More at http://scitech.quickfound.net/aviation_news_and_search.html "CADET TRAINING AT TYNDALL FIELD; OFFICERS SELECTED FROM RANKS; CAPITULATION OF PANTELLERIA THAT BECOMES ALLIED AIR BASE." Official history of the United States Air Force, volume 1 chapter 13, June 1943. v1c12: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QKk30g30mQk v1c14: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tMCMTuuTfDg playlist (in progress): http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL87B91BF8DAF07103 USAF film SFP 263-13 Public domain film from the National Archives, slightly cropped to remove uneven edges, with the aspect ratio corrected, and mild video noise reduction applied. The soundtrack was also processed with clipping reduction, volume normalization, noise removal and equalization. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tyndall_Air_Force_Base Tyndall Field was opened on 13 January 1941 as a gunnery range. The airfield was named in honor of 1st Lt Frank Benjamin Tyndall (1894--1930). Lieutenant Tyndall was a World War I pilot, Silver Star recipient, and commander of the 22d Aero Squadron. Lieutenant Tyndall shot down four enemy airplanes in combat over France during World War I. He was killed on 15 July 1930 near Mooresville, North Carolina, in the crash of a Curtiss P-1 Hawk. With the establishment of the United States Air Force in 1947, the facility was renamed "Tyndall Air Force Base" on 13 January 1948. World War II In December 1940, a site board determined that Flexible Gunnery School No. 9 would be located 12 miles (19 km) southeast of Panama City, Florida on East Peninsula. On May 6, 1941, Army and local dignitaries held an official ground breaking for the school. Panama City's mayor, Harry Fannin, dug the first spade full of sand, and Colonel Warren Maxwell, Tyndall's first commander, wielded the first ax on the stubborn palmetto plants, so common on the East Peninsula. The site was covered with pine and palmetto trees, scrub brush, and swamps. Bulldozers worked around the clock to clear the brush and fill in swamps. Although construction was well underway, the base lacked a name. Congressman Bob Sikes suggested naming the school in memory of Lieutenant Francis B. Tyndall. A native of Sewall's Point, Florida. Lieutenant Tyndall was a fighter pilot during World War I and was credited with shooting down four German planes well behind enemy lines in 1918. While inspecting Army fields near Mooresville, North Carolina on July 15, 1930, Tyndall's plane, Curtiss P-1F Hawk, 28-61, crashed, killing him instantly. On June 13, 1941, the War Department officially named the new installation Tyndall Field. On 7 December 1941, the first of 2,000 troops arrived at Tyndall Field. The first class of gunnery students began in February 1942. Although construction was incomplete, instructors and students began preparing for the first class. The first class of 40 gunnery students began on February 23, 1942. Of the thousands of students passing through the Tyndall gates, the most famous was actor Clark Gable, a student here during 1943. Foreign student training began at Tyndall in 1943 with French Air Force gunnery students being the first and Chinese students following later that year. Today, foreign students attend weapons controller training at Tyndall. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Corkscrew During World War II, Operation Corkscrew was the Allied invasion of the Italian island of Pantelleria (between Sicily and Tunisia) on 10 June 1943. There had been an early plan to occupy the island in late 1940 (Operation Workshop), but this was aborted when the Luftwaffe strengthened the Axis air threat in the region. The Allied focus returned to Pantelleria in early 1943. The radar installations and airfield on the island were seen as a real threat to the planned invasion of Sicily. In addition, there was an opportunity to assess the impact of preparatory bombardment upon heavily fortified defences. The intense ten-day air bombardment substantially reduced the defences, and the Italian garrison surrendered when the British forces landed on the island. An assessment by British analyst Professor Sir Solly Zuckerman reported that the defences had been reduced to 47% effectiveness. The ease of the operation led to an optimistic assessment of the effectiveness of bombing, which was not always borne out in practice. The Italian garrisons on other nearby islands (Linosa and Lampedusa) quickly fell. This cleared the way for the invasion of Sicily a month later.

• published: 21 Nov 2011
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