1501st Air Transport Wing
Encyclopedia
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
unit, being inactivated on 8 January 1966.
The 1501st ATW was a heavy cargo transport wing of the Military Air Transport Service
Military Air Transport Service
The Military Air Transport Service is an inactive Department of Defense Unified Command. Activated on 1 June 1948, MATS was a consolidation of the United States Navy Naval Air Transport Service and the United States Air Force Air Transport Command into a single, joint, unified command...
(MATS), formed on 1 June 1948. The unit was originally designated as the 530th Air Transport Wing and assigned to the MATS Pacific Division, being stationed at Fairfield/Susun Air Force Base, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
.
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
Military Airlift Command
The Military Airlift Command is an inactive United States Air Force Major Command of the USAF which was headquartered at Scott Air Force Base, Illinois. It was constituted on 1 January 1966 and active until the end of the Cold War, when the Air Force table of organization was revised...
60th Military Airlift Wing.
History
Established on 1 June 1948 concurrent with the activation of the Military Air Transport ServiceMilitary Air Transport Service
The Military Air Transport Service is an inactive Department of Defense Unified Command. Activated on 1 June 1948, MATS was a consolidation of the United States Navy Naval Air Transport Service and the United States Air Force Air Transport Command into a single, joint, unified command...
; 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 Liftmasters and C-121 Constellations were common sights in the 1950s, while C-135 Stratolifter
C-135 Stratolifter
|-See also:-External links:* at Globalsecurity.org...
s and C-141 Starlifter
C-141 Starlifter
The Lockheed C-141 Starlifter was a military strategic airlifter in service with the Air Mobility Command of the United States Air Force...
s were used in the 1960 for passenger transport, mostly to destinations in Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic...
or Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. Many soldiers, sailors, airmen or marines returned to the United States from the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
via the Travis Aerial Port.
The 530th Air Transport Group was organized from a consolidation of the Air Transport Command
Air Transport Command
Air Transport Command is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its mission was to meet the urgent demand for the speedy reinforcement of the United States' military bases worldwide during World War II, using an air supply system to supplement surface transport...
(ATC) Eastern Pacific Wing and Naval Air Transport Squadrons. Its first commander was Brigadier General Harold Q. Huglin. Itwas 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 in the 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
The Strategic Air Command was both a Major Command of the United States Air Force and a "specified command" of the United States Department of Defense. SAC was the operational establishment in charge of America's land-based strategic bomber aircraft and land-based intercontinental ballistic...
jurisdiction, and all of the Wing's squadrons were reassigned to the 1500 ATW at Hickam AFB 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
C-97 Stratofreighter
The Boeing C-97 Stratofreighter was a long range heavy military cargo aircraft based on the B-29 bomber. Design work began in 1942, with the prototype's first flight being on 9 November 1944, and the first production aircraft entered service in 1947. Between 1947 and 1958, 888 C-97s in several...
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 II
C-124 Globemaster II
The Douglas C-124 Globemaster II, nicknamed "Old Shakey", was a heavy-lift cargo aircraft built by the Douglas Aircraft Company in Long Beach, California....
s in 1957. 84th ATS re-equipped with C-133 Cargomaster
C-133 Cargomaster
The Douglas C-133 Cargomaster was a large cargo aircraft built between 1956 and 1961 by the Douglas Aircraft Company for use with the United States Air Force. The C-133 was the USAF's only production turboprop-powered strategic airlifter, entering service shortly after Lockheed's better known C-130...
s in 1957. 47th ATS reassigned from Hickam in 1957 with C-97s.
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 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
C-135 Stratolifter
|-See also:-External links:* at Globalsecurity.org...
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
Military Airlift Command
The Military Airlift Command is an inactive United States Air Force Major Command of the USAF which was headquartered at Scott Air Force Base, Illinois. It was constituted on 1 January 1966 and active until the end of the Cold War, when the Air Force table of organization was revised...
60th Military Airlift Wing.
Major airlifts
- In 1956, MATS airlifted iron lungs and other medical equipment to Buenos AiresBuenos AiresBuenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
, ArgentinaArgentinaArgentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
, during a polio epidemic.
- In 1960, shen the Ceara and Tiauim areas of BrazilBrazilBrazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
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 ChileChileChile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
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. KellyJoe W. KellyGeneral Joe William Kelly was a U.S. Air Force general and Commander, Military Air Transport Service . He was the first four-star commander of MATS, and was commander at the time the command was transitioning to jet aircraft...
became the first MATS commander to visit the operation. MATS vice commander, Maj. Gen. Raymond J. ReevesRaymond J. ReevesGeneral Raymond Judson Reeves was a United States Air Force four star general who served as Commander in Chief, North American Air Defense Command/Commander in Chief, Continental Air Defense Command from 1966 to 1969.Reeves was born in Chattanooga, Tennessee, in 1909...
