Bellanca Airfield in New Castle, Delaware, built in 1928 by Giuseppe Bellanca and Henry B. du Pont, combined an airfield, aircraft plant, and service hangar and became a major aircraft production center, turning out about 3,000 planes before closing in 1954. It was closely associated with Bellanca’s emergence as a notable early American aviation designer whose aircraft were prized for endurance and efficiency. Bellanca designs gained fame through celebrated long-distance flights in 1927, including a world endurance record by Clarence Chamberlin and Bert Acosta and the Columbia’s nonstop flight from New York to Berlin. Today, only the former Air Service, Inc. hangar survives from the original complex.

Photo: Wikipedia

Photo: Wikipedia