Dare County Regional Airport: History and Museum

The Dare County Regional Airport on the north end of Roanoke Island, where OBX Airplanes operates its air tours, has a very rich history dating back to before World War II. There is small but detailed museum dedicated to the history of the airport located inside the west end of the main terminal building. On display inside the museum’s two rooms are photographs, documents, uniforms, models and artifacts that bring to life the airport’s storied past. 

The Wright Brothers may be the most famous aviators to have flown in Dare County, but their fame does not mean we should overlook the brave pilots that flew out of Manteo during World War II. After the attack on Pearl Harbor the U.S. Navy realized it needed an air base near Cape Hatteras and considered building one on the Cape itself. However, Dare County had already begun construction of a publicly owned airport on the north end of Roanoke Island, so the Navy decided to make this their base of operations. 

Civil Air Patrol Base 16

On July 27, 1941 a mass flight of Civil Air Patrol aircraft from all over North Carolina descended on Roanoke Island. Historically, Civil Air Patrol Units were comprised of private citizens and private aircraft from all over the Country, but not the Civil Air Patrol based in Manteo. 95% of Civil Air Patrol (CAP) Base 16’s pilots came from North Carolina.

The mission of CAP Base 16 was to patrol the waters off the Outer Banks looking for wrecks and the German U-boats that were harassing U.S. Convoys. It was a dangerous job. The single engine planes flew twenty to forty miles offshore, often in hazardous weather conditions and with spotty radio contact. Two pilots from the Manteo base were lost in action while serving their country.

VF-17 F4U Corsair Squadron “Jolly Rogers”

The Navy transitioned the CAP Base to a Naval Auxiliary Air Station (NAAS) and officially commissioned it on March 3, 1943. NAAS Manteo was used for the special training of squadrons. Some of the aircraft that flew out of Manteo where F4F Wildcats, F6F Hellcats, SB2C Helldivers, TBM and TBF Avengers, PBY Catalinas and F4U Corsairs.

In April of 1943, a squadron of F4U Corsairs arrived in Manteo for the completion of their land-based training. The squadron, under the command of Lieutenant Commander Tom Blackburn, was known as the “Jolly Rogers.” This squadron was to become the most famous Navy squadron to operate in the Pacific Theater. Blackburn encouraged his pilots to take risks while training and his squadron earned the secondary nickname “Blackburn’s Irregulars.”
 
Lieutenant Commander Tom Blackburn of The Jolly Rogers

The “Jolly Rogers” or “Blackburn’s Irregulars” had been training in Norfolk, but their hellraising antics caused them to be transferred to a less populated area. According to Tom Blackburn’s memoir, the last straw was either Ensign Burris holding a low-level dogfight with a P51 over residential Norfolk or Ensign running a truck off the highway while playing chicken in his inverted F4U. In Manteo, however, the squadron was able to continue with its unorthodox method of training without drawing the attention Norfolk brass. 

This type of training paid off. According to Blackburn: “During VF-17’s two combat tours under my command, we were credited with 154.5 Japanese airplanes destroyed, 27 probably destroyed, and 27 damaged. Until then, no U.S. Navy or Marine fighter squadron in World War II had done so well.” (p. xviii. Blackburn, Tom. The Jolly Rogers: The Story of Tom Blackburn and Navy Fighting Squadron VF-17)

A local aviator was among the members of Blackburn’s “Jolly Rogers” and was one of the squadron’s top pilots. “One of Dare County's own, Lt. Sheldon R. ‘Ray’ Beacham of Kitty Hawk, was a pilot with VF17. He was credited with their first victory” (https://www.darenc.com/departments/airport/museum).

The Ready Room: Ondongo, 15 November 1943. From left to right, Schub, Davenport, Chasnoff, March, Kepford, Blackburn, Wharton (kneeling), Kurlander (kneeling), Streig, Hogan.
 
Tommy Blackburn and his VF-17 squadron mates with his F4U Corsair "Big Hog." Note patched bullets holes behind Blackburn's shoulder, holes courtesy of Exec Roger Hedrick.

​

Dave Driskill: The Re-Discoverer of the Outer Banks

J.D. “Dave” Driskill was the local barnstormer of the Outer Banks in the 1920s and 1930s, but he went on to become known as one of the better accomplished of America’s aviation pioneers. He was a test pilot and the first licensed helicopter pilot in the country. Dave was integral in the foundation of the Dare County Regional Airport and served as its first manager from 1946 to 1949.
In 1936, the National Park Service acquired its first aircraft, a 1928 Fairchild FC-2W2. Dave Driskill was its pilot. At the time, the park service had several remote Civilian Conservation Corps camps along the Outer Banks that were used for staging dune stabilization projects. Dave and the FC-2W2 provided the Park Service with a reliable means of transporting personnel, mail, and supplies to and from the scattered camps. 
 
Dave Driskill

During World War II Driskill went to work as a test pilot for Kellet Aircraft Company. After the War he returned to Manteo and was responsible for the revival of aviation on the Outer Banks. It is said that “The Wright Brothers brought aviation to the world, but Dave Driskill brought aviation to the Outer Banks.” (https://www.nationalparkstraveler.org/2008/09/national-park-services-first-plane-was-1928-fairchild-fc-2w2). 

Sadly, On October 3, 1949, Driskill was killed while testing the XR-10 helicopter near Philadelphia. There is a pictorial history of Dave Driskill’s career in the Ready Room of the Dare County Regional Airport.

Experience the History of Aviation on the Outer Banks

The museum at the Dare County Regional Airport is often overlooked by visitors but is worth the time to check out. The airport terminal is located less than a quarter mile from the North Carolina Aquarium on Roanoke Island. Stop by next time you’re in Manteo…and while you’re at it, consider booking an air tour with OBX Airplanes for the ultimate adventure on the Outer Banks.