1501st Air Transport Wing The 1501st Air Transport Wing is an inactive United States Air Force unit , being inactivated on 8 January 1966 . The 1501st ATW was a heavy cargo transport wing of the Military Air Transport Service ( MATS ) , formed on 1 June 1948 . The unit was originally designated as the 530th Air Transport Wing and assigned to the MATS Pacific Division , being stationed at Fairfield / Suisun Air Force Base , California . The 1501st ATW was inactivated on 8 January 1966 as part of the inactivation of MATS , its aircraft , personnel and equipment being assigned to the Military Airlift Command 60th Military Airlift Wing . History . Established on 1 June 1948 concurrent with the activation of the Military Air Transport Service ; assumed responsibility for mission previously carried out by the Air Transport Command by transporting cargo and personnel to destinations within Far East Air Force and to the Continental United States . Also operated MATS West Coast ' s aerial embarkation and debarkation point . C - 118 Liftmaster s and C - 121 Constellation s were common sights in the 1950s , while C - 135 Stratolifter s and C - 141 Starlifter s were used in the 1960 for passenger transport , mostly to destinations in Southeast Asia or Japan . Many soldiers , sailors , airmen or marines returned to the United States from the Vietnam War via the Travis Aerial Port . The 530th Air Transport Group was organized from a consolidation of the Air Transport Command ( ATC ) Eastern Pacific Wing and Naval Air Transport Squadrons . Its first commander was Brigadier General Harold Q . Huglin . It was initially equipped with four squadrons of C - 54 Skymasters that could reach the Continental US , but required intermediate stopovers along the Pacific Transport Routes to stations in the as far as Pakistan . However , the demands of the Berlin Airlift for C - 54s led to two of the group ' s squadrons being deployed to Germany in July 1948 . Unit was redesignated as 1501st Air Transport Wing in October 1948 and assigned transport squadrons were also redesignated in a MATS reorganization . In May 1949 , Fairfield - Suisun was realigned from MATS to Strategic Air Command jurisdiction , and all of the Wing ' s squadrons were reassigned to the 1500 ATW at Hickam AFB on 30 June . Wing was reduced to a group level and operated an Aeromedical Transport Squadron . In 1953 , large - scale MATS operations were resumed when five C - 97 Stratofreighter squadrons were activated . Returned to wing status in 1955 . C - 97 squadrons reduced to four in 1955 due to finding reductions . 75th & 85th ATS replaced C - 97s with C - 124 Globemaster II s in 1957 . 84th ATS re - equipped with C - 133 Cargomaster s in 1957 . 47th ATS reassigned from Hickam in 1957 with C - 97s . 22d Air Force arrived from Kelly AFB , TX , 25 June 1958 and the base ' s primary mission reverted to global airlift activities when MATS resumed jurisdiction . 1501 ATW was also reassigned to the Western Transport Air Force on 1 July 1958 . Both 47th and 55th ATS inactivated in 1960 , C - 97s reassigned to reserves . 44th ATS activated in 1961 with jet C - 135 Stratolifter s . 86th ATW activated in 1963 with extended - range MATS C - 130E Hercules . The 1501st ATW was inactivated on 8 January 1966 as part of the inactivation of MATS , its aircraft , personnel and equipment being assigned to the Military Airlift Command 60th Military Airlift Wing .