Air Transport Command (ATC) is an inactive United States Air Force

United States Air Force

The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...

 unit. Its mission was to meet the urgent demand for the speedy reinforcement of the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

' military bases worldwide during World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, using an air supply system to supplement surface transport. ATC also operated a worldwide air transportation system for military personnel.
Air Transport Command was the precursor to what became the Military Air Transport Service

Military Air Transport Service

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 Naval Air Transport Service and the United States Air Force Air Transport Command into a single, joint, unified command...

 in 1948, re-named the Military Airlift Command

Military Airlift Command

The Military Airlift Command is an inactive United States Air Force Major Command of the USAF which was headquartered at Scott Air Force Base, Illinois. It was constituted on 1 January 1966 and active until the end of the Cold War, when the Air Force table of organization was revised...

 in 1966 and today's Air Mobility Command

Air Mobility Command

Air Mobility Command is a Major Command of the U.S. Air Force. AMC is headquartered at Scott AFB, Illinois, east of St. Louis....

.

• Established as Air Corps Ferrying Command on May 29, 1941.

Re-designated: Army Air Forces Ferry Command on March 9, 1942

Re-designated: Army Air Forces Ferrying Command on March 31, 1942

Re-designated: Air Transport Command on July 1, 1942

• Established and activated as Military Air Transport Service on 1 June 1948

Mission and operational control of Air Transport Command, established on 29 May 1941, consolidated into organization same date

Air Transport command was discontinued and inactivated on the same date.

Re-designated Domestic Wing on 26 February 1942
Operated military passenger transport services within the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 ("Zone of the Interior").

Northeast Sector (re-designated 2d Ferrying Group)

Detroit Sector (re-designated 3d Ferrying Group)

Nashville Sector (re-designated 4th Ferrying Group)

Midwest Sector (re-designated 5th Ferrying Group)

California Sector (re-designated 6th Ferrying Group)

Northwest Sector (re-designated 7th Ferrying Group)

Operated primarily by civilian contract pilots, including for a time WASP (Women Airforce Service Pilots

Women Airforce Service Pilots

The Women Airforce Service Pilots and its predecessor groups the Women's Flying Training Detachment and the Women's Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron were pioneering organizations of civilian female pilots employed to fly military aircraft under the direction of the United States Army Air Forces...

), transporting aircraft and cargo from manufacturing plants in the United States to and between various training bases within the USA and to Ports of Embarkation for overseas shipment (Hamilton Field

Hamilton Air Force Base

Hamilton Air Force Base was a United States Air Force base located along the western shore of San Pablo Bay, south of Novato, California.-History:...

, California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

; Morrison Field, Florida

Florida

Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...

; Presque Isle Field

Presque Isle Air Force Base

Presque Isle Air Force Base is a former United States Air Force base, located in the city of Presque Isle, Maine.-History:Presque Isle Air Force Base was originally built in 1930 by the Civilian Conservation Corps as Presque Isle Airport, a commercial airport located west of the "business center."...

, Maine

Maine

Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...

; and Anchorage-Elmendorf Field

Elmendorf Air Force Base

Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson is a United States military facility adjacent to Anchorage, the largest city in Alaska. It is an amalgamation of the former United States Air Force Elmendorf Air Force Base and the United States Army Fort Richardson, which were merged in 2010.-Overview:The...

, Alaska

Alaska

Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...

).