The 1707th Air Transport Wing is a discontinued

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

unit. It was last assigned to

Military Air Transport Service The Military Air Transport Service (MATS) is an inactive United States Department of Defense, Department of Defense Unified Command. Activated on 1 June 1948, MATS was a consolidation of the United States Navy's Naval Air Transport Service (NA ...

(MATS) at

Tinker Air Force Base Tinker Air Force Base is a major United States Air Force base, with tenant U.S. Navy and other Department of Defense missions, located in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma in Oklahoma County, Oklahoma, adjacent to Del City and Midwest City. The ba ...

, Oklahoma. It was discontinued on 8 January 1966, when MATS replaced its Major Command controlled (MAJCON) wings with Air Force controlled (AFCON) wings when MATS was redesignated as

Military Airlift Command The Military Airlift Command (MAC) is an inactive United States Air Force major command (MAJCOM) that was headquartered at Scott Air Force Base, Illinois. Established on 1 January 1966, MAC was the primary strategic airlift organization of ...

. The mission, personnel and equipment of the

wing A wing is a type of fin that produces both Lift (force), lift and drag while moving through air. Wings are defined by two shape characteristics, an airfoil section and a planform (aeronautics), planform. Wing efficiency is expressed as lift-to-d ...

were transferred to the

443d Military Airlift Wing The 443d Airlift Wing is an inactive unit of the United States Air Force. Its last assignment was with Air Mobility Command, being stationed at Altus Air Force Base, Oklahoma. It was inactivated on October 1, 1992. History : ''For additional ...

, which was simultaneously activated.

History

The

was organized as the 1707th Air Base Wing in 1951 at Palm Beach Air Force Base, Florida when

(MATS) reopened the base.Abstract History Continental Division, MATS Jul–Dec 1951
Retrieved 24 December 2013 Palm Beach was a joint civil-military facility with

Palm Beach International Airport Palm Beach International Airport – also known as PBI Airport and historically as Morrison Field & Palm Beach Air Force Base – is a public airport in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States located just west of the city of West Palm Beach ...

. The wing's 1707th Air Transport Group was its operational unit until the wing was redesignated the 1707th Air Transport Wing. The wing's first main activity was the rehabilitation of buildings to resume military operations. In addition to operating the active Air Force portion of Palm Beach, the mission of 1707th was training USAF personnel on operation and maintenance of MATS heavy-lift transports. Known as the "University of MATS", training included

Douglas C-124 Globemaster II The Douglas C-124 Globemaster II, nicknamed "Old Shaky", is a retired American heavy-lift cargo aircraft built by the Douglas Aircraft Company in Long Beach, California. The C-124 was the primary heavy-lift transport for United States Air Forc ...

Douglas C-118 Liftmaster The Douglas DC-6 is a piston-powered airliner and cargo aircraft built by the Douglas Aircraft Company from 1946 to 1958. Originally intended as a military transport near the end of World War II, Douglas reworked it after the war to compete wi ...

Boeing C-97 Stratofreighter The Boeing C-97 Stratofreighter is a long-range heavy military cargo aircraft developed from the Boeing B-29 Superfortress, B-29 and Boeing B-50 Superfortress, B-50 bombers. Design work began in 1942, the first of three prototype XC-97s flew on ...

, and

Douglas C-54 Skymaster The Douglas C-54 Skymaster is a four-engined transport aircraft used by the United States Army Air Forces in World War II and the Korean War. Like the Douglas C-47 Skytrain derived from the DC-3, the C-54 Skymaster was derived from a civilia ...

maintenance training along with aircrew and transition pilot training.Abstract, History 1707 Air Base Wing Nov–Dec 1951
Retrieved 24 December 2013 The wing later added

Boeing C-135 The Boeing C-135 Stratolifter is a transport aircraft derived from the prototype Boeing 367-80 jet airliner''Jane's all the World's Aircraft 1963–1964''. p. 183 (also the basis for the 707) in the early 1950s. It has a narrower fuselage and is ...

training to its curriculum.''See'
Abstract, History 1707 Air Transport Wing Jul–Dec 1963
Retrieved 24 December 2013 Nearly 23,000 airmen were trained at Palm Beach Air Force Base. Until 1959 the wing also trained Grumman SA-16 Albatross crews for MATS'

Air Rescue Service The United States Air Force Combat Rescue School (for most of its existence, either Air Rescue Service or Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Service), was an organization of the United States Air Force. The school was established in 1946 as ''Air ...

, and until 1962,

Boeing WB-50D Superfortress The Boeing B-50 Superfortress is a retired American strategic bomber. A post–World War II revision of the Boeing B-29 Superfortress, it was fitted with more powerful Pratt & Whitney R-4360 radial engines, stronger structure, a taller tail fin, ...

crews for MATS'

Air Weather Service An atmosphere () is a layer of gases that envelop an astronomical object, held in place by the gravity of the object. A planet retains an atmosphere when the gravity is great and the temperature of the atmosphere is low. A stellar atmosphere ...

