NATS Wing Atlantic were formed. NATS received its first R5D(C-54) in the spring of 1943. Seaplane operations were conducted with the transport versions of the Consolidated PB2Y Coronado and the Martin PBM Mariner. NATS utilized the airlines as much as was feasible. Pan American conducted a navigation school at Coral Gables, Florida and American Export Airlines operated a similar navigation school at LaGuardia Airport, NY. By the end of 1943, the American Airlines R4D school expanded to train 50 pilots a month. The Pennsylvania Central Airlines school at Roanoke, Virginia which had been training Army C-47 pilots was taken over by the Navy when the Army cancelled its contract. United Airlines also began training Navy mechanics at the Oakland Airport by the end of the year. All transport pilots were required to be good instrument pilots so all NATS-bound pilots were sent through the Instrument Instructor School at NAS Atlanta. R4D and R5D aircraft commander school was located at Olathe. NATS also contracted Pan American to operate seaplane transport service from San Francisco to Hawaii. Pan America utilized Martin M-130 China Clippers, Boeing 314s, and Navy supplied Consolidated PB2Y Coronados. Pan Am initially operated out of its prewar terminal at Treasure Island. By 1944, conflict with Navy surface ship traffic around Treasure Island caused Pan Am to move its operation south to Mills Field, now San Francisco International Airport. At the end of September 1944, Pan Am was operating four Boeing 314s and 15 PB2Y plus a few miscellaneous types. Meanwhile, in March 1943, VR-4 was commissioned at Oakland as a maintenance squadron. The next month VR-6 was established at Dinner Key, Miami and took over transport seaplane training from VR-1. The same month, VR-7, an R4D squadron was formed at NAS Miami to service the Caribbean and South America. VR-7 was based at Miami Municipal, aka Amelia Earhart Airport, which was a part of the three airfield NAS Miami complex. VR-10 was also commissioned at Honolulu and was primarily a maintenance squadron. In June, VR-5 was commission at Seattle to provide service to Alaska with R4D and R5Ds. The next month, VR-1 at Norfolk, moved to the recently opened NAS Patuxent River, Maryland. Several months later, VR-8 was established, and took over VR-1s transport seaplane operations. That September, VR-11 formed at Naval Air Station Oakland. VR-11 provided R5D service throughout the South Pacific and was eventually to become the