Origins The origins of the
wing date to January 1942, when
Air Corps Ferrying Command informally organized sectors under its Foreign Division to provide control officers at various points on its overseas routes for ferrying aircraft. It established a sector at
West Palm Beach, Florida on 23 January. The West Palm Beach Sector was formally established on 14 February and renamed the South Atlantic Sector in April. However, the relationship between the sector
headquarters and the control officers at the stations along the routes in its area of responsibility remained unclear. In the spring of 1942, a reorganization of the Foreign Wing contemplated the addition of regularly scheduled
airlift service to the ferrying mission of the sector, accompanied by a transition of scheduled service from
airline to military personnel. The new, expanded organizations would also be responsible for the service and maintenance of aircraft, communications and flight supervision at stations under their control. This plan was implemented in June 1942, with the South Atlantic Sector split between the 27th Wing at West Palm Beach and the
24th Army Air Forces Ferrying Wing, which was activated at
Georgetown, British Guiana on 26 June 1942. Within a few days, the Ferrying Command had become
Air Transport Command (ATC) and the wing, the
South Atlantic Wing, Air Transport Command. Prior to the entry of either the United States or Brazil into
World War II, in January 1941, negotiations began for American use of
airfields for military use in northern Brazil. These negotiations were carried out by
Pan American Airways through its subsidiary
Panair do Brasil, to give them the appearance of being for commercial airfields. Panair proposed improvements to a number of airports in northern Brazil, which would include construction of facilities to support commercial use of the fields, but which could be easily converted to military use. The Brazilian government agreed to these improvements in July 1941. Development of the fields by Panair continued through May 1942, when the United States and Brazil entered into an agreement permitting the United States to construct defense installations in Brazil and to use existing Brazilian military installations. All installations would be Brazilian military bases.
Operations Initial operations The wing's original area of responsibility extended from
Trinidad in the Caribbean to
Ascension Island in the middle of the Atlantic. However, the wing's boundary with the
Caribbean Wing, Air Transport Command was adjusted to coincide with the boundary of the
Antilles Air Command.
Atkinson Field in British Guinea and
Waller Field on Trinidad were transferred to Caribbean Wing and headquarters soon moved to
Parnamirim Field, near
Natal, Brazil. At the same time, the United States Army Forces in South America was established and the wing commander also assumed the duties of a theater commander. The wing's South Atlantic route was used for ferrying and transport to the
Mediterranean Theater of Operations,
European Theater of Operations,
China-Burma-India Theater and for delivery of
lend lease aircraft to the Soviet Union. Initial scheduled service on the wing's routes included
Douglas DC-3 service by Pan American and
Eastern Air Lines to Natal (originating in
Miami) and
Boeing 307 Stratoliner service by
Transcontinental and Western Air between
Washington, D.C. and
Cairo. Pan American Air Ferries, also was using the route to deliver aircraft to the
Royal Air Force (RAF) in the Middle East. The first large scale movement of American aircraft along the wing's route was the flight of the
98th Bombardment Group in July. The 98th's heavy bombers were able to cross the Atlantic non stop, so the first use of the new
Wideawake Field on Ascension Island was by the Mitchells of the
12th Bombardment Group. Much of the wing's efforts in 1942 were directed at the reinforcement of
Ninth Air Force. During 1942, however, the scheduled services were not functioning well. Large backups of materiel and mail were occurring along the wing's routes, especially at Natal. The main reason was a lack of transport aircraft. As the wing began operations, only four
Consolidated B-24D Liberators, two Statocruisers and four Pan American Clippers were available to move supplies to Africa from Natal. The South Atlantic route was given the highest priority for heavy transport aircraft.
American Airlines began to operate the first
Douglas C-54 Skymasters from Miami to Natal, and
Consolidated C-87 Liberator Express aircraft began to join the fleet, and 26 aircraft were in use on the transatlantic segment by the end of the year.
