![Wtaf-routes-1964](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3f/Wtaf-routes-1964.jpg)
The 1501st Air Transport Wing is an inactive
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...
unit, being inactivated on 8 January 1966.
The 1501st Air Transport Wing was a heavy cargo transport wing of the
Military Air Transport Service
The Military Air Transport Service (MATS) is an inactive Department of Defense Unified Command. Activated on 1 June 1948, MATS was a consolidation of the United States Navy's Naval Air Transport Service (NATS) and the United States Air Force's ...
(MATS), formed on 1 June 1948. The unit was originally designated as the 530th Air Transport Wing and assigned to the MATS Pacific Division. The wing was stationed at
Travis Air Force Base
Travis Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base under the operational control of the Air Mobility Command (AMC), located three miles (5 km) east of the central business district of the city of Fairfield, in Solano County, Californi ...
, California.
The 1501st was discontinued on 8 January 1966 as part of the replacement of MATS by
Military Airlift Command
The Military Airlift Command (MAC) is an inactive United States Air Force major command (MAJCOM) that was headquartered at Scott Air Force Base, Illinois. Established on 1 January 1966, MAC was the primary strategic airlift organization of the ...
. Its aircraft, personnel and equipment were transferred to the Military Airlift Command
60th Military Airlift Wing
6 (six) is the natural number following 5 and preceding 7. It is a composite number and the smallest perfect number.
In mathematics
Six is the smallest positive integer which is neither a square number nor a prime number; it is the second smalles ...
, which was activated at Travis the same day.
History
![Douglas C-54 Skymaster USAF](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/50/Douglas_C-54_Skymaster_USAF.JPG)
Established on 1 June 1948 concurrent with the activation of the
Military Air Transport Service
The Military Air Transport Service (MATS) is an inactive Department of Defense Unified Command. Activated on 1 June 1948, MATS was a consolidation of the United States Navy's Naval Air Transport Service (NATS) and the United States Air Force's ...
; assumed responsibility for mission previously carried out by the Air Transport Command by transporting cargo and personnel to destinations within Far East Air Force and to the Continental United States.
Also operated MATS West Coast's aerial embarkation and debarkation point.
C-118 Liftmaster
The Douglas DC-6 is a piston-powered airliner and cargo aircraft built by the Douglas Aircraft Company from 1946 to 1958. Originally intended as a military transport near the end of World War II, it was reworked after the war to compete with ...
s and
C-121 Constellation
The Lockheed C-121 Constellation is a military transport version of the Lockheed Constellation. A total of 332 aircraft were constructed for both the United States Air Force and United States Navy for various purposes. Numerous airborne early wa ...
s were common sights in the 1950s, while
C-135 Stratolifter
The Boeing C-135 Stratolifter is a transport aircraft derived from the prototype Boeing 367-80 jet airliner (also the basis for the 707) in the early 1950s. It has a narrower fuselage and is shorter than the 707. Boeing gave the aircraft the ...
s and
C-141 Starlifter
The Lockheed C-141 Starlifter is a retired military strategic airlifter that served with the Military Air Transport Service (MATS), its successor organization the Military Airlift Command (MAC), and finally the Air Mobility Command (AMC) of the ...
s were used in the 1960 for passenger transport, mostly to destinations in
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, south-eastern region of Asia, consistin ...
or Japan. Many soldiers, sailors, airmen or marines returned to the United States from the
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...
via the Travis Aerial Port.
![C-97 stratofreighter 041116-F-9999R-002](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/eb/C-97_stratofreighter_041116-F-9999R-002.jpg)
The 530th Air Transport Group was organized from a consolidation of the
Air Transport Command
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 ...
(ATC) Eastern Pacific Wing and Naval Air Transport Squadrons. Its first commander was Brigadier General Harold Q. Huglin. It was initially equipped with four squadrons of C-54 Skymasters that could reach the Continental US, but required intermediate stopovers along the Pacific Transport Routes to stations as far as Pakistan. However, the demands of the Berlin Airlift for C-54s led to two of the group's squadrons being deployed to Germany in July 1948. Unit was redesignated as 1501st Air Transport Wing in October 1948 and assigned transport squadrons were also redesignated in a MATS reorganization.
