May 29, 1941 - Air Corps Ferrying Command Organized

May 29, 1941, marks a significant milestone in the history of military airlift. Previously, crews from the 19th BG ferried B-17s to Hawaii to build up its defenses around Oahu in the summer leading up to the attack on Pearl Harbor. This week, 76 years ago, the Air Corps Ferrying Command organized to transport American-produced airplanes – primarily bombers – to the United Kingdom via Canada as part of the nation’s Lend-Lease program.   Reminder: This occurred before the U.S. entry into the war. This was critical for the Brits considering that after the fall of France in 1940, they were the only European country that remained to wage battle against the German armies, and aerial bombardment of German fortifications was really their only military option.   When it became too demanding for British military and civilian pilots to ferry the planes over themselves, General Hap Arnold suggested using Army Air Corps pilots instead, and the Ferrying Command was thus born. As the number of airplanes reaching England increased, the British informally referred to the route as the “Arnold Line.” Once the attack on Pearl Harbor brought the U.S. into the war, the Ferrying Command expanded its system across the globe.   The Ferrying Command existed for all of 13 months before being reorganized as the Air Transport Command, but in that limited timeframe its pilots had ferried over 14,000 aircraft while also transporting nearly 2,000 tons of cargo, mail, and personnel. The Ferrying Command was but a prelude to the remarkable development of airlift during the Second World War, a conflict that eventually demonstrated the value of military airlift as a whole. The map provided demonstrates the transportation routes across the Atlantic before Pearl Harbor’s attack, along with the Ferrying Command’s patch.