1965 conflicting views of the Air Force and Navy triggered by the demands of the Vietnam War led to the services returning to separate airlift commands. In turn, MATS was disbanded and superseded in the Air Force by the Military Airlift Command, during a 1966 restructuring.

History

Origins

With the end of World War II, 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.

When the United States Air Force was established as a separate service in 1947, the Air Transport Command was not established as one of its major commands. The ATC commander and his staff took it upon themselves to convince the new civilian leadership of the newly created Department of Defense (DOD) (and Secretaries of the Army and Air Force) that ATC had a mission. They seized upon testimony by former

Paul L. Williams
that the Air Force should have a long-range troop deployment capability, and began advocating that ATC transports could be used to deploy troops. Williams had been pressing for the development of a long-range troop carrier airplane when he made his statement.

A U.S. Navy Douglas R6D-1 Liftmaster, BuNo 128425, operating for the Military Air Transport Service in the 1950s.

The DOD believed it should have its own air transport service and decided that ATC should become the Military Air Transport Service (MATS), supported by the Air Force, even though not listed as a formal military mission. Also, as a cost-saving measure, MATS would combine the resources of Air Transport Command with those of the Naval Air Transport Service. This way the command would be sanctioned by the Department of Defense, and not by either the Air Force or the Navy.

Although MATS was under the operational control of the United States Air Force, the United States Navy was a full partner in the command and operational components of the organization. Major naval components of MATS were naval air transport (VR) squadrons. VR-3

Tachikawa Air Base
, Japan.

Naval aviators flew scheduled MATS routes to Newfoundland, Iceland, Scotland, West Germany, Italy, Puerto Rico and Africa. In the Pacific, MATS naval aviators flew to all MATS stations from Hawaii to Japan to South Vietnam, Bangkok, India and to Saudi Arabia.

Air Force pilots flew Navy MATS planes, just as naval aviators could be found piloting Air Force MATS transport aircraft.

Organization

Routes of the Eastern Transport Air Force, 1964
Route map of the Western Transport Air Force, 1964
MATS Lockheed C-141A-10-LM Starlifter, AF Ser. No. 63-8090, in 1965 just after delivery to the 1501st Air Transport Wing at Travis AFB. Retired on 7 August 1996, Scrapped 29 July 2003.
Douglas C-133B-DL Cargomaster, AF Ser. No. 59-0529, of the 1501st Air Transport Wing over San Francisco Bay in 1960. This aircraft was retired in 1971 and was on display at New England Air Museum, Bradley, Connecticut (USA), but was destroyed by a tornado on 3 October 1979. Nose and other pieces now at the AMC Museum at Dover AFB, Delaware.
Douglas C-124C Globemaster II, AF Ser. No. 52-1036
C-97
in MATS markings
Douglas C-54E-10-DO Skymaster, AF Ser. No. 44-9093. Converted to MC-54M in 1951. To civil registry as N4989K. Last known still in service by Contract Air Cargo, Fort Lauderdale, Florida flying in Africa.
MATS United States Navy R5D-3 Skymaster transports from VR-8 evacuating wounded from South Korea, 1952
Formosa
, 1958

During World War II, the USAAF

Air Transport Command
provided worldwide transport service to every continent on the globe. Inheriting that legacy, MATS continued that service and organized it into three major transport divisions;

When MATS was established, it also took responsibility for several other missions:

The Special Air Mission was the transport of the

Heads of State
.

  • Air Rescue Service
    (ARS)

Provided rescue of downed military service members in enemy occupied areas; humanitarian relief to civilians in emergency conditions (floods, hurricanes, earthquakes)

  • Air Weather Service
    (AWS)

Weather forecasting for military airfields; hurricane hunters.

Mapping the world providing accurate aerial charts to military aviators wherever they need to be. Also producing all Air Force training films; public relations films; monthly newsreels, and coordinating with private filmmakers with regards to use of Air Force equipment and facilities.

Evacuation of wounded military personnel from combat zones; transport of critically ill military personnel (and dependents) to military medical facilities for treatment.

Performed unconventional warfare missions during the Korean War and early years of the Cold War (1950–1956).

