Dobbins Air Reserve Base or Dobbins ARB is a

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Si ...

reserve air base located in Marietta,

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

, a

suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separ ...

about northwest of

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,7 ...

. Originally known as Dobbins Air Force Base, it was named in honor of Captain Charles M. Dobbins, a

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

C-47 The Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota (RAF, RAAF, RCAF, RNZAF, and SAAF designation) is a military transport aircraft developed from the civilian Douglas DC-3 airliner. It was used extensively by the Allies during World War II and remained in ...

pilot who died near

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

. The installation is the home station of the host wing, the

94th Airlift Wing The 94th Airlift Wing is a reserve unit of the United States Air Force. It is assigned to the Twenty-Second Air Force of the Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC) and is stationed at Dobbins Air Reserve Base, Georgia. When mobilized, most of the wi ...

(94 AW) of the

Air Force Reserve Command The Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC) is a major command (MAJCOM) of the United States Air Force, with its headquarters at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia. It is the federal Air Reserve Component (ARC) of the U.S. Air Force, consisting of commis ...

(AFRC) and its fleet of

C-130 Hercules The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is an American four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built by Lockheed (now Lockheed Martin). Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 was originally desi ...

aircraft, and is also the location of the headquarters for AFRC's

Twenty-Second Air Force Twenty-Second Air Force (22 AF) is a Numbered Air Force component of Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC). It was activated on 1 July 1993 and is headquartered at Dobbins Air Reserve Base, Georgia. In the event of mobilization, some of the Twenty ...

(22 AF). Dobbins ARB is also home to Army Aviation Service Facility #2 (AASF #2) of the

Georgia Army National Guard The Georgia Army National Guard is the Army National Guard component of the Georgia National Guard, administratively part of the Georgia Department of Defense. It consists of more than 11,100 citizen-soldiers training in more than 79 hometown ...

and their fleet of

UH-60 Blackhawk The Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk is a four-blade, twin-engine, medium-lift utility military helicopter manufactured by Sikorsky Aircraft. Sikorsky submitted the S-70 design for the United States Army's Utility Tactical Transport Aircraft System ( ...

s and UH-72 Lakota helicopters. Associated units to AASF #2 include 1st Battalion, 171st General Support Aviation Regiment; Company H, 171st Aviation Regiment; Company C, 2nd Battalion, 151st Aviation; and Detachment 1, Company C, 111th General Aviation Support Battalion, 111th Aviation Regiment. Additional Reserve component organizations at Dobbins include various units of the

Marine Corps Reserve The Marine Forces Reserve (MARFORRES or MFR), also known as the United States Marine Corps Reserve (USMCR) and the U.S. Marine Corps Forces Reserve, is the reserve force of the United States Marine Corps. It is the largest command, by assigned p ...

and Navy Reserve. Dobbins ARB has two

runway According to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a runway is a "defined rectangular area on a land aerodrome prepared for the landing and takeoff of aircraft". Runways may be a man-made surface (often asphalt, concrete ...

s which it shares with the General Lucius D. Clay National Guard Center (formerly Naval Air Station Atlanta) to its south. Runway 11/29 is the primary runway and is long and wide with directions 110 and 290 magnetic. The second runway, called an "assault strip", is a 3500×60-foot (1067×18-meter) runway referred to as 110–290, which is parallel to Runway 11/29. Over 14,000 flight operations occur annually making the Dobbins complex an extremely active facility with diverse air traffic operations from all branches of the military and other US government agencies. This air traffic environment takes place within the area of the busiest airport in the world ( Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport) and is as busy as many medium-sized commercial airports.

History

World War II

Originally intended by

Cobb County, Georgia Cobb County is a county in the U.S. state of Georgia, located in the Atlanta metropolitan area in the north central portion of the state. As of 2020 Census, the population was 766,149. Its county seat and largest city is Marietta. Along with ...

as an alternative

airfield An aerodrome (Commonwealth English) or airdrome (American English) is a location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve air cargo, passengers, or neither, and regardless of whether it is for publ ...

for

Candler Field Candler may refer to: People * Candler (surname) Places * Candler, Florida, an unincorporated town in Marion County * Candler, Georgia, an unincorporated community * Candler, North Carolina, an unincorporated town in Buncombe County * Candler Co ...

, this airfield was constructed in 1941 as ''Rickenbacker Field''. This was named for the former U.S. Army Air Corps top

flying ace A flying ace, fighter ace or air ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down five or more enemy aircraft during aerial combat. The exact number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an ace is varied, but is usually co ...

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

Eddie Rickenbacker Edward Vernon Rickenbacker or Eddie Rickenbacker (October 8, 1890 – July 23, 1973) was an American fighter pilot in World War I and a Medal of Honor recipient.President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

Franklin D. Roosevelt selected General Lucius D. Clay of the Army Air Corps to be the chief of the new Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA), which was engaged in a huge program of airfield construction. About 450 to 500 of these were built in preparation for any possible war against the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

- from the east (

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

and Fascist Italy) or from the west (the

Empire of Japan The also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was a historical nation-state and great power that existed from the Meiji Restoration in 1868 until the enactment of the post-World War II 1947 constitution and subsequent form ...

