Naval Air Transport Service
| Naval Air Transport Service | |
|---|---|
| Active | 1941–1948 |
| Country | United States |
| Branch | United States Navy |
| Role | Air transportation |
| Size | 26,000 personnel |
| Engagements | World War II |
| Aircraft flown | |
| Transport | |
The Naval Air Transport Service or NATS, was a branch of the United States Navy from 1941 to 1948. At its height during World War II, NATS’s totaled four wings of 18 squadrons that operated 540 aircraft with 26,000 personnel assigned.
Prior to WW II, The Navy’s air transport needs were provided by utility squadrons and aircraft assigned to commands. Five days after Pearl Harbor, Capt. C. H. Schildhauer presented a detailed plan for a naval air transport program to the Secretary of the Navy, Frank Knox. Knox immediate approved the plan and the Naval Air Transport Service was created. This was a tall order since the largest transport operated by the Navy at this time were four R2Ds (DC-2). The first military transport version of the DC-3, the C-47, was first flown on December 23, 1941. Throughout the war, the Navy obtained its R4Ds (C-47) and later the C-54 (R5D) from U.S. Army contracts. Initially, additional DC-3s were appropriated from the commercial airlines. On March 9, 1942, the first NATS squadron, VR-1, was commissioned at NAS Norfolk with four R4D (C-47) aircraft, 27 officers, and 150 men. Initially, most of VR-1 flights were south in support of the Atlantic antisubmarine effort. “VR” is the Navy acronym for transport squadron – “V” is for heavier than air and “R” is for transport.
The next month, the Navy contracted American Airlines to operate an R4D school at Meacham Field, Fort Worth, Texas. The 30-day-long school included 30 hours of flight instruction and 30 hours of inflight observation. Student capacity was 30 per month. The Navy relied heavily on the expertise of former Naval aviators who work for the commercial airlines who had been recalled to the Navy because of the war.
On April 1, 1942, VR-2 was commissioned at NAS Alameda, California. VR-2 initiated NATS transoceanic service on May 15, from Alameda to Honolulu with a Sikorsky flying boat. VR-3, NATS’s transcontinental squadron was commissioned on July 15 at the Fairfax Airport, Kansas City, Kansas with four DC-3s appropriated from Trans World Airlines. NATS also established its headquarters at Fairfax. In October, NATS moved its operation to the newly completed NAS Olathe, 25 miles to the southwest. The same month, the Pacific Wing Command was established in Honolulu.
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