Major operations

Berlin Airlift (1948–1949)

MATS was established on 1 June 1948, less than a month before the commencement of the

Berlin Airlift -- "OPERATION VITTLES" where at peak operations, planes were landing and departing every ninety seconds or so shuttling in thousands of tons of supplies, food, and fuel each day - but they were not MATS airplanes. The Soviet Union had blocked all surface transportation in the western part of Berlin. Railroads tracks were destroyed, barges were stopped on the rivers, and highways and roads blocked. The only avenue left was through the air. On 26 June 1948, the airlift began. Troop carrier transports from around the globe began making their way to Germany, where they were assigned to United States Air Forces, Europe. Squadrons transferred from as far away as Hawaii and Japan, and included two of the U.S. Navy's air transport squadrons assigned to MATS. MATS itself was not "in charge" of the airlift, although several MATS staff officers were sent to Germany to serve in the Airlift Task Force in an administrative role. Lt. General William H. Tunner
was placed in overall command of airlift operations, reporting to the commander of United States Air Forces, Europe. The airlift itself was a USAFE operation and all airplanes assigned to it were assigned to one of five troop carrier groups that were sent to Europe to operate the airlift. MATS played a supporting role, including ferrying C-54s to and from the airlift bases and maintenance depots in the United States and the MATS C-54 training school trained pilots for temporary duty in the airlift. MATS transports delivered crucial aircraft parts to the airlift bases in Europe. This operation would continue for some 15 months until the Soviets lifted the blockade. MATS would provide numerous humanitarian airlifts of global proportions. The U.S. Navy was an integral part of MATS, providing five transport squadrons to the joint service effort, but they operated under USAFE while they were part of the airlift.

Korean War (1950–1953)

The organization's next major test was the bootstrap supply operations supporting the United Nations troops under General Douglas MacArthur in the country of South Korea which was nearly overrun by the time UN forces were mobilized. The MATS role was purely logistical, and operated from the United States to Japan. Theater transport forces assigned to the Far East Air Forces Combat Cargo Command, which became the 315th Air Division, operated supply routes into Japan and provided troop carrier services for UN forces.

Suez, Lebanon and Taiwan Straits Crisis (1956–1958)

During the 1956

F-104 Starfighters to Taiwan
.

Operation Deep Freeze (1957–1963)

In December 1962, MATS Douglas

C-130E Hercules, newer, faster, and longer range, picked up the MATS portion of the mission. The performance of the C-124s in the Antarctic cold strengthened the concept of airlift flexibility by doing in a few weeks (each year) a job that would have taken surface transportation several months. During Deep Freeze III, a C-124 air-dropped a seven-ton tractor to an isolated site, and during Deep Freeze 62 (October–December 1961), three C-124's made the longest flight in Antarctic history, a 3,100-mile round trip to airdrop supplies. Also during Deep Freeze 62, Lt. Gen. Joe W. Kelly became the first MATS commander to visit the operation. MATS vice commander, Maj. Gen. Raymond J. Reeves
, visited Deep Freeze 63.

Congo Airlift (1960–1963)

MATS

322d Air Division, 16 July 1960, and at the peak had 60 aircraft committed. By the end of 1962, about 49,000 troops and 11,000 tons of cargo had been airlifted to and from points as far away as New Delhi
, India.

Berlin Crisis (1961)

As a result of the construction of the Berlin Wall and the ending of free crossing to and from their occupation zone of Berlin, more than 100 MATS =aircraft from EASTAF and WESTAF participated in deployments of American forces from the United States to West Germany and France.

When the Reserve Forces were called to active duty in October 1961, MATS airlift force and technical units provided support for their movement to Europe. Operation Stair Step was the name given to the deployment of Air National Guard fighter units overseas to NATO bases in France, and Operation High Top was the redeployment, June–August 1962. In High Top, for example, more than 260 missions were flown by MATS aircraft of all types, including the C-97's which themselves had been called to active duty. These aircraft returned more than 9,600 ANG personnel and 1,400 tons of equipment.

On addition, the 101st Airborne Division was airlifted from Fort Campbell, Kentucky to locations in Turkey. Approximately 2,000 personnel and 900 tons of equipment were airlifted (Exercise Checkmate II). During the exercise, about 300 MATS airmen and officers lived in tents for about three weeks handling maintenance and communications. Lt. Gen. Joe W. Kelly, MATS commander, was on hand to greet the first arriving aircraft, Despite "miserable" weather, no accidents or incidents occurred.