). In 1940, the CAA offered to build a modern

paved Pavement may refer to: * Pavement (architecture), an outdoor floor or superficial surface covering * Road surface, the durable surfacing of roads and walkways ** Asphalt concrete, a common form of road surface * Sidewalk or pavement, a walkway alo ...

airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surfa ...

in Cobb County if the local governments provided the land. Due to the potential labor force for defense factories in this area, local officials also hoped to attract a large aircraft factory adjacent to the site. On October 24, the government of Cobb County announced the existence of this airport project, and it also revealed that purchase options had been signed for three prospective sites. The

Atlanta City Council The Atlanta City Council is the main municipal legislative body for the city of Atlanta, Georgia, United States. It consists of 16 members primarily elected from 12 districts within the city. The Atlanta City Government is divided into three bo ...

also passed a resolution endorsing this project on January 2, 1941. Since the Army Air Corps had recently taken over part of Candler Field (now

Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport , also known as Atlanta Hartsfield–Jackson International Airport, Atlanta Airport, Hartsfield, Hartsfield–Jackson and, formerly, as the Atlanta Municipal Airport, is the primary internatio ...

), the principal municipal airport for

, the new airport in Cobb County was also seen as a reliever airport for Atlanta. In May, the local government issued bonds to purchase located miles southeast of Marietta along the western side of the new four-lane superhighway, U.S. Highway 41, linking Marietta with Atlanta. The CAA next allocated $400,000 for construction of two -long

s on the land. The W. L. Florence Company of

Powder Springs, Georgia Powder Springs is a city in Cobb County, Georgia, United States. The population was 13,940 at the 2010 census, with an estimated population for 2019 of 15,758. In 2015, the city elected its first black mayor, Al Thurman. He was the first Africa ...

, the low bidder with a bid of $290,000, won the contract. This bid, well-below the estimated cost of $400,000, allowed the CAA to add the third runway to this construction project. The construction began on 14 July 1941. In the next month, the Gulf Oil Corporation and Georgia Air Services agreed to lease the airport, once completed, for $12,000 per year. In September 1941,

Eddie Rickenbacker Edward Vernon Rickenbacker or Eddie Rickenbacker (October 8, 1890 – July 23, 1973) was an American fighter pilot in World War I and a Medal of Honor recipient.flying ace A flying ace, fighter ace or air ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down five or more enemy aircraft during aerial combat. The exact number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an ace is varied, but is usually co ...

, and then the president and general manager of

Eastern Airlines Eastern Air Lines, also colloquially known as Eastern, was a major United States airline from 1926 to 1991. Before its dissolution, it was headquartered at Miami International Airport in an unincorporated area of Miami-Dade County, Florida. Ea ...

, agreed to have this airport named ''Rickenbacker Field'' in his honor. In the same month, the

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage o ...

requested permission to use this airport for the

flight training Flight training is a course of study used when learning to pilot an aircraft. The overall purpose of primary and intermediate flight training is the acquisition and honing of basic airmanship skills. Flight training can be conducted under a st ...

Naval aviator Naval aviation is the application of military air power by navies, whether from warships that embark aircraft, or land bases. Naval aviation is typically projected to a position nearer the target by way of an aircraft carrier. Carrier-bas ...

s. (The Navy had established the "Naval Aviation Reserve Base Atlanta", at what is now the DeKalb-Peachtree Airport, in March 1941.) In October, Georgia Air Services signed a $70,000 contract for two 180x160-ft.

airplane hangar A hangar is a building or structure designed to hold aircraft or spacecraft. Hangars are built of metal, wood, or concrete. The word ''hangar'' comes from Middle French ''hanghart'' ("enclosure near a house"), of Germanic origin, from Frankish ...

s to be built. Although it was far from completion, the dedication of this airfield took place in October 1941 After the Japanese

attack on Pearl Harbor The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service upon the United States against the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii ...

, work on this new airfield accelerated rapidly. In January 1942,

Lawrence Dale Bell Lawrence Dale "Larry" Bell (April 5, 1894 – October 20, 1956) was an American industrialist and founder of Bell Aircraft Corporation. Biography Bell was born in Mentone, Indiana, and lived there until 1907, when his family moved to Santa Moni ...

, the founder and president of the Bell Aircraft Company, inspected this site for a proposed government-financed

airplane An airplane or aeroplane (informally plane) is a fixed-wing aircraft that is propelled forward by thrust from a jet engine, propeller, or rocket engine. Airplanes come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and wing configurations. The broad ...

factory for the

Department of War War Department may refer to: * War Department (United Kingdom) * United States Department of War (1789–1947) See also * War Office, a former department of the British Government * Ministry of defence * Ministry of War * Ministry of Defence {{u ...

