Page 33 - Demo

Y-054%u2014%u2014June 29, 1952%u2014%u2014Fort Wayne%u2014%u2014Fort Wayne International Airport%u2014%u2014Unknown number of pieces cancelled.No backstamp. In 1941, the United States Army built Baer Field on 600 acres, just south of Fort Wayne, at a cost of ten million dollars. It was named in honor of Lt. Paul Baer, a Fort Wayne native, who flew with the French forces in World War I. Highly skilled, he was the first U.S. pilot to achieve Ace status, meaning he shot down at least five airplanes. The facility was later renamed Baer Army Air Field, and 100,000 military men were stationed there during World War II. By the end of the war there were over 250 buildings at Baer Field, on more than 1,000 acres. In 1946, the General Services Administration sold the airport to the City of Fort Wayne for one dollar, and its name was expanded to Baer Field/Fort Wayne Municipal Airport. At that time, it was served by just two airlines, TWA and Chicago & Southern Airlines, but a third, United Airlines, arrived in 1947. Today, the airport offers flights by seven major airlines.Construction of the main airport terminal began in 1951, and was completed the following year. This Dedication Cover honors that new facility, which housed an air-traffic control tower, an observation deck, and the Look Out Dining Room restaurant which had views of the boarding ramp below. The airport now encompasses 3,500 acres, and has a 12,000 foot runway%u2014one of the longest in the United States%u2014which can accommodate any type of aircraft, including the Space Shuttle.