A common “gotcha” question among the American military services is Which branch has the most aircraft?

The answer:  The US Army.

While most people think the Army Air Forces ceased to exist just after World War II (at the birth of the Air Force), the US Army retains a large air force of its own.  Granted, most of its aircraft are rotary (helicopter) rather than fixed wing, but its total number of aviation assets exceeds that of the Air Force, which is generally the assumed answer.

Still, the US Army does retain some fixed wing assets.  The Mississippi National Guard — not the Air National Guard — recently flew out to document some of the Gulf oil spill incident.  The aircraft was a C-23 Sherpa, and it was flown by the typical Army aviator: a Warrant Officer.

The Army had been planning to acquire the C-27 to replace the C-23, though funding for the Army’s allocation of C-27s was previously in doubt.