2nd Air Transport Squadron (Mobile)

  April 1944 to June 1945

  United States of America

TYPE: USAAF unit

IATA/ICAO CODES: Nil

HEADQUARTERS: Homestead AAF, FL (1944), RAF Kalaikunda, Bengal, India (1944), Dergaon, Assam, India (1944), Luliang, Yunnan, China (1944-1945)

FORMER NAME: Nil

SUBSEQUENT NAME: Nil

The 2^nd Air Transport Squadron (Mobile) (2 ATS(M)) was formed at Homestead AAF, FL on 22 April 1944. It trained there under the auspices of Air Transport Command Caribbean Wing, and quickly prepared for activation and deployment to the China-Burma-India theater of operations. Upon activation, it was deployed to Kalaikunda, Bengal, India in June 1944, while its air echelon began military airlift missions from Kharagpur, Bengal, India, only 10 km away. Using a complement of 20 Commandos, 2 ATS(M) was responsible for transporting men and material over the Himalayas to XX Bomber Command bases in China.

The 2^nd Air Transport Squadron (Mobile) transited through North Africa to RAF Kalaikunda, Bengal, India. It later moved to Dergaon, Assam, India in October 1944 and eventually on to Luliang, Yunnan, China in November 1944. The squadron's aircraft had a bright yellow diamond shape painted on their noses. The unit was nicknamed "Sylvester's Circus" after its commanding officer Major Frank S. Sylvester of Santa Barbara, CA.

The squadron converted to Douglas C-54 Skymasters in January 1945, but the Commandos kept on flying alongside until squadron deactivation. In June 1945, it was realized that operating B-29s from China, at the end of a thousand miles long air supply route, was impractical. XX Bomber Command was disolved and Superfortresses were operated from bases in Okinawa and the Marianna Islands. 2 ATS(M) was deactivated in the process.

April 1944 to June 1945

• Curtiss C-46A-40-CU Commando: 42-61068, 42-61088 (probable), 42-107332
• Curtiss C-46A-41-CU Commando: 42-60964, 42-60984, 42-61042, 42-61043 (probable), 42-61049 (probable), 42-61051, 42-61054, 42-61055, 42-61057 (probable), 42-61060 (probable), 42-61082 (probable), 42-107299 (probable)
• Curtiss C-46A-45-CU Commando: 42-96629, 42-96685, 42-96689, 42-96713, 42-96779
• Curtiss C-46A-55-CK Commando: 43-47094, 43-47125, 43-47126, 43-47140, 43-47166
• Curtiss C-46A-60-CK Commando: 43-47211