1503rd Air Transport Wing

Last updated

1503d Air Transport Wing
Douglas C-124A-DL Globemaster II 50-1256.jpg
MATS C-124A Globemaster II 50-1256
Active1948–1964
CountryUnited States
Branch United States Air Force
TypeAirlift
Insignia
1503d Air Transport Wing emblem 1503d-air-transport-wing-MATS.png

The 1503d Air Transport Wing is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to Western Transport Air Force of Military Air Transport Service at Tachikawa Air Base, Japan. It was inactivated on 22 June 1964 and its remaining squadron transferred to the 1503d Air Transport Group.

Contents

History

The wing was first organized in at Haneda Air Base in June 1948 as the 540th Air Transport Wing by Military Air Transport Service (MATS). Along with its subordinate units, it replaced the 22d Air Transport Group (Provisional) and absorbed the personnel and equipment of the 1539th Air Force Base Unit of Air Transport Command, which had been stationed at Haneda since the summer of 1946. The wing was soon renamed the 1503d Air Transport Wing to comply with United States Air Force requirements that MATS units be numbered between 1200 and 2199.

The 1503d became the main MATS organization in the Western Pacific, supporting numerous tenant organizations such as the Air Rescue Service; Air Weather Service, and Far East Air Force theater Troop Carrier Groups (later Wings) which transshipped supplies and personnel from the MATS Aerial Port at Tachikawa throughout the 1950s.

The first major mission by the 1503d was the evacuation of large numbers of Americans out of China in 1948 after the Communists defeated the Chinese Nationalist forces during the Chinese Civil War.

The Korean War saw operations increase, with Troop Carrier units carrying out the evacuation of American civilians and then transporting the torrent of Allied military men and material flowing into the war zone. Around the clock planes arrived and departed. A typical flight might carry 35,000 pounds of hand grenades to South Korea, with 80 wounded personnel arriving to be transported to the USAF Hospital on the base. For thousands of servicemen whose tours took them into, through or out of Tachikawa, the USAF hospital became the best barometer of American military activities in the Far East.

MATS C-118A Liftmaster 53-3265 Douglas C-118A Liftmaster 53-3265.jpg
MATS C-118A Liftmaster 53-3265
MATS Navy R7V-B1 Bn 131654 Lockheed R7V-1 Bn 131654 USN.jpg
MATS Navy R7V-B1 Bn 131654

MATS flights arriving on C-74, C-118, C-121, C-124, and later C-135 jet transports from Hickam Field, Hawaii or being staged through Alaska. From Tachikawa, outbound MATS flights headed to Clark Air Base heading to Saigon, Bangkok, and on to Karachi Airport, Pakistan or to Guam, Wake or Midway Island in the Central Pacific Region.

As United States military forces began to increase in Indochina, more and more equipment moved into first Tan Son Nhut Air Base in South Vietnam, then to Don Muang Royal Thai Air Force Base, near Bangkok, and in early 1965 to the huge new Cam Ranh Air Base with the jet C-141 Starlifter transports.

In 1964, operations from Tachikawa began to phase down as its location in the urban area of Tokyo made heavy transport operations undesirable, with more and more heavy transport operations going to Yokota Air Base. The 1503d was discontinued and replaced by the 1503d Air Transport Group, and focused more on aeromedical transport operations from the Philippines, and supporting MATS units at deployed locations in the Pacific.

Lineage

Redesignated 1503d Air Transport Wing on 1 October 1948
Redesignated 1503d Air Transport Wing, Medium on 1 January 1956
Redesignated 1503d Air Transport Wing, Heavy on 1 July 1957
Discontinued on 22 June 1964

Assignments

Components

Groups
Operational Squadrons
Support and Maintenance Squadrons
Agana Naval Air Station, Guam
Kadena Air Base, Okinawa
Clark Air Base, Philippines

Stations

Related Research Articles

Military Air Transport Service 1948–1966 United States Armed Forces unified command

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 Air Transport Command (ATC) into a single joint command. It was inactivated and discontinued on 8 January 1966, superseded by the Air Force's Military Airlift Command (MAC) as a separate strategic airlift command, and it returned shore-based Navy cargo aircraft to Navy control as operational support airlift (OSA) aircraft.

Harrisburg Air National Guard Base United States Air Force base in Pennsylvania

Harrisburg Air National Guard Base is a United States Air Force base, located at Harrisburg International Airport, Pennsylvania. It is located 1.7 miles (2.7 km) west-southwest of Middletown, Pennsylvania.

374th Airlift Wing Military unit

The 374th Airlift Wing is a unit of the United States Air Force assigned to Fifth Air Force. It is stationed at Yokota Air Base, Japan. It is part of Pacific Air Forces. The 374th Airlift Wing is the only airlift wing in PACAF and provides airlift support to all Department of Defense agencies in the Pacific theater of operation. It also provides transport for people and equipment throughout the Kantō Plain and the Tokyo metropolitan area.

41st Airlift Squadron Military unit

The 41st Airlift Squadron is a United States Air Force unit assigned to the Air Mobility Command's 19th Airlift Wing at Little Rock Air Force Base, Arkansas. It operates Lockheed C-130J Super Hercules aircraft.

