Military Air Transport Service

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Military Air Transport Service (MATS) was a command of the United States Air Force which superseded the Army Air Force's Air Transport Command, its direct predecessor shortly after the Air Force became an independent service branch.

Contents 1 Broad overview 2 History of the MATS 3 Record of the ATC 3.1 Record of Naval Air Transport Service 3.2 Record of MATS 4 References

[edit] Broad overview

The Military Air Transport Service was activated 1 June 1948 under General William H. Tunner, in order to harness interservice efforts more efficiently. It was an amalgamation of Navy and Army air transport commands, now placed under the control of the newly created United States Air Force (USAF). Previously, the Army Air Force's needs were looked after by the Air Transport Command, the World War II-era United States Army Air Corps (later Army Air Force) command focused on transportation of troops and supplies, also organized by Tunner.

In turn, the Military Air Transport Service was deactivated and superseded by the Military Airlift Command, during a 1966 restructuring triggered by the demands of the Vietnam war.

[edit] History of the MATS

[edit] Record of the ATC

[edit] Record of Naval Air Transport Service

[edit] Record of MATS

The first test of the newly created MATS 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. This lead to the famous landing at Inchon, which required tactical air suppy, and throughout much of the rest of the Korean War where supply by parachute and rough field operations were the order of the day in the mountainous terrain of Korea.

It's next test was the famous Berlin Airlift -- "OPERATION VITTLES" where at peak operations, planes were landing an departing every ninety seconds or so shuttling in thousands of tons of supplies, food, and fuel each day. 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 June 26, 1948, the airlift began. MATS transports from around the globe began making their way to Germany, including two of the U.S. Navy's air transport squadrons assigned to MATS. 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. Military Air Transport Service Within MATS there were other technical services such as:

• Air Rescue Service (ARS)(latter became Aerospace Rescue Recovery Service(ARRS))
• Air Weather Service (AWS)
• Special Airlift Mission (SAM)
• Air Photographic and Charting Service (APCS)
• Aeromedical Transport Wing (AMTW)

In the early days of MATS, there were three divisions, Atlantic, Pacific, and Continental. A later reoganization called for just 2 divisions -- Eastern Transport Air Force (EASTAF) and the Western Transport Air Force (WESTAF). To accomplish the global mission required, MATS has used many different aircraft. The C-47 "Gooney Bird", C-46 Curtis Commado, the principle big-cargo capable C-54 Skymasters, and later, C-135 Stratolifter, C-141 Starlifter, C-130 Hercules, C-133 Cargomaster, C-124 Globemaster II, C-118 Liftmaster, C-121 Constellation, C-74 Globemaster, C-97 Stratofreighter, and the C-131 Samaritan just to name a few. Each of the individual technical MATS services had its own specific aircraft to carry out their mission.

On January 1, 1966 MATS was deactivated and the Military Airlift Command was created to continue the traditions MATS had began.

[edit] References

"MATS: The Story of the Military Air Transport Service." by Stanley M. Ulanoff, 1964: The Moffa Press, Inc.