Dow Air Force Base - Bangor Maine - 1950'S 60'S Stein Mug STRATEGIC AIR COMMAND

Description: Dow Air Force Base - Bangor Maine - 1950'S 60'S Stein Mug - STRATEGIC AIR COMMAND Closed in 1968 Nice Vintage item Created in 1927 as the commercial Godfrey Field, the airfield was taken over by the U.S. Army just before World War II and renamed Bangor Army Air Field and later Dow Field. It became Dow Air Force Base (AFB) in 1948, when the newly formed U.S. Air Force took over many Army air assets. On 28 February 1942, Dow Field was transferred to Air Service Command (ASC) because of its proximity to the Air Transport Command (ATC) North Atlantic air ferry route to the United Kingdom. Its mission became servicing long-range Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress and, later, Consolidated B-24 Liberator heavy bombers and other combat aircraft before they flew via the Great Circle Route to Prestwick Airport, Scotland; and airfields in Northern Ireland. One of the B-17s that passed through Dow became the most famous B-17 of the war, the Memphis Belle (aircraft). (Once in the British isles, the aircraft were modified for combat missions by Eighth Air Force units over Nazi-occupied Europe.[3][5]) On 5 March 1944, Dow was transferred to Air Transport Command's North Atlantic Wing. In 1944, more than 8,400 aircraft passed through Dow, and about 2,150 in January through May 1945. In 1968, Dow AFB was closed as part of a nationwide reduction in stateside air force bases and naval air stations to free up funds for combat operations in Southeast Asia. The base was given to the city of Bangor by the General Services Administration as a civilian airport. Maine Air National Guard units continue to be based at the airport in a lease agreement with the city, in an area they had previously occupied when the base was under Air Force control.

Price: 59.99 USD

Location: Dayton, Ohio

End Time: 2024-12-18T01:30:05.000Z

Shipping Cost: N/A USD