. Meanwhile, the Department of the Navy announced its intention to take over the new airfield as an auxiliary naval air station. The Navy shortly began land-condemnation proceedings. The Department of War, in turn, announced that it would not contest the wish of the Department of the Navy to take over Rickenbacker Field, and that it would build its new factory elsewhere. The Cobb County government appealed to the

Secretary of the Navy The secretary of the Navy (or SECNAV) is a statutory officer () and the head (chief executive officer) of the Department of the Navy, a military department (component organization) within the United States Department of Defense. By law, the se ...

Frank Knox William Franklin Knox (January 1, 1874 – April 28, 1944) was an American politician, newspaper editor and publisher. He was also the Republican vice presidential candidate in 1936, and Secretary of the Navy under Franklin D. Roosevelt during ...

, urging him to change the Navy's plans. Since other options were available for flight training. Secretary Knox relinquished the Navy's claim on this airfield and left it to the

Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

. (During

, the Navy established an auxiliary naval air station at

Gainesville, Georgia The city of Gainesville is the county seat of Hall County, Georgia, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 42,296. Because of its large number of poultry processing plants, it is often called the "Poultry Capital of ...

, just northeast of Atlanta.) On January 23, 1942, the Bell Aircraft Company and the Department of War announced that an aircraft factory employing up to 40,000 workers would be built near Marietta. Also, the Department of War announced on February 19 that "Rickenbacker Field" would be renamed the ''Marietta Army Airfield''. Although its construction began in March 1942, its official ground-breaking ceremony took place in May 1942, with Captain

Rickenbacker Rickenbacker International Corporation is a string instrument manufacturer based in Santa Ana, California. The company is credited as the first known maker of electric guitars – a steel guitar in 1932 – and today produces a range ...

present. Rickenbacker went on to establish and pay for an aviation educational program to train workers for both

civil aviation Civil aviation is one of two major categories of flying, representing all non-military and non-state aviation, both private and commercial. Most of the countries in the world are members of the International Civil Aviation Organization and work ...

and

military aviation Military aviation comprises military aircraft and other flying machines for the purposes of conducting or enabling aerial warfare, including national airlift ( air cargo) capacity to provide logistical supply to forces stationed in a war thea ...

. Also in 1942, the

City of Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

began work on its contribution: a pipeline to supply the new factory with water from the

Chattahoochee River The Chattahoochee River forms the southern half of the Alabama and Georgia border, as well as a portion of the Florida - Georgia border. It is a tributary of the Apalachicola River, a relatively short river formed by the confluence of the Chatt ...

. In addition to taking over Rickenbacker Field, the

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

(USAAF) purchased a parcel of land just north of the airfield for a cantonment area. The Marietta Army Airfield was activated on June 6, 1943, with its personnel housed in tents as part of the 58th Bombardment Operational Training Wing. At the end of June 1943, there were 42

officers An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," fr ...

and 356

enlisted men An enlisted rank (also known as an enlisted grade or enlisted rate) is, in some armed services, any rank below that of a commissioned officer. The term can be inclusive of non-commissioned officers or warrant officers, except in United States mi ...

stationed here. The mission of the Marietta Army Airfield was acceptance testing of

B-29 Superfortress The Boeing B-29 Superfortress is an American four-engined propeller-driven heavy bomber, designed by Boeing and flown primarily by the United States during World War II and the Korean War. Named in allusion to its predecessor, the B-17 ...

heavy bomber Heavy bombers are bomber aircraft capable of delivering the largest payload of air-to-ground weaponry (usually bombs) and longest range ( takeoff to landing) of their era. Archetypal heavy bombers have therefore usually been among the larg ...

s for the USAAF, the modification of B-29s, and the operation of an Army Air Depot. Barracks for the soldiers reached completion in November 1943. By January 1, 1944, the number of soldiers stationed here had risen to 73 officers and 1,263 enlisted men. For a period of time, the Marietta Army Airfield was assigned to the USAAF's

Second Air Force The Second Air Force (2 AF; ''2d Air Force'' in 1942) is a USAF numbered air force responsible for conducting basic military and technical training for Air Force enlisted members and non-flying officers. In World War II the CONUS unit defende ...

under the

XX Bomber Command The XX Bomber Command was a United States Army Air Forces bomber formation. Its last assignment was with Twentieth Air Force, based on Okinawa. It was inactivated on 16 July 1945. History The idea of basing Boeing B-29 Superfortresses in ...

. On 12 April 1944, the Marietta Army Airfield was reassigned to the "17th Bombardment Operation Training Unit". Marietta-aaf-1944

In the spring of 1943 the adjacent Bell Aircraft Company's factory, an additional plant (besides a pair of

Boeing The Boeing Company () is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, telecommunications equipment, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and ...

plants Renton,

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

and

Wichita, Kansas Wichita ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Sedgwick County. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 397,532. The Wichita metro area had a population of 647,610 in 2020. It is located in ...

