Discover Delmarva: Air Mobility Command Museum

DOVER, De- The Air Mobility Command Museum on the Dover Air Force Base is home to an impressive collection of military aircraft. WMDT met up with Eric Czerwinski the Deputy Director of the museum for a tour of their exhibits and to learn the stories their way. “We do that through artifacts and exhibits. Through thirty-seven aircraft that span that period.”

The entrance of the museum is an old World War II hanger. Setting the scene for the stories of airlift and air refueling to be told. Their newest exhibit was built by their volunteers- to honor the Air Force Mortuary Affairs Operation which is based out of Dover. This has artifacts from Operation Colony Glacier which honors the members of the 1952 Mount Gannett crash.

Now The prize of the museum “The first aircraft it received was a derelict C47 sky train aircraft. Now the C47 is the military version of the Douglas DC3 airliner.” This airplane has a historic combat record with a couple of the original crew members’ signatures on the side of the aircraft. Czerwinski tells us “Our aircraft incidentally just happened to be a combat veteran. That dropped members of the 82nd airborne over Normandy during World War II.

We also got to look inside a B17 bomber and discovered how the inner workings of this high-altitude fortress work. One of the shocking parts of this plane was the ball turret gunner who would have to stay inside this confined space for full missions. Meanwhile – An astounding amount of aviation history greets you outside the hanger.

Czerwinski says “The museum has thirty-seven aircraft here and for an aviation museum that’s not a lot of aircraft. But we do have the largest aircraft in the world on display here.”  We started with a KC10 which was the first one ever produced for the Air Force. The main purpose of this plane was transporting cargo and aerial refueling missions. Down a ladder in the back of the plane is where the boom operator is located – in charge of aerial refueling.

Moving outside we find another monster of aviation accomplishments. “Our C5 Galaxy first came out in 1968 and inside we have a model of the Wright flyer. Which was first flown in 1903. And there’s only 65 years between a plane that could barely get off the ground. To a C5 galaxy which can take six Greyhound buses anywhere in the world.” This same plane played a vital role in the SALT treaty after successfully firing an ICBM over the Pacific Ocean. The aircraft can carry double the amount of cargo compared to other air lifters.
Who would have thought that 60 years from the first flight something of this nature could be accomplished!

Czerwinski says the museum serves a vital purpose in preserving the aircraft “We look at all of the aircraft that we have here today. We can just look at them like aircraft. Nothing but metal and rubber just machines. But what they are is the context in which history is made. ”

Czerwinski says open cock pit Saturdays are a big draw for the museum. Where 90% of their aircraft will be open to tour. They’re open Wednesday through Sunday 9 am to 4 pm and offer free admission and parking. To plan your visit and for more information about the museum check out their website.