Heritage Park showcases some of the aircraft flown by the Indiana Air National Guard since 1947. Families are welcome to picnic at the pavilion, play on the playground, and learn about 122nd Fighter Wing heritage.

 

This handicapped accessible park is free for public use, open daily from dawn until dusk.

 

Some of the featured aircraft include an F-100 Super Sabre, F-4C Phantom II, F-86 Sabre, F-80C Shooting Star, F-84F Thunderstreak, F-16C Fighting Falcon, and A-10C Thunderbolt II.

Several years ago a group of individuals from the 122nd Fighter Wing began generating ideas as to the development of a park near the outskirts of the base. Their vision was to offer a space that was open to the public and provided a window to the history of the 122nd Fighter Wing and Baer Field. Heritage Park has been open to the public at the 122nd Fighter Wing since May 1, 2013. 

Heritage Park is a place to discover the rich culture of the 122nd Fighter Wing while enjoying lunch with your family. The Fort Wayne community has always offered our base and military members tremendous support. Heritage Park is one way that we thank our community members for standing behind us.

The base was named after U.S. Army Air Corps 1st Lt. Paul Frank Baer, a fighter pilot and World War I combat ace that grew up in Fort Wayne. Baer fell into German hands after he was shot down and remained a prisoner of war until after the armistice. Baer returned to Fort Wayne in February of 1918 and became an aviation pioneer and test pilot. The War Department awarded Baer the Distinguished Service Cross with oak leaf cluster for shooting down at least 8 enemy planes. He was also decorated with the Legion d’Honneur and Croix de Guerre with palms (the highest citation degree given by the French) for his service with the famous Lafayette Escadrille. He is buried in Fort Wayne at Lindenwood Cemetery.

Since its initial founding in 1940, Baer Field has remained critical to the preservation of freedom in Indiana and abroad. The air base owes its existence to the support and determination of the tight-knit community that surrounded it. Baer Field was born at the request of the city of Fort Wayne. Early in 1941 the War Department informed Fort Wayne that they would only build a new airbase there if the city could secure possession of 700 acres by February 1. With less than a month to work, 30 Fort Wayne businessmen and 4 local banks collaborated to sign the necessary documents and advance the finances to make it a reality.

 Early in its history Baer Field was a major training and processing base for the C-47 Skytrain and C-46 Commando. During WWII more than 100,000 military personnel served out of the field’s over 100 structures. In 1942 the 78th Fighter Group was activated at Baer field. The 78th operated P-38E Lightnings as a fighter escort to the B-17 Flying Fortress to targets within occupied Europe. Late 1942 brought the B-26 Marauder to Baer Field for staging in preparation for the Battle of Midway.

Baer Field has hosted a variety of fighter aircraft including the P-47 Thunderbolt, P-51D Mustang, F-80C Shooting Star, F-86A Sabre, F-84F Thunderstreak, RF-84F Thunderflash, F-100D Super Sabre, F-4C and E Phantom II, F-16C Fighting Falcon, and A-10C Thunderbolt II. The 122nd Fighter currently operates the F-16.

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--Neither the Air Force nor the 122nd Fighter Wing endorses the product(s) or organizational entity at the hyperlink destination. The Air Force does not exercise any responsibility or oversight of the content at destination. Links to these sources do not constitute official or unofficial endorsement of goods or services by the U.S. Air Force and the 122nd Fighter Wing, and that the list of sources is not necessarily all inclusive. (AFI35-1073.3.2.6. 15 MARCH 2017)