(former

Stearman Aircraft Stearman Aircraft Corporation was an aircraft manufacturer in Wichita, Kansas. Although the company designed a range of other aircraft, it is most known for producing the Model 75, which is commonly known simply as the "Stearman" or "Boeing ...

) and a

Martin Martin may refer to: Places * Martin City (disambiguation) * Martin County (disambiguation) * Martin Township (disambiguation) Antarctica * Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land * Port Martin, Adelie Land * Point Martin, South Orkney Islands Austr ...

plant at

Offutt Field Offutt may refer to: * Offutt (surname) * Offutt, Kentucky *Offutt Air Force Base Offutt Air Force Base is a U.S. Air Force base south of Omaha, adjacent to Bellevue in Sarpy County, Nebraska. It is the headquarters of the U.S. Strategic Co ...

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest ...

Bowers 1989, p.319.Bowers 1989, p.322.) for manufacturing

es was completed. The "Defense Plant Corporation" of the Department of War paid for the construction of this factory, and the Department called it " Plant #6". Bell Aircraft completed its first B-29 on schedule, and this was first test-flown on November 4, 1943. The production of B-29s at this factory increased slowly during 1944, and by the fall of 1944, Bell Aircraft's output of new B-29s began to meet and exceed the goals of the Department of War. By January 1945, Bell Aircraft had completed 357 B-29A's. After the completion of the last one of these, the production in Marietta was switched to the B-29B Superfortress, which was a simplified version of the B-29 without the computerized gun system and other components that raised the allowable bomb load from 11,000 to 18,000 pounds. The new B-29B radar, mounted in a wing-shaped radome under the fuselage, gave much better images of the ground. The 315th Bombardment Wing based at Northwest Field,

Guam Guam (; ch, Guåhan ) is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. It is the westernmost point and territory of the United States (reckoned from the geographic cent ...

, received most of the B-29Bs for night low altitude pathfinder led missions against

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...

. Bell built a total of 311 B-29Bs before the plant closed in January 1946. At its height, the Bell Bomber plant employed 28,263.

Post-war

Marietta Army Airfield remained open after the war and became the home of Georgia Air National Guard (ANG) and

Air Force Reserve The Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC) is a major command (MAJCOM) of the United States Air Force, with its headquarters at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia. It is the federal Air Reserve Component (ARC) of the U.S. Air Force, consisting of commi ...

units. The first post-war ANG unit, the

128th Fighter Squadron The 128th Airborne Command and Control Squadron is a unit of the Georgia Air National Guard 116th Air Control Wing located at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia. The 128th is equipped with the E-8C Joint STARS. The squadron's first predecessor is t ...

, activated at Marietta on 20 August 1946, with

P-47 Thunderbolt The Republic P-47 Thunderbolt is a World War II-era fighter aircraft produced by the American company Republic Aviation from 1941 through 1945. It was a successful high-altitude fighter and it also served as the foremost American fighter-bomb ...

s. This was followed by the activation of the headquarters of the

116th Fighter Group The 116th Operations Group is a Georgia Air National Guard unit assigned to the 116th Air Control Wing. The unit is stationed at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia. The 116th Group controls all operational Northrop Grumman E-8C Joint STARS aircraft ...

on 9 September and the activation of the headquarters of the

54th Fighter Wing 54 may refer to: * 54 (number) * one of the years 54 BC, AD 54, 1954, 2054 * ''54'' (novel), a 2002 novel by Wu Ming * Studio 54, a New York City nightclub from 1977 until 1981 * ''54'' (film), a 1998 American drama film about the club * ''54'' ...

which commanded 56 units of the

Air National Guard The Air National Guard (ANG), also known as the Air Guard, is a federal military reserve force of the United States Air Force, as well as the air militia of each U.S. state, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the ter ...

throughout the Southeastern states. In 1948, part of the land and

barracks Barracks are usually a group of long buildings built to house military personnel or laborers. The English word originates from the 17th century via French and Italian from an old Spanish word "barraca" ("soldier's tent"), but today barracks are u ...

at the original

Naval Air Station Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

in nearby Chamblee were given to the state for the purpose of creating an

engineering technology An engineering technologist is a professional trained in certain aspects of development and implementation of a respective area of technology. Engineering technology education is even more applied and less theoretical than engineering education ...

school that could rapidly train returning soldiers for civilian work in various technical fields. Also in 1948 the airfield became Marietta Air Force Base as a result of the creation of the

. In 1950, the Air Force renamed the base Dobbins Air Force Base in honor of Captain Charles M. Dobbins of Marietta, a World War II transport pilot. Captain Dobbins died near

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

on July 11, 1943 when US Navy gunners who had earlier suffered a

Luftwaffe The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German '' Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the '' Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabt ...

