Immediately after the United States entered World War II, the War Department
took over the airport that Dover had begun to build. During the war, the Dover Army Air
Base served as a training ground for pilots and as a secret rocket research center. Only
limited activity took place at the base from 1946 to 1952, when Congress appropriated
millions of dollars for improvements.
Since 1952, Dover Air Force Base has grown into the largest aerial port facility on the
East Coast. Huge cargo planes, including the mammoth C-5 Galaxy, transport personnel and
enormous quantities of supplies for military and humanitarian missions around the world.
With thousands of service personnel and many civilian employees, Dover Air Force Base is
one of Delaware’s largest employers. The base is host to America’s largest
aircraft, the C-5 Galaxy, and provides more airlift capability than any other base in
America.
Air Mobility Command Museum
