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  • AIR FORCE HISTORY: CMSAF #4 Thomas N. Barnes

    Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force Thomas N. Barnes, born Nov. 16, 1930, entered the Air Force in April 1949. In fact, Barnes left Chester, Pa., on an unsegregated train for basic training and arrived to be segregated for basic training. At the time segregation in fact existed in the north, but

  • TINKER HISTORY: AT-6 Texan

    The North American AT-6 “Texan” was a single-engine, basic trainer built for the Army Air Corps during World War II. It also saw service with the U.S. Navy with the designation SNJ (Scout Trainer North American) and with Royal Air Forces’ as the Harvard. The design featured robust main landing gear

  • Tinker kicks off diamond anniversary with luncheon

    Phil Tinker, grandson of Maj. Gen. Clarence Tinker, Lt. Gen. Lee K. Levy II, commander of the Air Force Sustainment Center, and Chief Geoffrey Standing Bear, Principal Chief of the Osage Nation enjoy the festivities of Tinker’s 75th Anniversary kickoff luncheon Jan. 30 at the Tinker Club. This was

  • Tinker History: P-51 Mustang

    The North American P-51 “Mustang” was a single-engine, air-superiority fighter and bomber escort which served the Army Air Corps during World War II in all theaters. The sleek design was built around the massive V-12 engine driving an even larger propeller. The aircraft was famously used in the

  • STEM like a girl

    As part of the installation’s diamond anniversary goals to better extend STEM education opportunities, Tinker hosted 40 girls in its first STEM Girls Camp, “STEM Like a Girl.” On Jan. 28 the camp, which targeted young girls in grades six, seven and eight, included teambuilding and STEM activities,

  • TINKER HISTORY: Drones in the ’40s

    The Culver PQ-14 “Cadet” was an outgrowth of Culvers pre-WWII efforts in to inexpensive general aviation aircraft production. The PQ-14’s predecessor, the PQ-8, was produced specifically as a radio-controlled drone for the Army Air Corps beginning in 1940 when a contract for 200 aircraft was let.

  • COMMENTARY: Snuffy Smith, first enlisted Airman to receive Medal of Honor

    Picture the scene: a group of 30 young men in the small town of Caro, Mich., getting their picture taken on the courthouse steps before leaving to serve their country. As they line up, the sheriff calls across the steps to say he had one more for the picture: Maynard Harrison Smith in handcuffs,

  • TINKER HISTORY: The Genesis of Tinker AFB

    In celebration of Tinker's 75th anniversary, we're looking back at how the base began. In the early 1940s, Oklahoma City entrepreneurs Edward K. Gaylord, Wilbur E. Hightower, Tom Braniff, Frank Buttram, and Stanley Draper and others formed the Oklahoma Industries Foundation after learning that the

  • TINKER HISTORY: Tinker modifies armament on B-24

    The Consolidate B-24 “Liberator” was a four-engine, heavy bomber produced for the Army Air Corps prior to and during World War II. The aircraft was used in all theaters of the war with particularly heavy use in the European campaign. According to official Tinker history documents, the Oklahoma City