South Pacific Combat Air Transport Command
| South Pacific Combat Air Transport Command | |
|---|---|
| Active | November 1942 – July 1944 |
| Country | |
South Pacific Combat Air Transport Command (SCAT) was a joint command of U.S. military logistics units in the Pacific Ocean theater of World War II. It contributed notably to the success of U.S. forces in the campaigns on Guadalcanal (1942–1943), New Georgia (1943), and Bougainville (1943–1945), as well as the Allied air campaign against Rabaul.[1]
History
The organization of SCAT was a response to developments on
SCAT provided rapid transport of personnel and cargo, including munitions, food, replacement parts, and medical supplies, to and from forward areas. On rearward flights SCAT frequently provided aeromedical evacuation of wounded or sick personnel. Aircraft typically included a flight nurse, corpsman, or flight surgeon as part of the crew. SCAT was dissolved as its Army Air Forces troop carrier units departed in July 1944, although the Marines adopted the organizational title Solomons Combat Air Transport Command and continued to utilize the "SCAT" acronym.[4]
MAG-25, including the attached 13th Troop Carrier Squadron, was awarded the Distinguished Unit Citation as part of the 1st Marine Division (Reinforced) for the Guadalcanal campaign. SCAT received a Navy Unit Commendation for its operations in the South Pacific from December 1942 to July 1944.[5]
The nickname "Flying Boxcars" was widely used for the Douglas R4D aircraft flown by Marine Corps units in SCAT, predating its attachment to the post-war Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcar (R4Q) aircraft.
Personnel
Notable persons who had been associated with SCAT include:
- Richard Nixon, 37th President of the United States, who served as officer-in-charge of SCAT forward detachments at Bougainville and Green Island while assigned to Headquarters Squadron-25.[6]
- David Douglas Duncan, photographer, who covered SCAT while assigned to VMD-154.[7]
- William K. Lanman, executive officer of VMJ-153 and then MAG-25, who became a millionaire benefactor of Yale University.
See also
- List of inactive United States Marine Corps aircraft squadrons
- United States Marine Corps Aviation
Notes
- ISBN 0-933852-58-4
- ^ Marine Air Group 25, accessed at "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 16 June 2008. Retrieved 25 May 2008.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) 2 August 2006 - ISBN 0615396755.
- ISBN 1467127434.
- ISBN 1467127434.
- ISBN 1467127434.
- ^ David Douglas Duncan Archive, Harry Ransom Center, The University of Texas at Austin, accessed at [1] 2 August 2006: includes a photo of Duncan taken by Richard Nixon
References
- Armstrong, William. (2017). Marine Air Group 25 and SCAT (Images of Aviation). Arcadia. ISBN 1467127434.
- Page, Evelyn, ed. (1989). The Story of Air Evacuation, 1942-1989. Taylor Publishing Company.
- Sherrod, Robert. (1952). History of Marine Corps Aviation in World War II. Combat Forces Press. ISBN 0-933852-58-4.
- Washburne, Seth. (2011). The Thirsty 13th: The U.S. Army Air Forces 13th Troop Carrier Squadron, 1940 - 1945. Thirsty 13th LLC. ISBN 0615396755.
Further reading
- Capt. Robert Joseph Allen and 1st Lt. Otis Carney, The Story of SCAT: Part I and The Story of SCAT: Part II, in Air Transport magazine, December 1944 and January 1945, accessed at The DC3 Aviation Museum [2] and [3] 2 August 2006
- Capt. John M. Rentz, Marines in the Central Solomons (Ch.6, The Role of Aviation: pp. 141–145), USMC Monograph accessed at [4] 2 August 2006
- Maj. Gen. Norman J. Anderson and Col. William K. Snyder, SCAT, Marine Corps Gazette, September 1992 accessed at [5] 2 August 2006