In 1956 the Mendocino Air Tanker Squad (MATS) was formed by Joseph Bolles Ely, the Fire Control Officer for the Mendocino National Forest.
The impetus for this unit occurred on July 9, 1953, when fifteen men were killed while fighting the Rattlesnake Fire, in the Alder Springs area of the Mendocino National Forest.
The tragedy prompted foresters to look for better ways of fighting fires. Joseph Ely, was fighting a fire in the Angeles National Forest at the time of the Rattlesnake Fire. According to his son Frank, Joe became passionate about making firefighting safer for his men. The idea of dropping water from airplanes had been considered for many years and but no experiments had led to the regular use of airplanes to drop water. Ely had the idea to use agriculture pilots who were adept at spraying liquids over crops.
He approached Floyd H. Nolta, already a highly experienced and innovative agriculture and stunt pilot. Within one week, Nolta cut a hole in the bottom of his Boeing-Stearman 75 bi-plane and installed a 160-gallon tank with a hinged gate, a snap, and a pull. His brother Vance flew the plane over a controlled burn for a demonstration with Ely later documenting the moment, “…Vance came over low and pulled the rope and put out the fire. The air tanker was born."
A few months later, on August 13, 1955, Vance Nolta dropped water to assist a crew on the Mendenhall Fire in the Mendocino National Forest. The Noltas, along with their brother, Dale, assisted the Forest Service with other fires during the remainder of the 1955 season. In August of that year, Ely conducted a series of tests comparing the effectiveness of water and retardant drops, utilizing the runways at the Willows Airport and a location in the mountains of the Mendocino National Forest as the drop zones. Ely used that study to establish the parameters of deploying those substances for fighting fires.
Advances in logistics and techniques came quickly. The Forest Service learned to stage a water tender at a gravel or dirt strip near the fire so the planes could reload and quickly return to the fight. Other ag pilots expressed an interest in becoming aerial firefighters. Ely later recalled, “Local pilots were quick to respond. Ag pilots were the last of the silk-scarf and leather-helmet boys and they would try anything that was exciting.”
During the winter of 1955-56, Ely garnered support from the Forest Service regional office in San Francisco, including $4,000 to pay pilots for stand-by time. Eight ag pilots from the Willows area formed the Mendocino Air Tanker Squadron (MATS). In addition to Floyd,Vance and Dale Nolta, were original pilots, as were Harold Hendrickson and Frank Prentice of Willows, Ray Varney of Artois (Glenn County), L. H. McCurley of Corning (Tehama County), and Warren Bullock of Red Bluff (Tehama County). Willows Airport manager Lee Sherwood, who also owned an ag flying service, flew Ely or other Forest Service officers in an observation plane, referred to as the “Bird Dog.” The “Aerial Firewagons” were Boeing Stearman Model 75 and Navy N3N biplanes.
The squadron was based at the Willows-Glenn County Airport and operated out of Corning and Red Bluff as well to shorten the initial response times. At times, planes were dispatched to remote airfields to stand by during the day and returned to the Willows Airport in the evening.
On July 12, 1956, three years and three days after the deadly Rattlesnake Fire, a letter was sent out to the sixteen other national forests in California, as well as the California Division of Forestry (CalFire) stating, “Seven air tankers will be available for aerial assistance in fire control in the Northern California area during the months of August and September 1956… They will operate out of home airports at Willows, Corning and Red Bluff and are available to any fire control unit that wants them.”
Ag flying involves accurate flying very low over the terrain to properly disperse the seed or liquid in large flat areas where the only obstacles are trees and power lines. Drops over forest fires requires passes deep in canyons or towards high ridges, everchanging treetop heights, smoke-filled air, and rapidly changing air currents. An N3N weighs about 2000 pounds, so dropping a load of water results in an immediate fifty percent change in weight. The rapid rise was used to clear an approaching ridge or tree line. The original pilots had to learn how to fly in these conditions and how to apply the techniques to successfully deliver their load.