first plane at macdill
66 years ago…
January 14, 1941 — Brig. Gen. Clarence L. Tinker lands the first plane on MacDill Field, changing the field from a construction project to an operating air base. Tinker Elementary School, located on the base grounds, is named for him.
Courtesy of the Tampa Bay History Center.
Tags: development, education, military, names, on this day, tampa







July 22nd, 2007 at 11:24 pm
im looking for history of lyle johnston simpson 1940’s he had command of ascension island ww2 flew berlin airlift, flew cargo, flew hump. he was my uncle,hero. he has a daughter linda hailey, saganaw mich. he was a major general. anything would be greatly appreciated bob
April 1st, 2008 at 10:43 pm
Sir,
I think I may have a photo from the Tampa Tribune with your Uncle as a major, along with MacDill’s very VERY first commander from 1939(He’s so first, he had no troops on base). I’ll be sure to put it on my flash drive and I can send it to you.
Blaze