(German air force) attack mistakenly downed his C-47. He was flying his third mission of the day, dropping paratroopers. Following the war, the Bell Aircraft Plant #6 remained closed for five years. In 1951,

Lockheed Aircraft Corporation The Lockheed Corporation was an American aerospace manufacturer. Lockheed was founded in 1926 and later merged with Martin Marietta to form Lockheed Martin in 1995. Its founder, Allan Lockheed, had earlier founded the similarly named but o ...

took over the plant to modify B-29s for the

Korean War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Korean War , partof = the Cold War and the Korean conflict , image = Korean War Montage 2.png , image_size = 300px , caption = Clockwise from top:{ ...

. Lockheed also went on to build 394

B-47 Stratojet The Boeing B-47 Stratojet (Boeing company designation Model 450) is a retired American long-range, six-engined, turbojet-powered strategic bomber designed to fly at high subsonic speed and at high altitude to avoid enemy interceptor aircraft. ...

s at the plant under license from Boeing. Additionally, Lockheed also conducted a B-47 modification program at Marietta. To handle the B-47 production and modification work, the airfield received a 10,000 × runway. Over the years, the Lockheed plant constructed the Lockheed JetStar business jet (C-140),

C-141 Starlifter The Lockheed C-141 Starlifter is a retired military strategic airlifter that served with the Military Air Transport Service (MATS), its successor organization the Military Airlift Command (MAC), and finally the Air Mobility Command (AMC) of the ...

, and

C-5 Galaxy The Lockheed C-5 Galaxy is a large military transport aircraft designed and built by Lockheed, and now maintained and upgraded by its successor, Lockheed Martin. It provides the United States Air Force (USAF) with a heavy intercontinental-rang ...

. In 1957, Naval Air Station Atlanta (NAS Atlanta) at the present day Peachtree-DeKalb Airport in nearby Chamblee moved to Dobbins AFB. The Navy constructed a cantonment area on the southwest portion of Dobbins AFB for their use. In 1962, the

Southern Technical Institute Southern Polytechnic State University (also called Southern Poly; abbreviated SPSU) was a public, co-educational, state university in Marietta, Georgia, United States approximately northwest of downtown Atlanta. Until 2015, it was an independe ...

(now

Kennesaw State University Kennesaw State University (KSU) is a public research university located in the state of Georgia with two different campuses in the Atlanta metropolitan area, one in Kennesaw and the other in Marietta on a combined of land. The school was fou ...

) began classes on land given to the University System of Georgia by Dobbins AFB four years prior. In June 1992 the official name was changed from Dobbins Air Force Base to Dobbins Air Reserve Base (Dobbins ARB). In 2003, the

changed the name again to Dobbins Joint Air Reserve Base (Dobbins JARB). However, with the closure of the NAS Atlanta on 29 September 2009, the name reverted to Dobbins Air Reserve Base once again. In September 2005, the 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron Hurricane Hunter aircraft flew out of Dobbins JARB after

Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a destructive Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that caused over 1,800 fatalities and $125 billion in damage in late August 2005, especially in the city of New Orleans and the surrounding areas. It was at the time the cost ...

did major damage to their normal home at

Keesler Air Force Base Keesler Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located in Biloxi, a city along the Gulf Coast in Harrison County, Mississippi, United States. The base is named in honor of aviator 2d Lt Samuel Reeves Keesler Jr., a Mississippi nat ...

in Biloxi,

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

. Numerous evacuees also came to

metro Atlanta Metro Atlanta, designated by the United States Office of Management and Budget as the Atlanta–Sandy Springs–Alpharetta, GA Metropolitan Statistical Area, is the most populous metropolitan statistical area in the U.S. state of Georgia and th ...

through Dobbins JARB, including many

medevac Medical evacuation, often shortened to medevac or medivac, is the timely and efficient movement and en route care provided by medical personnel to wounded being evacuated from a battlefield, to injured patients being evacuated from the scene of a ...

ed medical patients taken in by local hospitals. Over the years, a wide variety of U.S. Army Air Forces and U.S. Air Force aircraft have been stationed at Dobbins AFB with the Air Force Reserve and the Air National Guard, including the

P-51 Mustang The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang is an American long-range, single-seat fighter and fighter-bomber used during World War II and the Korean War, among other conflicts. The Mustang was designed in April 1940 by a team headed by James ...

F-51 Mustang The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang is an American long-range, single-seat fighter and fighter-bomber used during World War II and the Korean War, among other conflicts. The Mustang was designed in April 1940 by a team headed by James ...

F-84 Thunderstreak The Republic F-84F Thunderstreak was an American swept-wing turbojet fighter-bomber. While an evolutionary development of the straight-wing F-84 Thunderjet, the F-84F was a new design. The RF-84F Thunderflash was a photo reconnaissance version. ...

F-86 Sabre The North American F-86 Sabre, sometimes called the Sabrejet, is a transonic jet fighter aircraft. Produced by North American Aviation, the Sabre is best known as the United States' first swept-wing fighter that could counter the swept-wing Sov ...

