The City of Tampa established a municipal airport at Drew Field in 1928 on a 160-acre tract leased from farmer, real estate developer, and aviation enthusiast John Higley Drew. The city purchased Drew Field in 1934 and added new runways, hangars, and lighting, much of it financed through the Civil Works Administration and the Works Progress Administration. In 1940, the U.S. government leased Drew Field from the city, along with additional land from Hillsborough County, and developed it into an Army Air Corps base. Drew Field was initially a sub-base of MacDill Field, but in September 1941 it became a separate base and headquarters for the Third Fighter Command. Bombers began operating there in mid-1940, and by August 1941 the field included 500 service personnel. During World War II, combat bombing crews trained at Drew Field, more than 100,000 soldiers were stationed there between 1940 and 1945, and the base grew to nearly 3,000 buildings, including barracks, classrooms, hospital facilities, libraries, theaters, recreation halls, and a complex for prisoners of war. Lieutenant Colonel Melvin B. Asp served as base commander during most of the war. Dale Mabry Highway was constructed in 1943 to connect Drew Field with MacDill Field. Shortly after the war ended in 1945, Drew Field was deactivated as an Army Air Corps base and part of the property was converted to a municipal airport. National Airlines and Eastern Airlines served the airport by mid-1946. In 1947, the city of Tampa bought the property from the federal War Assets Administration, and in 1952 the municipal airport was renamed Tampa International Airport. Former Drew Field property later became part of the holdings of the Hillsborough County Aviation Authority and the sites of Hillsborough Community College, Steinbrenner Field, and the neighborhood of Drew Park.