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Originally Posted by
foodiefan
RM. . .close, but not exactly. It was not just a "place to store aircraft. From the Tinker history book. . . ". . . Oklahoma City
businessmen formed the Oklahoma Industries Foundation to attract a bomber base, an aircraft plant or an air repair depot to
the area. Their efforts proved successful when the War Department announced, on April 8, 1941, Oklahoma City as the site of a new air
materiel depot that would cover more than 1,500 acres and employ 3,500 people. Construction on the new Midwest Air Depot began on
July 18, 1941. Since the airfield was not ready for occupancy until March 1, 1942, official depot operations began in a downtown office building on
January 15, 1942. Just eight days later, Oklahoma citizens learned that the Army Air Forces had decided to build a huge Douglas Aircraft
Assembly Plant next to the depot. Maj. Gen. Clarence L. Tinker, an Oklahoma native and part Osage Indian, lost his life
while leading a group of LB-30 bombers on a mission against the Japanese in the region of Wake
Island on June 7, 1942. Accordingly, Gen. H.H. "Hap" Arnold ordered the installation named
Tinker Field on Oct. 14, 1942. During World War II, more than 18,000 military and civilian
employees repaired and modified B-17, B-24 and B-29 bombers as well as C-47 and C-54 cargo
planes. They also overhauled thousands of aircraft engines and shipped supplies around the
world. Meanwhile, the Douglas Plant, employing close to 24,000 people, produced more than
5,300 C-47 Skytrain aircraft and parts to build 400 C-54 Skymaster cargo planes and 900 A-26
Invader attack bombers.
At the end of the war, the Oklahoma City Air Depot acquired the adjacent Douglas Plant
complex and moved new workloads into the facilities after the War Department declared Tinker
Field a permanent air base. Renamed the Oklahoma City Air Materiel Area (OCAMA) on July 2,
1946, the depot continued work on bombers, engines and aircraft parts and played an important )orrole in supporting the Berlin Airlift. Following the creation of the Department of the Air Force in
1947, the installation officially became Tinker Air Force Base on January 13, 1948.
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