Throughout 1962, tensions were high in Europe and in January, Exercise Long Thrust II was commenced in which MATS new four-engined jets, the Boeing

C-135 Stratolifter, made their first appearance in a major airlift when 12 of them airlifted nearly 500 Army troops over the north polar route from Fort Lewis, Washington, to central West Germany. They made the nonstop trip in little more than 10 hours compared to the piston-engined aircraft which averaged between 30 and 35 hours along normal routes. Altogether, more than 200 MATS aircraft moved 5,300 troops of three battle groups of the Army's 4th Infantry Division
in the deployment phase. The jets brought one battle group back. In West Germany, the troops participated in ground maneuvers with NATO forces.

Cuban Missile Crisis (1962)

In the midst of one of the heaviest airlift schedules it has ever had (more than 17 airlifts under way or developing during October and November), MATS was called on to support the buildup of forces in the southeastern part of the United States. On 16 October, MATS began working at its wartime activity rate. Between 16 October and the end of the month, MATS airlifted thousands of troops and thousands of tons in hundreds of sorties from bases throughout the country into

C-135 Stratolifter
jet while it was engaged in an ammunition airlift to Guantánamo Bay. All three of the technical services stepped up activities to provide close weather, rescue, and documentation support to the buildup.

During the airlift operation, MATS was called on to react to a call for arms to India in early November to stem the

C-135 Stratolifter
jets.

Operation "Big Lift" (1963)

In the first time that a full

C-124 Globemasters three times as long, with refueling stops in Bermuda and the Azores to carry 80 troops and cargo. Following the NATO
ground manoeuvers in Europe, the troops were lifted back to the United States on 21 November 1963

Vietnam War

Beginning in 1948, MATS flew airlift missions into

. From start to finish, the mission took about a month to complete.

Throughout the 1950s and early 1960s military aid was shipped to the

Mekong River, or clandestinely to the Laotian Government, who were fighting communist rebels in Laos
.

As the United States built up its forces in Southeast Asia in the early 1960s, the number of MATS flights to the area increased. MATS C-124s and

in 1965.

During Vietnam, MATS was jokingly said to be an acronym for "Maybe Again, Tomorrow, Sometime."[3]

Military Airlift Command

On 1 January 1966, as a result of the Navy announcing the withdrawal of its components, MATS was redesignated Military Airlift Command.

The R5D Skymasters of Naval Transport Squadron Seven Alpha (VR-7A) were retired in July 1966 and the unit inactivated. VR-7, flying C-121/RV-7 Super Constellations remained attached to MAC until 31 January 1967, and the Naval Air Transport Wing (Pacific) was inactivated on 23 March 1967. VR-8 and VR-22 at NAS Moffett Field withdrew its C-130s from MAC on 20 April. The last naval squadron, VR-3, flying C-130s from McGuire AFB, was inactivated on 30 June and the formal DOD program action directive relieving the Navy from MAC responsibilities became effective 1 July 1967.

Most passenger transport missions except the Special Air Mission were contracted out by MAC to commercial airlines such as

Pan American, TWA, United, Continental, Northwest and charter companies such as Flying Tiger, using the Civil Reserve Air Fleet (CRAF). This provided commercial airline pilots and aircrews valuable training, and during the years of the Vietnam War, seeing Boeing 707 and Douglas DC-8
commercial airliners at MAC aerial ports in Southeast Asia was a common sight.

On 1 December 1974, MAC expanded its mission by acquiring the theater troop carrying and tactical airlift mission (i.e.,

C-7 Caribou) previously performed by the combat commands (TAC, PACAF, USAFE). In 1987, MAC was designated as the Air Force component of the United States Transportation Command
(USTRANSCOM), a unified joint-service command.

In June 1992, MAC was reorganized and redesignated as the

KC-10 Extender), acquired from the inactivating Strategic Air Command
. AMC then succeeded MAC as the USAF component of USTRANSCOM.

Lineage

  • Established and activated as Military Air Transport Service on 1 June 1948
Mission and operational control of Air Transport Command, established on 29 May 1941, consolidated into organization same date.
Air Transport command discontinued and inactivated same date.
Mission and operational control of Naval Air Transport Service, established on 12 December 1941, consolidated into organization same date.
Naval Air Transport Service disestablished, 1 July 1948
Redesignated Military Airlift Command on 1 January 1966
Navy components assigned to: United States Navy.