, C-97 Stratocruiser,

C-123 Provider The Fairchild C-123 Provider is an American military transport aircraft designed by Chase Aircraft and then built by Fairchild Aircraft for the U.S. Air Force. In addition to its USAF service, which included later service with the Air Force Re ...

C-124 Globemaster II The Douglas C-124 Globemaster II, nicknamed "Old Shaky", is an American heavy-lift cargo aircraft built by the Douglas Aircraft Company in Long Beach, California. The C-124 was the primary heavy-lift transport for United States Air Force (USAF ...

F-100 Super Sabre The North American F-100 Super Sabre is an American supersonic jet fighter aircraft that served with the United States Air Force (USAF) from 1954 to 1971 and with the Air National Guard (ANG) until 1979. The first of the Century Series of U ...

, F-105 Thunderchief,

F-4 Phantom II The McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II is an American tandem two-seat, twin-engine, all-weather, long-range supersonic jet interceptor and fighter-bomber originally developed by McDonnell Aircraft for the United States Navy.Swanborough and ...

, C-7 Caribou,

and the

F-15 Eagle The McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle is an American Twinjet, twin-engine, all-weather Air combat manoeuvring#Tactics, tactical fighter aircraft designed by McDonnell Douglas (now part of Boeing). Following reviews of proposals, the United States ...

. Naval aircraft have included the

A-4 Skyhawk The Douglas A-4 Skyhawk is a single-seat subsonic carrier-capable light attack aircraft developed for the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps in the early 1950s. The delta-winged, single turbojet engined Skyhawk was designed ...

A-7 Corsair II The LTV A-7 Corsair II is an American carrier-capable subsonic light attack aircraft designed and manufactured by Ling-Temco-Vought (LTV). The A-7 was developed during the early 1960s as replacement for the Douglas A-4 Skyhawk. Its design w ...

A-6 Intruder The Grumman A-6 Intruder is an American twinjet all-weather attack aircraft developed and manufactured by American aircraft company Grumman Aerospace and operated by the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps. It was designed in response to a 1957 r ...

F/A-18 Hornet The McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet is an all-weather, twin-engine, supersonic, carrier-capable, multirole combat aircraft, designed as both a fighter and attack aircraft (hence the F/A designation). Designed by McDonnell Douglas (now pa ...

and C-9 Skytrain II of the U.S. Navy and

OV-10 Bronco The North American Rockwell OV-10 Bronco is an American twin- turboprop light attack and observation aircraft. It was developed in the 1960s as a special aircraft for counter-insurgency (COIN) combat, and one of its primary missions was as a for ...

, AH-1 SeaCobra, UH-1 Huey and

aircraft of the U.S. Marine Corps.

Current and future

In 1995, Lockheed merged with

Martin Marietta The Martin Marietta Corporation was an American company founded in 1961 through the merger of Glenn L. Martin Company and American-Marietta Corporation. In 1995, it merged with Lockheed Corporation to form Lockheed Martin. History Martin Mari ...

to become

Lockheed Martin The Lockheed Martin Corporation is an American aerospace, arms, defense, information security, and technology corporation with worldwide interests. It was formed by the merger of Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta in March 1995. It ...

. The

remains in production 60 years after the first one rolled out in 1955. Work also continues on the

F-22 Raptor The Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor is an American single-seat, twin-engine, all-weather stealth tactical fighter aircraft developed for the United States Air Force (USAF). As the result of the USAF's Advanced Tactical Fighter (ATF) program, th ...

and the Joint Strike Fighter. Dobbins ARB has its own ZIP code, 30069, and Lockheed Martin also has its own ZIP code, 30063, however, Marietta is the only

place name Place may refer to: Geography * Place (United States Census Bureau), defined as any concentration of population ** Census-designated place, a populated area lacking its own municipal government * "Place", a type of street or road name ** Of ...

(city) considered acceptable by the

United States Postal Service The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal service in the ...

for the latter. Dobbins ARB is also an

automate Automation describes a wide range of technologies that reduce human intervention in processes, namely by predetermining decision criteria, subprocess relationships, and related actions, as well as embodying those predeterminations in machines ...

weather station A weather station is a facility, either on land or sea, with instruments and equipment for measuring atmospheric conditions to provide information for weather forecasts and to study the weather and climate. The measurements taken include tempera ...

, reporting five minutes before every hour. Until sometime in 2008, it only reported from 7am to 11pm (6:55 to 10:55/22:55), although it occasionally reported overnight during unusual weather conditions, such as strong winds due to the 2004 hurricanes ( Frances, Jeanne, Ivan). Local conditions shown on

The Weather Channel The Weather Channel (TWC) is an American pay television channel owned by Weather Group, LLC, a subsidiary of Allen Media Group. The channel's headquarters are in Atlanta, Georgia. Launched on May 2, 1982, the channel broadcasts weather foreca ...

