What does the airport abbreviation ORD for OHare International stand for?
The airport was constructed in 1942 as a manufacturing plant for Douglas C-54s during World War II. The site was chosen because the two million square-foot factory needed easy access to the workforce of the nation’s then-second-largest city, as well as its extensive railroad infrastructure. Orchard Place was a small nearby community and the airport was known during the war as Orchard Place Airport. Though its familiar three-letter IATA code ORD still reflects the early identity of the airport, it was renamed in 1949, after Lt. Cmdr Edward “Butch” O’Hare, who became the U.S. Navy’s first flying ace and Medal of Honor recipient in WWII in 1942. He was killed in action in 1943.