, 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
- Established as 530th Air Transport Wing on 1 Jun 1948
- Redesignated as: 1501st Air Transport Wing on 1 Oct 1948
- Redesignated as: 1501st Air Transport Group on 23 May 1949
- Redesignated as: 1501st Air Transport Wing on 1 Jul 1955
- Inactivated on 8 Jan 1966, personnel and equipment assigned to 60th Military Airlift Wing
Assignments
- Pacific Division, MATS, 1 Jun 1948
- Western Transport Air Force, (WESTAF), 1 Jul 1958-8 Jan 1966
Components
- 21st Air Transport Squadron, 1 Jun 1948
- Redesignated 1266th Air Transport Squadron, 1 Oct 1948-30 Jun 1949
- Reassigned to 1500 ATW, Hickam AFB, 30 Jun 1949
- 22d Air Transport Squadron, 1 Jun 1948
- Redesignated 1267th Air Transport Squadron, 1 Oct 1948-30 Jun 1949
- Reassigned to 1500 ATW, Hickam AFB, 30 Jun 1949
- 23d Air Transport Squadron, 1 Jun 1948
- Deployed to Germany Berlin Airlift, Jul-1 Oct 1948
- Redesignated 1268th Air Transport Squadron, 1 Oct 1948-30 Jun 1949
- Remained in deployed status until 30 Jun 1949
- Reassigned to 1500 ATW, Hickam AFB, 30 Jun 1949
- 24th Air Transport Squadron, 1 Jun 1948
- Deployed to Germany Berlin Airlift, Jul-1 Oct 1948
- Redesignated 1269th Air Transport Squadron, 1 Oct 1948-30 Jun 1949
- Remained in deployed status until 30 Jun 1949; Inactivated
- 1733d Air Transport Squadron, 16 Dec 1948-8 Nov 1956
- Redesignated 13th Aeromedical Transport Squadron, 8 Nov 1956-8 Jan 1966
- 75th Air Transport Squadron, 16 May 1953-8 Jan 1966
- 55th Air Transport Squadron, 20 Oct 1953-8 Mar 1960
- 77th Air Transport Squadron, 20 Nov 1953-1 Jul 1955
- 84th Air Transport Squadron, 20 Nov 1953-8 Jan 1966
- 85th Air Transport Squadron, 20 Nov 1953-8 Jan 1966
- 47th Air Transport Squadron, 20 Jun 1957-8 Mar 1960
- Reassigned from 1500 ATW, Hickam AFB
- 44th Air Transport Squadron, 1 Nov 1961-8 Jan 1966
- 86th Air Transport Squadron, 8 Jan 1963-8 Jan 1966
Stations
- Fairfield-Suisun (later Travis) AFB, CaliforniaCaliforniaCalifornia is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, 1 Jun 1948-8 Jan 1966
Aircraft
- C-54 SkymasterC-54 SkymasterThe Douglas C-54 Skymaster was a four-engined transport aircraft used by the United States Army Air Forces and British forces in World War II and the Korean War. Besides transport of cargo, it also carried presidents, British heads of government, and military staff...
- 21st, 22d, 23d, 24th Air Transport Squadrons, 1948
- 1266th, 1267th, 1268th, 1269th Air Transport Squadrons, 1948-1949
- C-97 StratofreighterC-97 StratofreighterThe Boeing C-97 Stratofreighter was a long range heavy military cargo aircraft based on the B-29 bomber. Design work began in 1942, with the prototype's first flight being on 9 November 1944, and the first production aircraft entered service in 1947. Between 1947 and 1958, 888 C-97s in several...
- C-97 Stratofreighter
- 77th Air Transport Squadron, 1953-1955
- 75th, 84th, 85th Air Transport Squadrons, 1953-1957
- 47th Air Transport Squadron, 1957-1960
- C-124 Globemaster IIC-124 Globemaster IIThe Douglas C-124 Globemaster II, nicknamed "Old Shakey", was a heavy-lift cargo aircraft built by the Douglas Aircraft Company in Long Beach, California....
- C-124 Globemaster II
- 75th, 85th Air Transport Squadrons, 1957-1966
- C-133 CargomasterC-133 CargomasterThe Douglas C-133 Cargomaster was a large cargo aircraft built between 1956 and 1961 by the Douglas Aircraft Company for use with the United States Air Force. The C-133 was the USAF's only production turboprop-powered strategic airlifter, entering service shortly after Lockheed's better known C-130...
- C-133 Cargomaster
- 84th Air Transport Squadron, 1957-1966
- C-135 StratolifterC-135 Stratolifter|-See also:-External links:* at Globalsecurity.org...
- C-135 Stratolifter
- 44th Air Transport Squadron, 1961-1966
- C-130E Hercules
- 86th Air Transport Squadron, 1963-1966
- Convair C-131 Samaritan
- 1733d Air (later 13th Aeromedical) Transport Squadron, 1948-1966