Chicago, Museum of Science and Industry

Illinois Master Listing

Collinsville, American Legion Post 365

Chicago — O'Hare International Airport
Illinois Aviation Museum Guide

O'Hare International Airport ^[1]
Bessie Coleman Drive
Chicago, Illinois 60666
(773) 686-2200

Chicago O'Hare International Airport (ORD), also known as O'Hare Airport, O'Hare Field, Chicago Airport, Chicago International Airport, or simply O'Hare, is a major airport located in the northwestern-most corner of Chicago, Illinois, United States, 17 miles (27 km) northwest of the Chicago Loop. It is the primary airport serving the Chicago area, with Chicago Midway International Airport, about 10 miles (16 km) closer to the Loop, serving as a secondary airport for domestic flights.

The airport is named after Edward O'Hare, the U.S. Navy's first flying ace and Medal of Honor recipient in World War II. Lieutenant Commander Edward Henry “Butch” O'Hare (1914-1943) was an Irish-American naval aviator of the United States Navy. On 20 February 1942 he became the U.S. Navy's first flying ace and Medal of Honor recipient in World War II. Butch O'Hare's final action took place on the night of 26 November 1943, while he was leading the U.S. Navy's first-ever nighttime fighter attack launched from an aircraft carrier. During this encounter with a group of Japanese torpedo bombers, O'Hare's F6F Hellcat was shot down. His aircraft was never found. In 1945, the U.S. Navy destroyer USS O'Hare (DD-889) was named in his honor.

A few years later, O'Hare was honored when Colonel Robert R. McCormick, publisher of the Chicago Tribune, suggested a name change of Chicago's Orchard Depot Airport as tribute to Butch O'Hare. On 19 September 1949, the Chicago, Illinois airport was renamed O'Hare International Airport. The airport displays a Grumman F4F-3 museum aircraft replicating the one flown by Butch O'Hare during his Medal of Honor flight. The Grumman F4F-3 Wildcat (BuNo 12320) on display was recovered virtually intact from the bottom of Lake Michigan, where it sank after a training accident in 1943 when it went off the training aircraft carrier USS Wolverine (IX-64). The Air Classics Museum restored the aircraft in 2001 to look like the exact one that O'Hare flew. The restored Wildcat is exhibited in the west end of Terminal 2 behind the security checkpoint to honor O'Hare International Airport's namesake. ^[2]

The following photo of Grumman F4F-3 Wildcat (BuNo 12320) was obtained via Wikipedia. ^[3]

• Grumman F4F-3 “Wildcat” (BuNo 12320)

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References

1. O'Hare International Airport, website
2. Google Earth, Satellite Image of O'Hare International Airport
3. Photo via Wikipedia, O'Hare International Airport