Operation Torch In the preparation for
Operation Torch, the wing participated in the movement of five groups of
light and
medium bombers to provide immediate reinforcement after the amphibious landings in North Africa. Reinforcements for
Twelfth Air Force also ferried their planes via the South Atlantic Wing's routes. As winter weather set in, light and medium bombers destined for England were encountering severe problems navigating the
North Atlantic Ferry Route and were diverted to the South Atlantic. By December, the North Atlantic route was also closed to
heavy bombers, so reinforcements for
Eighth Air Force also ferried their planes via the South Atlantic Wing's routes. By February 1943, facilities were available at
Dakar, Senegal so that heavy bombers could fly there directly from Natal, cutting two or three stops off their route. By the spring of 1943, the North Atlantic route was again opened for bombers.
Expanded operations The spring of 1943 saw the first movement of fighter aircraft through the wing's routes, as five groups of
Lockheed P-38 Lightnings were ferried to fighter and photographic reconnaissance units. Although the North Atlantic Route remained open to a limited extent in winter of the war's following years, most aircraft were diverted to the South Atlantic during this period of adverse weather. Unit moves along the wing's routes continued into 1944, but ferrying operations shifted more toward the movement of individual replacement aircraft movements as the war progressed. Not all traffic was eastbound. Ferry pilots returned after making their deliveries, and a few "war weary" planes were also returned. However, the largest segment of passenger traffic westbound was
aeromedical evacuation of wounded soldiers. No planes were dedicated to this mission, and evacuation got off to a slow start in early 1943. The wing was also responsible for the air transport of certain strategic materials, whose scarcity and need justified rapid transportation. In particular
beryl, a mineral used in the manufacture of delicate instruments, and
tantalite, used in radio and radar sets, were both transported from Brazil. Special alloys from the Belgian Congo and
rotenone from South America were transported through the wing's routes. In the early days of the wing, rubber was also carried on otherwise empty planes returning to the States. The wing was originally established with its personnel assigned to two
groups, whose
squadrons were spread among the bases operated by the wing. However, the wing's manpower requirements varied from base to base, depending on the size and nature of its operations. In October 1943, the wing's remaining group was inactivated and the wing began manning by "exact manning tables." Under this system, manning requirements were measured on a functional basis and rather than being assigned to a group or squadron, personnel were assigned directly to a numbered station. Army Air Force Base Units replaced the numbered stations in 1944. in July 1944, the expanded activity of the wing led to it becoming the
South Atlantic Division, Air Transport Command. However, when Air Transport Command was able to secure landing rights in the
Azores later in 1944, a shorter route middle Atlantic became available between North America and Africa that permitted four engine and some twin engine planes to bypass of the wing's area of responsibility en route to Africa and eastbound activity on the division's routes began to lessen. The
War Department directed ATC to prepare for the Green Project in April 1945. This project called for the transportation of 50,000 passengers a month from Europe to the United States. 40% of these passengers would return via the South Atlantic route. To assist the
division, it was augmented by the
460th Bombardment Group, plus additional individuals who had formerly been assigned to combat units. The withdrawal of
Fourth Fleet from the Atlantic made former Navy facilities at
Belém and Natal available to the division for housing troops. C-47s from four troop carrier groups were made available for transporting troops from Natal. Their pilots were assigned individually, but the division found that they required additional training before assigning them to the project. Inbound traffic from Dakar to Natal was mostly C-54s, while flights from Natal to Atkinson Field were in C-47s or
Curtiss C-46 Commandos flown by
Eastern Airlines contract pilots. By August, shipping in the Atlantic had become available to transport most troops back to the United States, and Project Green, which was programmed to last until April 1946, was terminated on 10 September 1945.
Inactivation With the completion of the White and Green Projects, the South Atlantic Division once more became a wing in September 1945, and it was assigned to the
Atlantic Division, Air Transport Command. Three of its stations in Brazil ended operations the following month, and by January 1946, the wing operated only a single station in Brazil, plus Ascension Island. The wing was inactivated at the end of June and its remaining units assigned directly to the Atlantic Division. ==Lineage==