(TWC) and

Weatherscan Weatherscan was an American digital cable and satellite television network owned by Allen Media Group. A spinoff of The Weather Channel, Weatherscan featured uninterrupted local weather information in graphical format on a continuous loop that ...

are now taken from a different system set up by TWC during the mid-2000s (decade); until then, overnight conditions for local

cable TV Cable television is a system of delivering television programming to consumers via radio frequency (RF) signals transmitted through coaxial cables, or in more recent systems, light pulses through fibre-optic cables. This contrasts with broa ...

systems came from Fulton County Airport. Like most U.S. bases, Dobbins ARB has had to fend off several attempts at closing it, as part of streamlining the country's military and reducing unnecessary spending. Development has steadily encroached upon the base since the war. 1978

OV-1 Mohawk The Grumman OV-1 Mohawk is an armed military observation and attack aircraft that was designed for battlefield surveillance and light strike capabilities. It has a twin turboprop configuration, and carries two crew members in side-by-side seating ...

1989

and 1993

plane crash An aviation accident is defined by the Convention on International Civil Aviation Annex 13 as an occurrence associated with the operation of an aircraft, which takes place from the time any person boards the aircraft with the ''intention of fl ...

es into residential areas near the base raised questions of safety in having a base in such a densely populated suburban area. The airfield now sits in a vast sea of urban development; flying demonstrations at air shows were discontinued some years ago because of safety concerns, although the Navy hosted air shows in 2004 and 2006, and the Air Force side hosted air shows in 2008 and 2010 (2008 marked the first time in over 15 years of a USAF Thunderbirds performance at KMGE). Public complaints about the noise continue, and attempts to close the facility have been thwarted so far by powerful local

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, ...

s, such as former

U.S. Senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and power ...

Sam Nunn Samuel Augustus Nunn Jr. (born September 8, 1938) is an American politician who served as a United States Senator from Georgia (1972–1997) as a member of the Democratic Party. After leaving Congress, Nunn co-founded the Nuclear Threat Initia ...

in 1995. However, some have proposed that it again become a commercial airport, as it was originally envisioned (there have been calls for Dobbins ARB to become the second major commercial airport in metro Atlanta, to be a major reliever to

, the busiest airport in the world). Dobbins ARB is the only U.S. military facility left in northern Georgia after the 2005

Base Realignment and Closure Commission Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) is a process by a United States federal government commission to increase United States Department of Defense efficiency by coordinating the realignment and closure of military installations following the end o ...

(BRAC) recommendations were enacted. The Georgia Air National Guard transferred to Robins AFB in 1996, leaving

C-130s as the only Air Force flying unit at the base. The 248th Medical Company (Air Ambulance) and elements of the 151st Aviation Regiment of the

Army National Guard The Army National Guard (ARNG), in conjunction with the Air National Guard, is an organized militia force and a federal military reserve force of the United States Army. They are simultaneously part of two different organizations: the Army N ...

are also based there. More units relocated to Dobbins ARB as the

took over NAS Atlanta as the latter closed due to BRAC and became a tenant non-flying command known as Navy Operational Support Center Atlanta. Dobbins is also the home of the U.S. Air Force Reserve's Transportation Proficiency Center which provides accelerated training for Airmen joining the Air Force Reserve in transportation career fields, specialized skill training, and pre-mobilization readiness training for Reserve component transportation Airmen called to active duty service. B-29 near the main gate Near Dobbins ARB's main gate stands a Wichita-built B-29 named "Sweet Eloise" (B-29-80-BW, AAF Ser. No. 44-70113), which is on public display as a memorial to World War II bomber production plant at the site. However, at least two Marietta-built B-29s have survived the years. One is on display at the Georgia Veterans State Park near Cordele (B-29A-15-BN, AAF Ser. No. 42-93967) and the other (B-29B-55-BA, AAF Ser. No. 44-84053) is located at

Robins Air Force Base Robins Air Force Base is a major United States Air Force installation located in Houston County, Georgia, United States. The base is located just east of the city of Warner Robins, south-southeast of Macon and approximately south-southeast o ...

's Museum of Flight in

Warner Robins, Georgia Warner Robins (typically ) is a city in the U.S. state of Georgia, located in Houston and Peach counties in the central part of the state. It is currently Georgia's eleventh-largest incorporated city, with an estimated population of 80,308 in t ...

Major Commands to which assigned

* AAF Air Service Command, October 13, 1942 * Commanding General,

, September 27, 1943 *

, January 14, 1944 * AAF Materiel Command, July 15, 1944 * AAF Materiel and Services, July 17, 1944 : Redesignated: AAF Technical Service Command, August 31, 1944 *

Air Technical Service Command The atmosphere of Earth is the layer of gases, known collectively as air, retained by Earth's gravity that surrounds the planet and forms its planetary atmosphere. The atmosphere of Earth protects life on Earth by creating pressure allowing for ...

, July 1, 1945 *

Air Materiel Command Air Materiel Command (AMC) was a United States Army Air Forces and United States Air Force command. Its headquarters was located at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. In 1961, the command was redesignated the Air Force Logistics Command ...

