Georgia's Aerospace History

With the launch of two of our newest aerospace collections, the Mighty 8th Air Force Collection (courtesy of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force) and newly digitized Delta Flight Museum collection holdings (courtesy of the Delta Flight Museum),  we have taken this opportunity to highlight the holdings of our many statewide partners on the history of Georgia aviation and aviators. 

On December 17, 1903. Orville and Wilbur Wright completed the first successful airplane flight, near Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. From that point forward, notable Georgians began building and contributing to the development of Georgia-based aviation and the industries supported by a robust aerospace infrastructure. The combined labor, planning, and innovation of decades of Georgian aviators, politicians, military veterans, and philanthropists have resulted in the state’s many economic and trade successes. 

Georgia’s aviation industry began with Ben Epps, often considered the father of Georgia aviation, an Athens mechanic and inventor. Inspired directly by the brothers, Epps created Georgia’s first aircraft in 1907. Eugene Bullard, from Columbus, Georgia, served as the world’s first African American combat pilot. Atlanta resident Charles Dryden established a training center for African American pilots, culminating in his service as one of the famed Tuskegee Airmen. As a group, the Airmen flew over 15,000 combat missions and eliminated 250+ enemy aircraft and 950+ ground vehicles. Hazel Raines, who grew up in Macon, was the first woman to receive a pilot’s license in Georgia and fight for the United States during World War II (1941–45) and the Korean War (1950–53).

As for commercial airlines, Delta Air Lines and Eastern Air Lines both developed within the state of Georgia. One of the most notable airlines in modern aviation, Delta Air Lines, was founded as a crop-dusting operation to mitigate boll weevil damage in Macon in 1924, moved to Monroe, Louisiana, in 1925, and back to Atlanta in 1934. The 1930s proved to be a tumultuous time in Delta’s history. The company required new management, expansion, and modernization efforts, many of which were initiated by C. E. Woolman. Delta introduced new service routes for airlines in the South to remain competitive. Although based outside of Georgia, Eastern became a dominant carrier on the New York-Florida route from Atlanta during a commercial push in the 1930s. This proved successful until the 1960s, during the airline’s transition to the jet age. However, the 1970s brought labor conflict, high fuel costs, and company-wide debt. This would eventually lead to Eastern’s liquidation in 1991. Deregulation efforts instituted by President Carter in 1978 proved to be the end of Eastern but helped strengthen Delta’s position as an airline provider. Delta’s continued growth has been instrumental to our state’s commercial success.

Georgia residents played critical roles in the United States military’s air-based missions during World War II. One of these was General Lucius D. Clay, who organized World War II’s Berlin Airlift, a tremendous logistical feat. Earlier, in 1940, President Roosevelt assigned General Clay to head an emergency airport construction program under the Civil Aeronautics Administration to prepare the country for war. Over the next two years, Clay helped construct some 450 airstrips, including Rickenbacker Field in Marietta (named after aerial combat ace Eddie Rickenbacker), and was key in convincing the U.S. Army to choose Cobb County over other Atlanta-area locations to build the Bell Bomber plant. After the war, Clay served on our country’s Airport Approval Board and designed our national interstate highways, literally paving the way for Georgia’s commercial businesses to function alongside these roads.

The Eighth Air Force, an Anglo-American bombing campaign against Nazi Germany, ran World War II’s most lengthy military campaign and masterminded the only battle fought inside the German homeland until Allied soldiers crossed into Germany in the war's final months. Activated in 1942 in Savannah, Georgia, the Eighth Air Force moved to England to support the Allied air war against Nazi Germany.

During World War II and the postwar eras, Georgia also established itself as the home of American aircraft manufacturing. 

Lockheed Martin was a Georgia aircraft industrial company that played an instrumental role in the nation’s defense during World War II (1941–1945). The company evolved into funding and bolstering the Bell Aircraft Corporation, known for their “Bell Bomber” fighter plane in Marietta. In addition, 37 percent of Bell Aircraft Corporation’s workforce was female. Maule Air, a family-owned aircraft manufacturing concern based in Moultrie, founded in 1941, has since specialized in producing light single-engine, short-takeoff, and landing aircraft. The company delivered 2,500 aircraft in its first fifty years of business.

Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation didn’t receive their big break until they relocated to Savannah, Georgia, in the 1950s, when they were bought out by General Dynamics. Since then, from facilities in Savannah, Brunswick, and other locations across the country, they have produced over 2,000 aircraft worldwide for corporations, governments, and individuals. 

Along with airlines and aircraft manufacturers, Georgia has been home to an impressive variety of airports. These include Souther Field, the Naval Air Station (Atlanta), Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, and 107 public-use airports. 

The earliest of these airports arrived soon after World War I (1917–1918) and were converted to military facilities during the Second World War (1941–1955). Since 1960, Georgia’s government has funded these locations to bolster airport development.

Souther Field is the oldest continuously operating civilian airport in the United States. It played a role in World War I (1917–1918) and World War II (1941–1945). The airport was renamed the Jimmy Carter Regional Airport in 2009. 

The Naval Air Station (Atlanta) operated from 1943–2009 as a flight trainer for personnel throughout the southeastern United States. The air station also served in numerous operations for the U.S. military; most notably, its reservists assisted the U.S. Coast Guard in operations along the Atlantic coastline. 

Marietta’s Dobbins Air Reserve Base, built on the former Bell Bomber assembly site and training base and named in honor of Air Force pilot Charles M. Dobbins, continues to be one of the busiest air reserve bases in the United States. It currently functions as a reserve training base that is used by the U.S. Air Force Reserve, the Georgia Air and Army National Guard, the U.S. Naval Reserves, and the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve. It employs more than 2,500 people full-time (including civilians), and approximately 10,000 military personnel are assigned to serve there. The base’s economic impact on Cobb County is an estimated $162 million dollars.

Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport is named after the two Atlanta mayors who worked tirelessly to establish Atlanta as a worldwide aviation hub, William B. Hartsfield (1890-1971) and Maynard Jackson (1938-2003). The airport grew out of what was once Candler Field (on land donated by Coca-Cola magnate Asa Candler). Today, the airport is one of the most active flight centers in the world. In addition, it contributes significantly to our state’s economic strength. 

In 2019, Hartsfield-Jackson saw more than 110 million passengers. It continues to serve as a gigantic delivery hub for daily mail and cargo hauls.