Before it was Bradley Airport
Since World War two was starting to get heated the United States Government needed to build a air base in Connecticut to make the east coast more protected. Governor Robert A. Hurley sent a proposal to the Connecticut General Assembly asking if the state could by land to lease to the Army for a air base. They agreed, the state of Connecticut chose 1,700 acres in Windsor Locks which at the time was being used for tobacco fields. They bought the land and leased it to the Federal Government for 25 years. The base was original named the Windsor locks Army Air Base but after the death of Lieutenant Eugene M. Bradley who died while doing a dogfight exercise (A dogfight exercise is when planes will try to shoot at others planes but they actually don’t shoot), it was renamed in his honor to Bradley Field. The base became a training post for air combat units, a military deployment center and prisoner of war camp for German solders. The base was up and running by the summer of 1941. During 1945 Colonel H. E. Johnson the commander of Bradley field told the army that he was now using Bradley as a redeployment center for soldiers coming back from Europe and going to the pacific. While soldiers stopped at Bradley they got medical exams, updates for their records and overdue paychecks. The army deactivated Bradley field at the end of the war in 1945, then in 1947 it became the home of the Connecticut Air National Guard.
The Creation Of Bradley Airport
The idea of a commercial airport came around in the late 40s. They thought to turn Bradley field into a commercial airport because it was in the middle of New York and Boston and it didn't have costal fog. They started to raise funds through a two million dollar bond issue (A bond issue is issued by the government for raising funds for projects like a airport). The state started construction on a modest terminal that held a control tower and the passengers and administrative facilities to run the small airport. The terminal opened in 1952 with regional air service from United, Eastern, Northeast and American airlines. The airport brought many important industries like Kaman corporation witch made helicopters. On December 11, 1951 Kaman made the first ever turbine-powered helicopter while at Bradley airport. In February of 1961 the first jet airliner left Bradley for Los Angeles and San Francisco with a stop in Cleveland. In 1965 Bradley added two passengers wings and made the runways longer for large jet airplanes. In 1983 the terminal facilities, parking and hotels were increased. This was how Bradley was like before all the modern upgrades and before it became a important place to Windsor locks.