The Air Mobility Command Museum is a military aviation museum located at Dover Air Force BaseinDover, Delaware dedicated to the history of the Air Transport Command, Military Air Transport Service, Military Airlift Command and Air Mobility Command.
Aerial view of the museum
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  Location in Delaware | |
Former name |
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|---|---|
| Established | 13 October 1986 (1986-10-13) |
| Location | Dover Air Force Base |
| Coordinates | 39°07′07″N 75°27′24″W / 39.118692°N 75.456643°W / 39.118692; -75.456643 |
| Type | Aviation museum |
| Founder |
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| Director | Johnny Taylor[1] |
| Website | amcmuseum |
Building 1301 | |
| NRHP reference No. | 94001377 |
| Added to NRHP | 7 December 1994 |
The origins of the museum lie in an effort that was begun in 1978 by members of the 512th Military Airlift Wing to restore an aircraft as a public relations and maintenance training project. A B-17G, Shoo Shoo Shoo Baby, was selected from a list of potential projects provided by the United States Air Force Museum and it was restored to airworthy condition over a period of ten years.[2] Plans called for the completed airplane to be flown to the USAFM, but a significant desire existed to exhibit the history of Dover Air Force Base.[3][a]
Therefore, at the direction of 436th Military Airlift Wing commander Colonel Walter Kross, planning was begun to establish a permanent historical display. The Dover AFB Historical Center was established on 13 October 1986. Only three days later, a C-47, which had previously been located at Muir Army Airfield in Pennsylvania, was airlifted to the museum.[3][4][5]
Following official recognition as a museum by the U.S. Air Force in 1995, it became the Dover AFB Museum. This did not last long, as its name was again changed to Air Mobility Command Museum in February 1997, after it moved from three hangars in the main area of the base to its present location, Hangar 1301, in June 1996.[5][6][7][b]
An exhibit on the Korean War was opened in 2000.[10]
After being forced to close to the public in 2001, the construction of a new access road allowed the museum to reopen in 2003.[11][12][13]
The museum opened a new exhibit about Air Force Mortuary Affairs in September 2023.[14]
In addition to the aircraft and non-aircraft collections, the museum has a few other notable attractions. These include a flight simulator, commemoration park outside the museum building, and the retired control tower cab, which served as Dover AFB's control tower from 1956 to 2009.[15][16][17]
The Air Mobility Command Museum is home to a number of significant vintage aircraft from a variety of eras and major commands. Additionally, the AMC Museum houses a complete set of all significant Lockheed air lifters used by the Air Force and Army since World War II.[18] A number of the aircraft are the first, last or only examples of their model.[19]
