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's Naval Air Transport Service and
A U.S. Navy Douglas R6D-1 Liftmaster, BuNo 128425, operating for the Military Air Transport Service in the 1950s.
Routes of the Eastern Transport Air Force, 1964
MATS Lockheed C-141A-10-LM Starlifter, AF Ser. No. 63-8090, in 1965 just after delivery to the 1501st Air Transport Wing at Travis AFB. Retired on 7 August 1996, Scrapped 29 July 2003.
Douglas C-133B-DL Cargomaster, AF Ser. No. 59-0529, of the 1501st Air Transport Wing over San Francisco Bay in 1960. This aircraft was retired in 1971 and was on display at New England Air Museum, Bradley, Connecticut (USA), but was destroyed by a tornado on 3 October 1979. Nose and other pieces now at the AMC Museum at Dover AFB, Delaware.
Military Airlift Command
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The Military Airlift Command is an inactive United States Air Force major command that was headquartered at Scott Air Force Base, Illinois. Established on 1 January 1966, MAC was the primary strategic
Brand-new 63d MAW C-141As on the ramp at Norton AFB, 1967. AF Ser. No. 66-0177 is in foreground. This aircraft will become the famous "Hanoi Taxi" which flew Bob Hope to USO shows in South Vietnam, and, in 1973, during the final days of the Vietnam War, repatriated American POWs from North Vietnam. Arizona Senator John McCain was one of the POWs who flew home on the Hanoi Taxi. 66-0177 was the last C-141 to be withdrawn from Air Force service after a career of almost 40 years, as the last of the fleet was retired in 2006. Today, 66-0177 is on permanent display at the
C-9 Nightingale, AF Ser. No. 71-0874, used for Aeromedical Evacuation
A Military Airlift Command C-141A at Pago Pago International Airport in July 1968. The aircraft behind the C-141 is an Air New Zealand DC-8.
C-141B, AF Ser. No. 66-0177, the Hanoi Taxi, after 2002 repainting to revert to 1970s scheme. Note the stretched fuselage indicating its modification from its earlier C-141A configuration to the C-141B configuration. Other C-141Bs with the standard USAF paint scheme of 2006 can be seen in the background.