. The

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

also maintained a Transport Training Unit that was attached to the wing until 1963. The wing moved to

, Oklahoma in June 1959 due to urban encroachment and local opposition to military presence at the airport. It received the first

Lockheed C-141 Starlifter The Lockheed C-141 Starlifter is a retired military strategic airlifter that served with the Military Air Transport Service (MATS), its successor organization the Military Airlift Command (MAC), and finally the Air Mobility Command (AMC) of the ...

aircraft in 1964 and expanded its training mission to include Starlifter operation and maintenance. In addition to the training mission, the 1707th maintained a state of readiness to airlift armed forces personnel and equipment, including

medical evacuation Medical evacuation, often shortened to medevac or medivac, is the timely and efficient movement and en route care provided by medical personnel to patients requiring evacuation or transport using medically equipped air ambulances, helicopters and ...

in the event of national emergencies. In 1961 the wing earned trophies from MATS for having the best ground and flying safety programs in MATS. Its safety record also earned it an

Air Force Outstanding Unit Award The Air and Space Outstanding Unit Award (ASOUA) is one of the unit awards of the United States Air Force and United States Space Force. It was established in 1954 as the Air Force Outstanding Unit Award and was the first independent Air Force ...

that year. The wing was discontinued on 8 January 1966, and its equipment and personnel were reassigned to the

, which was activated the same date.

Lineage

* Designated as the 1707th Air Base Wing and organized on 1 September 1951 : Redesignated 1707th Air Transport Wing (Training) on 1 May 1954 : Redesignated 1707th Air Transport Wing, Heavy (Training) on 20 September 1954 : Discontinued on 8 January 1966

Assignments

* Continental Division, Military Air Transport Service (later Western Transport Air Force), 1 September 1951Abstract, History Western Transport Air Force, Jul–Dec 1958
Retrieved 23 December 2013 * Military Air Transport Service, c. 1959 – 8 January 1966

Components

Groups

* 1707th Air Base Group, 21 September 1951 – c. 30 June 1959 * 1707th Air Transport Group, 21 September 1951 – 1 September 1953Abstract, History 1707 Air Base Wing Jul–Dec 1953
Retrieved 24 December 2013 * 1707th Maintenance & Supply Group, 24 October 1951 – 1 September 1953 * 1707th Medical Group (later 1707th USAF Hospital), 21 September 1951 – c. 30 June 1959

Squadrons

* 1707th Maintenance Squadron (later 1707th Field Maintenance Squadron), 1 September 1953 – 1 June 1959Abstract, History 1707 Air Transport Wing, Jul–Dec 1955
Retrieved 24 December 2013''See'' Mueller, pp. 545–551 * 1707th Student Squadron (later 1707th Technical Training Squadron), 1 September 1954 – c. 30 June 1957 * 1707th Supply Squadron, 1 September 1953 – 1 June 1959 * 1709th Training Squadron (later 1709th Technical Training Squadron), 1 September 1954 – 30 June 1959 * 1707th Support Squadron, 21 January 1963 – 1 April 1964 * 1740th Air Transport Squadron (Transition Training Unit), 1 September 1953 – 8 January 1966 * 1741st Air Transport Squadron (Transition Training Unit), 1 September 1953 – 8 January 1966 * 1742d Air Transport Squadron (Transition Training Unit), 1 March 1956 – 1 January 1960 * 2156th Air Rescue Squadron (Transition Training Unit) (later 1707th Training Squadron (Amphibious), 1707th Flying Training Squadron (Amphibious)), 20 July 1952 – c. 31 March 1959 * 565th Air Force Band, 1954 – 8 February 1958 (not manned after 28 January 1958)Abstract, History 1707 Air Transport Wing Jan–Jun 1958
Retrieved 24 December 2013

Stations

* Palm Beach Air Force Base, Florida, 16 September 1951 *

, Oklahoma, 1 June 1959 – 8 January 1966

Aircraft

* Boeing WB-50 Superfortress * Douglas C-54 Skymaster * Boeing C-97 Stratofreighter * Douglas C-118 Liftmaster * Douglas C-124 Globemaster II * Boeing C-135 * Lockheed C-141 Starlifter, 1964–1966 * Grumman SA-16 Albatross, 1952–1959

Awards

References

Notes

Bibliography

*
AF Pamphlet 900-2, Unit Decorations, Awards and Campaign Participation Credits
Department of the Air Force, Washington, DC, 15 June 1971 Further reading * {{cite book, last=Ulanoff, first=Stanley M., title=MATS: The Story of the Military Air Transport Service, year=1964, publisher=Franklin Watts, Inc., location=New York, NY, isbn=978-1-19908-768-3 Air transport wings of the United States Air Force Military units and formations in Oklahoma Military units and formations in Florida Major command controlled wings of the United States Air Force Military units and formations established in 1951 Military units and formations disestablished in 1966 1951 establishments in the United States