Air Mobility Command Museum facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Air Mobility Command Museum

Aerial view of the museum
Lua error in Module:Location_map at line 420: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).
Former name	Dover AFB Historical Center Dover AFB Museum
Established	13 October 1986 (1986-10-13)
Location	Dover Air Force Base
Type	Aviation museum
Founder	General Walter Kross Mike Leister
Building 1301
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
NRHP reference No.	94001377
Added to NRHP	7 December 1994

The Air Mobility Command Museum is a cool place to visit at Dover Air Force Base in Dover, Delaware. It's a museum all about military airplanes and how they've helped move people and supplies around the world. It tells the story of important groups like the Air Transport Command and the Air Mobility Command.

Discovering the Museum's History

The idea for this museum started way back in 1978. Some members of the 512th Military Airlift Wing wanted to fix up an old airplane. This project would help them learn about aircraft maintenance. It would also be a great way to show the public what they do.

Bringing Shoo Shoo Shoo Baby Back to Life

They chose a B-17G bomber named Shoo Shoo Shoo Baby. This plane was picked from a list given by the United States Air Force Museum. It took ten years to restore this amazing aircraft. The plan was to fly it to the main Air Force Museum. But people at Dover Air Force Base really wanted to show off their own history.

Starting the Dover AFB Historical Center

So, in 1986, Colonel Walter Kross, who led the 436th Military Airlift Wing, decided to create a permanent display. The Dover AFB Historical Center officially opened on October 13, 1986. Just three days later, a C-47 transport plane arrived at the museum. This plane had been at Muir Army Airfield in Pennsylvania.

New Names and New Homes

In 1995, the U.S. Air Force officially recognized it as a museum. Its name changed to the Dover AFB Museum. But this name didn't last long! In February 1997, it became the Air Mobility Command Museum. This happened after the museum moved to its current home, Hangar 1301, in June 1996.

Special Exhibits and Reopening

A special exhibit about the Korean War opened in the year 2000. In 2001, the museum had to close to visitors for a while. But don't worry! A new access road was built, and the museum happily reopened its doors in 2003. In September 2023, the museum opened a new exhibit. This exhibit is about Air Force Mortuary Affairs.

What You Can See: Museum Exhibits

The exhibit air control tower on display at the Air Mobility Command Museum in Dover, Delaware. The tower stood about 103 feet tall when in operation, but currently stands 39 feet high at the museum.

Besides all the cool airplanes, the museum has other interesting things to explore. You can try out a flight simulator. There's also a special park outside the museum building. One unique exhibit is a retired control tower cab. This tower helped guide planes at Dover AFB from 1956 to 2009.

Amazing Aircraft Collection

Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress

McDonnell Douglas C-9A Nightingale

The Air Mobility Command Museum has many important old airplanes. These "vintage" aircraft come from different time periods and military groups. The museum also has a complete set of all the major Lockheed air lifters. These are planes used by the Air Force and Army since World War II to carry heavy loads. Many of the planes here are the first, last, or only ones of their kind!

See Also

• List of United States Air Force museums