, March 9, 1946 *

Air Defense Command Aerospace Defense Command was a major command of the United States Air Force, responsible for continental air defense. It was activated in 1968 and disbanded in 1980. Its predecessor, Air Defense Command, was established in 1946, briefly inac ...

, June 25, 1946 *

Continental Air Command Continental Air Command (ConAC) (1948–1968) was a Major Command of the United States Air Force (USAF) responsible primarily for administering the Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve. During the Korean War, ConAC provided the necessary augm ...

, May 10, 1949 *

, August 1, 1968 : Redesignated:

, February 17, 1997–present

Major Units assigned

* 522d Base HQ and Air Base Squadron, June 10, 1943 – March 25, 1944 * 292d Army Air Force Base Unit, March 25, 1944 – May 31, 1946 * 54th Fighter (later Troop Carrier) Wing, October 2, 1946 – October 11, 1950 * 4204th Army Air Force (later Air Force) Base Unit, May 31, 1946 – December 14, 1958 * 94th Bombardment Group, May 29, 1947 – March 20, 1951 : Established as: 94th Bombardment (later Tactical Reconnaissance) Wing, June 26, 1949 – May 18, 1955 * 514th Troop Carrier Group, May 29, 1947 – June 26, 1949 * 35th Air Division, September 4, 1951 – November 15, 1958 * 902d Reserve Training Wing, December 19, 1951 – June 13, 1952 * 116th Tactical Fighter Wing (Various Designations), July 10, 1952 – 1996 * 2589th Air Reserve Combat Training Center, November 1, 1953 – December 27, 1961 * 445th Troop Carrier Wing (Various Designations), September 6, 1957 – June 29, 1971 * 918th Troop Carrier Group (Various Designations), January 15, 1963 – September 1, 1975 * 94th Tactical Airlift Wing / 94th Airlift Wing (Various Designations), July 1, 1972 – Present *

Fourteenth Air Force The Fourteenth Air Force (14 AF; Air Forces Strategic) was a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Space Command (AFSPC). It was headquartered at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. The command was responsible for the organiza ...

, October 8, 1976 – July 1, 1993

Based units

Flying and notable non-flying units based at Dobbins Air Reserve Base.

United States Air Force

(AFRC) *

** Headquarters Twenty-Second Air Force **

(Host Wing) ***

94th Operations Group The 94th Operations Group (94 OG) is the flying component of the 94th Airlift Wing, assigned to the United States Air Force Reserve. The group is stationed at Dobbins Air Reserve Base, Georgia. During World War II, its predecessor unit, the 9 ...

**** 94th Aeromedical Evacuation **** 94th Airlift Control Flight ****

700th Airlift Squadron The 700th Airlift Squadron is part of the 94th Airlift Wing at Dobbins Air Reserve Base, Georgia. It operates Lockheed C-130 Hercules aircraft providing global airlift. The squadron was first activated in April 1943 as the 700th Bombardment S ...

– C-130H Hercules **** 94th Operations Support Squadron *** 94th Mission Support Group **** 80th Aerial Port Squadron **** 94th Aerial Port Squadron **** 94th Mission Support Squadron **** 94th Security Forces Squadron **** 94th Logistic Readiness Squadron **** 94th Civil Engineering Squadron **** 94th Force Support Squadron **** 94th Communications Squadron *** 94th Maintenance Group **** 94th Maintenance Squadron **** 94th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron *** 94th Aeromedical Staging Squadron

United States Marine Corps

Marine Forces Reserve *

4th Marine Logistics Group The 4th Marine Logistics Group (4th MLG) is a reserve logistics unit of the United States Marine Corps. The group is headquartered at New Orleans, Louisiana while its subordinate units are spread across the United States. Mission Provide gene ...

** Combat Logistics Regiment 45 *** Combat Logistics Battalion 25 *** Combat Logistics Battalion 451

United States Army

(ARNG)

78th Aviation Troop Command * 111th Aviation Regiment ** 1st Battalion (General Support) *** Company C * 151st Aviation Regiment ** 2nd Battalion (Service & Support) * 171st Aviation Regiment ** 1st Battalion (General Support) ** Company H * Detachment 9, Operational Airlift * Army Aviation Support Facility No. 2

United States Navy

US Navy Reserve * Navy Operational Support Center (NOSC) Atlanta

National Guard

Georgia National Guard * Headquarters Georgia National Guard

References

Sources

* * Maurer, Maurer (1983). ''Air Force Combat Units Of World War II''. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History. . * * Shettle, M. L. (2005), Georgia's Army Airfields of World War II.

External links

Georgia Encyclopedia article

Unofficial site for 1/171 AVN REGT, GA National Guard
* * {{Authority control Installations of the United States Air Force in Georgia (U.S. state) Military installations established in 1950 Buildings and structures in Cobb County, Georgia Lockheed Martin-associated military facilities Transportation in Cobb County, Georgia 1942 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state)