Components

Headquarters

  • Headquarters, MATS
Andrews AFB
, Maryland, 1 June 1948
Scott AFB
, Illinois, 15 January 1958 – 1 January 1966
Headquartered:
Kelly AFB
, Texas
Redesignated:
Western Transport Air Force
, (WESTAF) 1 July 1958 – 1 January 1966
Headquarters moved to:
Travis AFB
, California
  • Atlantic Division
    , 1 June 1948
Headquartered:
Westover AFB
, Massachusetts
Redesignated:
Eastern Transport Air Force
, (EASTAF) 1 July 1958 – 1 January 1966
Headquarters moved to:
McGuire AFB
, New Jersey
  • Pacific Division, 1 June 1948 – 30 June 1958
Headquarters:
Hickam AFB
, Territory of Hawaii
Inactivated, units reassigned to WESTAF

Services

  • Air Rescue Service
    (ARS)
Redesignated: Aerospace Rescue Recovery Service (ARRS)

Air Transport Units

  • Bolling AFB
    , District of Columbia, 1 June 1948
Redesignated:
Andrews AFB
, Maryland, 10 July 1961 – 8 January 1966
Personnel and equipment reassigned to:
89th Military Airlift Wing
, Military Airlift Command, 8 January 1966
  • 1405th Aeromedical Transport Wing,
    Scott AFB
    , Illinois, 26 August 1948
Redesignated: 375th Aeromedical Airlift Wing, 31 December 1965
Transferred to Military Airlift Command, 8 January 1966
  • Fairfield-Suisun (Later Travis) AFB
    , California, 1 June 1948 – 8 January 1966
Personnel and equipment reassigned to:
60th Military Airlift Wing
, Military Airlift Command, 8 January 1966
  • Hickam AFB
    , Hawaii, 1 June 1948
Redesignated: 1502d Air Transport Wing, 1 July 1955 – 8 January 1966
Personnel and equipment reassigned to:
61st Military Airlift Wing
, Military Airlift Command, 8 January 1966
  • Tachikawa AB
    , Japan, 1 June 1948
Redesignated:
1503d Air Transport Group
, 22 June 1964 – 8 January 1966
  • Westover AFB
    , Massachusetts, 1 June 1948 – 1 April 1955
  • Wiesbaden AB
    , Germany (later West Germany), 1 June 1948 – 1 July 1952
Transferred to
Kindley AFB
, Bermuda, Bermuda Base Command
  • Wheelus AB
    , Libya, 1 June 1948 – 1 January 1953
Reassigned to
United States Air Forces in Europe
  • 1605th Air Transport Wing,
    Lajes AB
    , Azores, 1 June 1948 – 8 January 1966
  • Dover AFB
    , Delaware, 1 January 1954
Redesignated: 1607th Air Transport Wing, 1 February 1954 – 8 January 1966
Personnel and equipment reassigned to:
436th Military Airlift Wing
, Military Airlift Command, 8 January 1966
  • Charleston AFB
    , South Carolina, 15 January 1954
Redesignated: 1608th Air Transport Wing, 1 March 1955 – 8 January 1966
Personnel and equipment reassigned to:
437th Military Airlift Wing
, Military Airlift Command, 8 January 1966
  • McGuire AFB
    , New Jersey, 1 May 1954 – 8 January 1966
Personnel and equipment reassigned to:
438th Military Airlift Wing
, Military Airlift Command, 8 January 1966
  • Kelly AFB
    , Texas, 1 June 1948 – 1 May 1957
  • Great Falls AFB
    , Montana, 1 June 1948 – 1 May 1953
Reassigned to:
Brookley AFB
, Alabama, 1 May 1953 – 18 June 1957
  • Brookley AFB
    , Alabama, 1 October 1948 – 18 June 1957
  • McChord AFB
    , Washington, 1 August 1950
Reassigned to: North Pacific Air Transport Wing, (Provisional), 1 October 1951 – 1 January 1952
Reassigned to: 1705th Air Transport Group, 1 January 1952 – 18 June 1960
Personnel and equipment reassigned to:
62d Troop Carrier Wing
, 18 June 1960
Redesignated: 62d Air Transport Wing, 1 January 1965
Redesignated: 62d Military Airlift Wing, Military Airlift Command, 8 January 1966
  • Palm Beach AFB
    , Florida, 1 September 1951
Reassigned to:
Tinker AFB
, Oklahoma, 1 July 1959 – 8 January 1966
Personnel and equipment reassigned to:
443d Military Airlift Wing
, Military Airlift Command, 8 January 1966

