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Military Air Transport Service
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<p>The Military Air Transport Service (MATS) is an inactive <a href="/facts/United_States_Department_of_Defense/dWAvf7e3">Department of Defense</a> Unified Command. Activated on 1 June 1948, MATS was a consolidation of the <a href="/facts/United_States_Navy/xYK0fUou">United States Navy</a>'s <a href="/facts/Naval_Air_Transport_Service/kfQvdMbc">Naval Air Transport Service</a> (NATS) and the <a href="/facts/United_States_Air_Force/7MxWBYlc">United States Air Force</a>'s <a href="/facts/Air_Transport_Command_(United_States_Air_Force)/bB5nQEuu">Air Transport Command</a> (ATC) into a single joint command. It was inactivated and discontinued on 8 January 1966, superseded by the Air Force's <a href="/facts/Military_Airlift_Command/BNPaXHXN">Military Airlift Command</a> (MAC) as a separate strategic airlift command, and it returned shore-based Navy cargo aircraft to Navy control as operational support airlift (OSA) aircraft. </p><p>In 1966, the <a href="/facts/World_War_II/2efV5L1U">World War II</a> <a href="/facts/Air_Transport_Command/bB5nQEuu">Air Transport Command</a> (ATC) (1942–1948) and the Military Air Transport Service were consolidated with <a href="/facts/Military_Airlift_Command/BNPaXHXN">Military Airlift Command</a> (MAC) (1966–1992). </p>