Delaware Military History Museums

Situated on the edge of Dover Air Force Base, the Air Mobility Command Museum anchors the story of how the U.S. Air Force has moved people, equipment, and relief supplies around the globe since the Second World War. Originating in 1978 with the restoration of the B-17G Shoo Shoo Shoo Baby by members of the 512th Military Airlift Wing, the museum grew from a single restoration project into a formal historical center in 1986 and later an officially recognized Air Force museum. Its focus on Air Transport Command, Military Air Transport Service, Military Airlift Command, and today’s Air Mobility Command gives the collection unusual coherence: the aircraft, exhibits, and preserved control tower cab trace the technical and organizational evolution of strategic airlift and aerial logistics. A complete set of major Lockheed airlifters used by the Air Force and Army since World War II underscores both engineering progression and changing operational demands. The Korean War and mortuary affairs exhibits, meanwhile, highlight how air mobility intersects with combat support, repatriation, and the often unseen administrative burden of war.

Situated on the grounds of Delaware Coastal Airport, the Delaware Aviation Museum represents the crossover between local airfield operations and the preservation of twentieth-century aviation history. Established in 2004, the Delaware Aviation Museum Foundation grew out of decades of restoration work by co-founder Larry Kelley, whose experience began in 1957 assisting with a UC-78 project. That restoration ethos still defines the institution: the museum occupies a substantial hangar and adjacent terminal spaces, giving it the character of a working facility rather than a static display hall. For military aviation enthusiasts, the value lies in seeing aircraft and related technology maintained within an active airfield environment, where engineering, maintenance, and operational concerns remain visible and immediate. The on-site Jeffrey L. Ethell Aviation Library, built around the noted aviation author’s personal collection of some 3,000 volumes, underpins the museum’s interpretive depth and research potential. Located a short distance inland from Delaware’s fortified coastline and sites such as Fort Miles, the museum fits into a broader regional story of airpower, coastal defense, and mid-Atlantic aviation development across the Cold War and postwar eras.