1703d Air Transport Group The 1703d Air Transport Group is an inactive United States Air Force unit . Its last was assigned to the 1701st Air Transport Wing , Military Air Transport Service , stationed at Brookley Air Force Base , Alabama . It was inactivated on 18 June 1957 . History . The organization was formed at Brookley AFB , Alabama in 1947 as a consolidation of the provisional Air Transport Service units at Morrision Army Airfield , Florida when that facility was closed on 1 July 1947 . It was the United States Air Force ' s only C - 74 Globemaster very heavy airlift unit , providing worldwide transport missions from Brookley until the aircraft was retired in 1955 . Initially two C - 74 squadrons ( 17th and 19th ) formed from provisional units , later redesignated 1258th and 1260th Air Transport Squadrons . With establishment of Military Air Transport Service ( MATS ) on 1 June 1948 , Group was assigned to the Atlantic Division . It had operational jurisdiction over the East Coast of the United States , across the Atlantic Ocean to Europe and North Africa . Also , the Mediterranean and the Caribbean were included in the Atlantic Division . Sent one C - 74 ( 42 - 65414 ) to Frankfurt , Germany Rhein - Main Airfield on 14 August 1948 to support Berlin Airlift Operations . On 18 September , the C - 74 flew a total of six round trips to Tempelhof Central Airport , Berlin . The single C - 74 was instrumental in helping build Tegel Airfield in the French sector of Berlin , hauling in heavy construction equipment that had been dismantled into components . The aircraft operated as part of the airlift for six weeks , but it was simply too heavy for the Tempelhof runways . There are also stories that the Soviets complained that it might be used as a bomber because of its hoist well in the belly . Support for the Berlin Airlift was maintained by the 1703d ATG by flying regularly scheduled flights between the United States and Germany . Transported C - 54 engines and parts for use in the airlift . Other flights were made between Brookley and Albrook Field , Balboa , Canal Zone and from Brookley to Ramey AFB , Puerto Rico . In May , a C - 74 carried 75 passengers plus a crew of 12 to England , at the time the largest military passenger load to fly the Atlantic . Six months later , on 25 November 25 , C - 74 414 , flew the Atlantic with a record 103 people aboard to RAF Marham , England . During the Korean War , the Group logged over 7000 hours in flights to Hawaii hauling troops and high priority cargo westward toward the combat area and returning eastward with wounded personnel . During the seven months between July 1950 and January 1951 , the Globemasters transported 2 , 486 patients , 550 passengers , and 128 , 000 pounds of cargo from Hawaii to the U . S . while hauling just under a million pounds of cargo westward . Activated 1281st Air Transport Squadron in November 1951 , initially equipped with C - 54 Skymasaters , upgraded to new C - 124C Globemaster II heavy lift strategic transports in 1952 . Reorganized in July 1952 , the 1258th , 1260th , 1281st ATS became 3d , 6th and 13th Air Transport Squadrons , respectively . With the small number of C - 74s in service , maintenance was an increasing headache as time went on and spares became harder to obtain . In 1955 , the C - 74 ' s maintenance man - hour requirements were so high that a two - hour - a - day utilization rate was requested and approved . During the Spring , a program was begun to cross - flow C - 74 pilots and engineers to the C - 124 in preparation for the C - 74 ' s retirement . The 6th ATS flew 45 scheduled and special trips during their last six months . Their destinations included Europe , North Africa , South America , and the Middle East carrying over six million pounds of cargo , nearly one million pounds of mail , and 1 , 750 passengers . However , deterioration of the C - 74 ' s components were progressing more rapidly than predicted . Plans were made for the eventual retirement of the Air Force ' s only fleet of Globemasters . Aircraft were withdrawn from service in late 1955 , with 3d and 6th ATS being inactivated . Continued operations of C - 124s until 1957 when unit was inactivated when control of Brookley AFB was reassigned to Air Materiel Command .