From start to finish, the mission took about a month to complete. Mapping the world providing accurate aerial charts to military aviators wherever they need to be. 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. Evacuation of wounded military personnel from combat zones; transport of critically ill military personnel (and dependents) to military medical facilities for treatment. Included in this was the first major airlift of United States Marines and their combat gear by MATS. This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency website http://www.afhra.af.mil/. During the airlift operation, MATS was called on to react to a call for arms to India in early November to stem the Communist Chinese invasion. Also, during this buildup, MATS lost its first C-135 Stratolifter jet while it was engaged in an ammunition airlift to Guantanamo Bay. 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 addition, the 101st Airborne Division was airlifted from Fort Campbell, Kentucky to locations in Turkey. 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. Military Air Transport Service Patch. Retired 1971. Redesignated as Military Airlift Command on 1 Jan 1966. In addition, military flights were made to Don Muang Airport in Bangkok which were designated for the Thai Militarily to protect their border along the Mekong River, or clandestinely to the Laotian Government, who were fighting communist rebels in Laos. Save your favorite articles to read offline, sync your reading lists across devices and customize your reading experience with the official Wikipedia app. Under the USAF lineage system they did not a permanent lineage or history and were discontinued upon inactivation. 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. They were accompanied by 116 tactical fighters and reconnaissance aircraft of the Composite Air Strike Force (CASF) who flew across the Atlantic. At each of the subsequent stops at Hickam AFB, Hawaii; Travis AFB, California, and Westover AFB, Massachusetts, there were layovers of about a day. 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. Military Air Transport Service - Emblem.png 452 × 455; 457 KB Military Air Transport Service Emblem.png 300 × 300; 189 KB N494TW - 8609 Lockheed Constellation L-749 - C-121A MATS - Military Air Transport Service (8392192568).jpg 1,536 × 1,024; 391 KB Consolidated (13 May 1982) with Military Airlift Command, which was established, and activated, as Military Air Transport Service, a major command, on 1 Jun 1948. Following the NATO ground manoeuvers in Europe, the troops were lifted back to the United States on 21 November 1963. These flights are not commercial, but rather military flights with a mission. Throughout 1964 and 1965 MATS flew large numbers of United States Army and United States Marines to South Vietnam. In turn, MATS was disbanded and superseded in the Air Force by the Military Airlift Command, during a 1966 restructuring. Air Transport Command Patch. MILITARY AIR TRANSPORT SERVICE. The airlift required the movement of 980 tons of small arms more than 6,000 miles from Rhein-Main AB, West Germany, to Dum-Dum Airport, Calcutta. 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 Air Transport Command (ATC) … On 16 October, MATS began working at its wartime activity rate. Lt. Gen. Joe W. Kelly, MATS commander, was on hand to greet the first arriving aircraft, Despite "miserable" weather, no accidents or incidents occurred. In West Germany, the troops participated in ground maneuvers with NATO forces. 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. Also in 1958, MATS flew 144 airlift trips to the Far East when the crisis arose in the Formosa Straits, supporting the move of a Composite Air Strike Force, and airlifting a squadron of F-104 Starfighters to Taiwan.