In May 1949, Fairfield-Suisun was realigned from MATS to
Strategic Air Command
Strategic Air Command (SAC) was both a United States Department of Defense Specified Command and a United States Air Force (USAF) Major Command responsible for command and control of the strategic bomber and intercontinental ballistic missile ...
jurisdiction, and all of the Wing's squadrons were reassigned to the 1500 ATW at
Hickam AFB
Hickam Air Force Base is a United States Air Force installation, named in honor of aviation pioneer Lieutenant Colonel Horace Meek Hickam. The installation merged in 2010 with Naval Station Pearl Harbor to become part of the newly formed Joint ...
on 30 June. Wing was reduced to a group level and operated an Aeromedical Transport Squadron.
In 1953, large-scale MATS operations were resumed when five
C-97 Stratofreighter
The Boeing C-97 Stratofreighter was a long-range heavy military cargo aircraft developed from the B-29 and B-50 bombers. Design work began in 1942, the first of three prototype XC-97s flew on 9 November 1944 (none saw combat), and the first of s ...
squadrons were activated. Returned to wing status in 1955. C-97 squadrons reduced to four in 1955 due to finding reductions. 75th & 85th ATS replaced C-97s with
C-124 Globemaster IIs in 1957. 84th ATS re-equipped with
C-133 Cargomasters in 1957. 47th ATS reassigned from Hickam in 1957 with C-97s.
![C-124C Globemaster II](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/21/C-124C_Globemaster_II.jpg)
22d Air Force arrived from Kelly AFB, TX, 25 June 1958 and the base's primary mission reverted to global airlift activities when MATS resumed jurisdiction. 1501 ATW was also reassigned to the
Western Transport Air Force
Western may refer to:
Places
*Western, Nebraska, a village in the US
*Western, New York, a town in the US
* Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western world, countries that i ...
on 1 July 1958. Both 47th and 55th ATS inactivated in 1960, C-97s reassigned to reserves.
44th ATS activated in 1961 with jet
C-135 Stratolifter
The Boeing C-135 Stratolifter is a transport aircraft derived from the prototype Boeing 367-80 jet airliner (also the basis for the 707) in the early 1950s. It has a narrower fuselage and is shorter than the 707. Boeing gave the aircraft the ...
s. 86th ATW activated in 1963 with extended-range MATS
C-130E Hercules. The 1501st ATW was inactivated on 8 January 1966 as part of the inactivation of MATS, its aircraft, personnel and equipment being assigned to the
Military Airlift Command
The Military Airlift Command (MAC) is an inactive United States Air Force major command (MAJCOM) that was headquartered at Scott Air Force Base, Illinois. Established on 1 January 1966, MAC was the primary strategic airlift organization of the ...
60th Military Airlift Wing
6 (six) is the natural number following 5 and preceding 7. It is a composite number and the smallest perfect number.
In mathematics
Six is the smallest positive integer which is neither a square number nor a prime number; it is the second smalles ...
.
Major airlifts
* In 1956, MATS airlifted iron lungs and other medical equipment to
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...
,
Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
, during a polio epidemic.
* In 1960, shen the Ceara and Tiauim areas of
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
were devastated by floods, MATS C-124's airlifted emergency equipment, medical supplies, and two helicopters to the scene. Also flew 77 mercy missions to
Chile
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...
when earthquakes literally remade parts of that country. Homeless millions were aided by 877 tons of clothing, food, helicopters, and medical supplies, including two complete Army field hospitals. The longest airlift MATS had flown to that time, average flying time one way was 25 hours to cover 4,500 miles.
* From 1957–1963, MATS C-124 Globemasters conducted six years of seasonal flying as members of the Air Force-Navy team resupplying scientific stations in the Antarctic. During that time the aircraft air-dropped about 4,000 tons of supplies from the main Antarctic base at McMurdo Sound to remote stations near and at the South Pole. Beginning in 1963, Lockheed C-130E Hercules, newer, faster, and longer range, picked up the MATS portion of the mission. The performance of the C-124's 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.
