The aircraft was named after German aeronautical engineer Brunolf Baade, the principal designer involved in the programme.

The Baade 152's basic configuration shares many similarities, including shape, size, wing-area, landing gear configuration, empty weight, range, altitude, speed, power per engine, and double-engine cowling arrangement similar to the American-built Boeing B-47 Stratojet, a bomber/aerial reconnaissance aircraft which entered service with the United States Air Force during 1951.

[4] Based in East Germany, a new aerospace company, VEB Flugzeugwerke Dresden, was able to recruit Baade and several other returning engineers, and decided to commit itself to completing development of the envisaged 152.

As intended, the 152 would have been developed initially as a 57-seater airliner, plans were made to accommodate alternative seating layouts, such as a high-capacity 72-passenger configuration or a more spacious 42-passenger arrangement.

[4] During the previous year, work had also commenced at Berlin-based Industriewerke Ludwigsfelde (IWL) on the development of the Pirna 014 turbojet engine; it was this powerplant that would be selected for the 152.

According to aviation periodical Flight International, East Germany was keen to involve Western industry in the project as well, particularly in the provision of components and materials; it was also hoped the sales of the 152 could be garnered from the west as well.

[5] Reportedly, East German officials regarded the 152 as filling a relatively unique niche upon the global airliner market, and that its nearest competitor was the French-built Sud Aviation Caravelle.

It included a tandem landing gear and glazed nose for the navigator, which was a common feature in many Eastern Bloc aircraft.

It is believed that the pilots, having lacked experience with operating jet-propelled aircraft, may have been unfamiliar with the slow response time of such engines, contributing to a stall and subsequent crash.

On 28 February 1961, the East German government issued an order for the dissolution of its national aeronautical industry; this decision was reportedly heavily influenced by the Soviet Union, which was then promoting its own similar-sized airliner, the Tupolev Tu-124; despite earlier promises, it no longer wanted to purchase any Baade 152s or provide further support towards its development.

Furthermore, one consequence of the project's cancellation was that engine manufacturer Industriewerke Ludwigsfelde (IWL) was left with 30 completed Pirna 014 powerplants without any customer for them.