Note: 4-digit Military Air Transport Service units at all levels were considered Major Command (MAJCOM) provisional units by the USAF due to MATS being a Department of Defense Unified Command. Under the USAF lineage system they did not a permanent lineage or history and were discontinued upon inactivation.

Troop Carrier Units

On 1 July 1957 a reorganization of USAF troop carrier forces included the transfer of

C-124 Globemaster II
units to MATS. However, the units retained their troop carrier designation and remained dedicated to support TAC on worldwide troop deployments.

  • Larson AFB
    , Washington, 1 July 1957 – 18 June 1960
  • McChord AFB
    , Washington, 18 June 1960
Redesignated: 62d Air Transport Wing, Heavy, on 1 January 1965
Redesignated:
62d Military Airlift Wing
, Military Airlift Command, 8 January 1966
  • Donaldson AFB
    , South Carolina, 1 July 1957 – 8 October 1959
  • Donaldson AFB
    , South Carolina, 1 July 1957 – 18 January 1963
  • Hunter AFB
    , Georgia, 18 January 1963 – 8 January 1966
Redesignated:
63d Military Airlift Wing
, Military Airlift Command, 8 January 1966

Station facilities

Upon its establishment, Military Air Transport Service inherited much of Air Transport Command's worldwide network of stations and transport routes. By the time of its disestablishment, MATS had closed its facilities at many of these stations; however, some are still in use today by Air Mobility Command in support of United States interests around the world.

MATS Domestic routes, 1948
1948 MATS Route Timetable within the Americas
MATS International routes, 1948
1948 MATS Overseas Route Timetable
  • United States
Biggs AFB
, Texas
Griffiss AFB
, New York
Hill AFB
, Utah
Langley AFB
, Virginia
March AFB
, California
McClellan AFB
, California
Mitchel AFB
, New York
Muroc (Edwards) AFB
, California
NAS Alameda
, California
NAS Corpus Christi
, Texas
NAS Norfolk
, Virginia
NAS Oakland
, California
NAS Jacksonville
, Florida
NAS Patuxent River
, Maryland
NAS San Diego
, California
National Airport
, Washington, D.C.
NOTS China Lake
, California
Olmsted AFB
, Pennsylvania
Robins AFB
, Georgia
NAS Saufley Field, Florida
Tinker AFB
, Oklahoma
Wright-Patterson AFB
, Ohio

Major aircraft assigned

Accidents and incidents

References

Public Domain This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency

  1. ^ "VR-3". Navy MATS VRs.
  2. ^ "VR-6". Navy MATS VRs. Retrieved 2 December 2016.
  3. ^ Broughton, Jack, Thud Ridge. New York: Bantam Books, 1969.
  4. ^ Aviation Safety Network Aircraft Accident Douglas R6D-1 (DC-6) 131612 Honolulu, HI
  5. ^ Associated Press, "66 Killed as Navy Plane Hits Hawaiian Peak," St. Louis Post-Dispatch, story dated 22 March 1955, quoted in full at lifegrid.com Charles J. Coombs, Jr. Archived 30 December 2013 at the Wayback Machine
  6. ^ "Chronology of Significant Events in Naval Aviation: "Naval Air Transport" 1941 -- 1999". Archived from the original on 31 March 2016. Retrieved 4 January 2013.
  7. , p. 206.
  8. ^ Aviation Safety Network Aircraft Accident Douglas R6D-1 (DC-6) 131588 Land’s End, UK
  9. ^ "Chronology of Significant Events in Naval Aviation: "Naval Air Transport" 1941 -- 1999". Archived from the original on 31 March 2016. Retrieved 4 January 2013.
  10. , p. 214, states that the accident date was 11 October 1956.
  • 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
  • Nicholas M. Williams, Aircraft of the Military Air Transport Service, 1948–1966,1999, Midland.'

External links