60th Air Mobility Wing Military unit

The 60th Air Mobility Wing is the largest air mobility organization in the United States Air Force and is responsible for strategic airlift and aerial refueling missions around the world. It is the host unit at Travis Air Force Base in California. Wing activity is primarily focused on support in the Middle East region, however it also maintains operations in areas of the Pacific and Indian Oceans.

317th Airlift Group Military unit

The 317th Airlift Wing is a United States Air Force unit, stationed at Dyess Air Force Base, Texas. Assigned to Air Mobility Command (AMC) Eighteenth Air Force, the 317 AW operates as a tenant unit at Dyess AFB, an installation under the control of the 7th Bomb Wing of the Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC).

61st Air Base Wing Inactive US Air Force wing

The 61st Air Base Wing is an inactive wing of the United States Air Force, last stationed at Los Angeles Air Force Base, El Segundo, California. The 61st was the host unit at Los Angeles Air Force Base, and commanded all the Air Force support groups and units assigned to the base. When active. the wing is entitled to temporary bestowal of the history and honors stems of the 61st Troop Carrier Group.

314th Airlift Wing Military unit

The 314th Airlift Wing is a wing of the United States Air Force based at Little Rock Air Force Base in Little Rock, Arkansas.

483rd Tactical Airlift Wing Military unit

The 483d Tactical Airlift Wing was a tactical airlift and composite wing assigned to Pacific Air Forces during the Vietnam War. It was the host organization at Cam Ranh Bay Air Base South Vietnam from 1970–1972.

22nd Airlift Squadron Unit of the US Air Force, part of the 60th Operations Group

The 22nd Airlift Squadron, sometimes written as 22d Airlift Squadron, is part of the 60th Air Mobility Wing at Travis Air Force Base, California. It operates C-5M Galaxy aircraft supporting the United States Air Force global reach mission worldwide. The mission is to provide services and support which promote quality of life and project global power through combat-proven airlift and airdrop.

Tachikawa Airfield

Tachikawa Airfield is an airfield in the city of Tachikawa, the western part of Tokyo, Japan. Currently under the administration of the Ministry of Defense, it has also served as the civil aviation with Japan's first scheduled air service.

315th Operations Group Military unit

The 315th Operations Group is a United States Air Force Reserve unit assigned to the 315th Airlift Wing. The unit is stationed at Charleston Air Force Base, South Carolina. The 315th Group controls all operational McDonnell Douglas C-17 Globemaster III flying squadrons of the 315th Airlift Wing. It was activated in 1992, when Air Force Reserve Command implemented the Objective Wing organization.

57th Weapons Squadron Military unit

The 57th Weapons Squadron is a United States Air Force unit. It is assigned to the USAF Weapons School, stationed at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington. The squadron is a geographically separated unit of the 57th Wing at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada. The mission of the squadron is to provide Boeing C-17 Globemaster III instructional flying.

1607th Air Transport Wing Military unit

The 1607th Air Transport Wing is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last was assigned to the Eastern Transport Air Force, Military Air Transport Service, stationed at Dover Air Force Base, Delaware. It was inactivated on 8 January 1966.

1502d Air Transport Wing Military unit

The 1502d Air Transport Wing is a discontinued United States Air Force unit, last assigned to Western Transport Air Force in January 1966. The 1502d ATW was a heavy cargo transport wing of the Military Air Transport Service (MATS), formed at Hickam AFB on 1 July 1955.

1611th Air Transport Wing Military unit

The 1611th Air Transport Wing is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last was assigned to the Eastern Transport Air Force, Military Air Transport Service, stationed at McGuire Air Force Base, New Jersey. It was inactivated on 8 January 1966.

1500th Air Transport Wing US Air Force unit

The 1500th Air Transport Wing (ATW) is a discontinued United States Air Force unit. It was last active in 1971 at Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii under the designation 6486th Air Base Wing (ABW). The 1500th ATW was a heavy cargo transport wing of Military Air Transport Service (MATS), formed on 1 June 1949. In 1952 the wing lost its operational elements and became the base support element for Hickam until it was replaced by the 15th Air Base Wing in 1971.

15th Air Transport Squadron Military unit

The 15th Air Transport Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the 1607th Air Transport Wing of Military Air Transport Service at Dover Air Force Base, Delaware, where it was inactivated on 1 January 1965.

65th Military Airlift Support Group Military unit

The 65th Military Airlift Support Group is an inactive unit of the United States Air Force. It was last active as part of Military Airlift Command at Yokota Air Base, Japan, where it was inactivated on 1 June 1972.

330th Troop Carrier Squadron Military unit

The 330th Troop Carrier Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit, last active briefly as the 330th Airlift Flight, a personnel airlift unit, in 1993. The squadron was first activated in 1944 as the 9th Combat Cargo Squadron. The squadron was activated in India and served in combat in India and Burma. In October 1945, the squadron was redesignated the 330th Troop Carrier Squadron and moved to Shanghai, China, where it inactivated in April 1946.

References

PD-icon.svg This article incorporates  public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency website http://www.afhra.af.mil/ .