* In 1959, a MATS C-133 Cargomaster airlifted, for the first time, an Atlas intercontinental ballistic missile – from Miramar Naval Air Station, San Diego, to ARDC's Ballistic Missile Division at Francis E. Warren Air Force Base, Wyoming.
* In 1960, MATS almost doubled its aircraft flying rate during March in a test of its ability to surge to a wartime pace. As part of this exercise, it joined with the Army in the largest peacetime airlift exercise in military history (Big Slam Puerto Pine), airlifting 21,095 troops and 10,925 tons of their combat equipment from the U.S. to Puerto Rico and back.
Lineage
* Designated as the 530th Air Transport Wing on 14 May 1948
: Organized on 1 June 1948
: Redesignated 1501st Air Transport Wing on 1 October 1948
: Redesignated 1704th Air Transport Wing on 1 January 1950
: Redesignated 1501st Air Transport Wing, Heavy on 1 July 1952
: Discontinued on 8 January 1966
Assignments
* Pacific Division, MATS, 1 June 1948
*
Continental Division, MATS, 1 January 1950
* Pacific Division, MATS, 1 July 1952
*
Western Transport Air Force
Western may refer to:
Places
*Western, Nebraska, a village in the US
*Western, New York, a town in the US
* Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western world, countries that i ...
, 1 Jul 1958 – 8 Jan 1966
Components
; Operational Group
* 530th Air Transport Group (later 1501st Air Transport Group, 1704th Air Transport Group, 1501st Air Transport Group), 1 June 1948 – 18 January 1963
; Operational Squadrons
*
44th Air Transport Squadron, 18 January 1963 – 8 January 1966
*
75th Air Transport Squadron, 18 January 1963 – 8 January 1966
*
84th Air Transport Squadron, 18 January 1963 – 8 January 1966
*
85th Air Transport Squadron, 18 January 1963 – 8 January 1966
*
86th Air Transport Squadron, 18 January 1963 – 8 January 1966
Stations
*
Fairfield-Suisun Air Force Base
Travis Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base under the operational control of the Air Mobility Command (AMC), located three miles (5 km) east of the central business district of the city of Fairfield, in Solano County, Californ ...
(later Travis Air Force Base), California, 1 June 1948 – 8 January 1966
Aircraft
*
C-54 Skymaster
The Douglas C-54 Skymaster is a four-engined transport aircraft used by the United States Army Air Forces in World War II and the Korean War. Like the Douglas C-47 Skytrain derived from the DC-3, the C-54 Skymaster was derived from a civilian a ...
*
C-97 Stratofreighter
The Boeing C-97 Stratofreighter was a long-range heavy military cargo aircraft developed from the B-29 and B-50 bombers. Design work began in 1942, the first of three prototype XC-97s flew on 9 November 1944 (none saw combat), and the first of s ...
*
C-124 Globemaster II
*
C-133 Cargomaster
*
C-135 Stratolifter
The Boeing C-135 Stratolifter is a transport aircraft derived from the prototype Boeing 367-80 jet airliner (also the basis for the 707) in the early 1950s. It has a narrower fuselage and is shorter than the 707. Boeing gave the aircraft the ...
*
C-130E Hercules
*
Convair C-131 Samaritan
The Convair C-131 Samaritan is an American twin-engined military transport produced from 1954 to 1956 by Convair. It is the military version of the Convair CV-240 family of airliners.Gradidge 1997, p. 20–21.
Design and development
The design ...
References
*
*
* {{cite book, last=Ulanoff, first=Stanley M., title=MATS: The Story of the Military Air Transport Service, year=1964, publisher=Franklin Watts, Inc., location=New York, NY, isbn=978-1-19908-768-3
External links
Air Force History Index.org, Individual squadron lookups in AFHRA archives
Four Digit Wings of the United States Air Force
Military units and formations established in 1948
Military units and formations disestablished in 1966
1948 establishments in the United States
Air transport wings of the United States Air Force