U.S. Marine Fokker Tri Motors in Nicaragua.                                   Marine KC-130 Aerial Refueling F/A-18 Hornets. 

The fixed wing air transport mission is as old as the history of aviation itself and the Marine Corps has been providing air transport services for the Corps since as early as the combat missions in Central America in 1919. By 1928 the first official fixed wing transport squadrons were formed when Headquarters Detachment 7M was created in San Diego California. That squadron was the forerunner of today's VMGR-252. Over time more transport squadrons were formed and the transport community grew to support WW II flying thousands of tons of supplies and personnel all over the Pacific and evacuating wounded Marines from far flung islands back to hospital care.

          Marine KC-130 Air Delivering a heavy equipment load.                          Marine KC-130 austere airfield landing

In the early 1960's an aircraft capable of  providing aerial refueling service for deploying jet fighter and attack squadrons became a great need. Lockheed took the highly capable modern C-130 air transport platform that was being sold to the U.S. Air Force and transformed it into an aerial tanker for the Marine Corps they originally dubbed the GV-1. That designation was soon replaced by the designation KC-130. The numerous Marine fixed wing air transport squadrons were then called VMR's and were flying a variety of older transport aircraft that were obsolete. When the KC-130 was introduced, its capabilities supplanted those of the older aircraft and as the squadrons consolidated all eventually began flying the new KC-130. The new aerial refueling mission brought on a new squadron designation as well "VMGR" to reflect the capability of the KC-130 to provide both resupply and fuel to the fleet as necessary. Over the years the VMGR's have performed additional missions, flown millions of flight hours and traveled millions of miles transporting millions of tons of cargo and passengers and delivering millions of pounds of aviation fuel to fixed and rotary wing aircraft. The KC-130 is the most long serving versatile and capable aircraft in the Marine Corps inventory and the maintainers and aircrews the best in the world!

The Marine Corps Air Transport Association proudly represents those Marines both active and non-active duty and all those that support our causes and missions. 

Semper Fi!