the airfield became Marietta Air Force Base as a result of the creation of the United States Air Force. 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 on July 11, 1943 when US Navy gunners who had earlier suffered a Luftwaffe (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 took over the plant to modify B-29s for the Korean War. Lockheed also went on to build 394 B-47 Stratojets 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-130 Hercules, C-141 Starlifter, and C-5 Galaxy. 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 (now Kennesaw State University) 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 Air Force Reserve Command 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 did major damage to their normal home at Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi, Mississippi. Numerous evacuees also came to metro Atlanta through Dobbins JARB, including many medevaced 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, F-51 Mustang, F-84 Thunderstreak, F-86 Sabre, C-97 Stratocruiser, C-123 Provider, C-124