Also in 1948 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.