Dare County Regional Airport Museum

410 Airport Road, 27954, NC, UNITED STATES
252-475-5570

About

Beginning in mid-November 2024, visitors can see a rotating exhibit devoted to the groundbreaking work of Francis Rogallo, an American aeronautical engineer best known for inventing the Rogallo wing. This flexible airfoil became the precursor to modern hang gliders and paragliders.

During the late 1930's and early 1940's, a small privately owned airport at Skyco on Roanoke Island served Dare County. On March 1st, 1940, the Dare County Board of Commissioners appointed a committee to obtain property and plan the development of a publicly owned airport.

After the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, the United States Navy explored the possibility of establishing a Naval Auxiliary Air Station on Cape Hatteras. Because construction was already underway in Manteo, the new site was selected there.

On July 27, 1942, Civil Air Patrol aircraft made a mass flight from Charlotte, Asheville, Elkin and Winston Salem to Skyco Airport on Roanoke Island. Until the new airport was ready in the late fall of 1942, the Civil Air Patrol operated Coastal Patrol Base 16 at Skyco. The base belonged to a network of 21 Civil Air Patrol Coastal Patrol Bases created during the war to counter the German submarine menace along the east coast.

The Manteo airport began service as Naval Auxiliary Air Station (NAAS) Manteo and received its official commission on March 3, 1943. Operational training there included squadrons flying F4F Wildcats, F6F Hellcats, SB2C Helldivers, TBM and TBF Avengers, and F4U Corsairs.

A squadron of F4U Corsairs arrived at NAAS Manteo in early April 1943. Commanded by Lieutenant Commander Tom Blackburn, this squadron proved to be the most famous Navy squadron of their time, scoring 154 victories in 76 days. Lt. Sheldon R. "Ray" Beacham of Kitty Hawk, one of Dare County's own, flew with VF17 and received credit for the squadron's first victory.

CAP Base 16 operated from July 22, 1942 until August 31, 1943. At that point, the U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard assumed the anti-submarine patrols, and all Civil Air Patrol Coastal Patrol Bases were closed. The Navy carried on operational training for many different squadrons until the station entered caretaker status on December 15, 1945.

Dare County requested the airfield's return in 1947, and the request was approved. The facility was subsequently run by a Fix Base Operator (FBO), followed by the Dare County Airport Authority. The Authority assumed control of the airport in 1983 and still oversees its daily operations today.

Museum

The Operations Room presents photographs and documents from the pre-WW2 era, with particular attention to Dave Driskill. His work included local barnstorming, air service operation, piloting for the National Park Service, and test piloting for Kellett Autogiro; after WW2, he became the airport's first manager.

The main room explores the airport's history and the two principal tenants housed there during WW2.

Displayed materials from the Civil Air Patrol Coastal Patrol Base 16 (CPB16) include authentic uniforms, photographs, documents, and artifacts. CPB16 operated at this location from July 1942 until August 1943. About 95% of the CAP personnel, men and women, were Tarheels.

The museum also exhibits authentic uniforms, photographs, documents, and artifacts connected with the US Navy squadrons that trained operationally at NAAS Manteo from March 1943 until the end of WW2. VF-17 and VF-50 are among those represented.