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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Jwt708, post: 2217371, member: 32619&quot;]<img src="https://www.cointalk.com/media/vance-afb-25c-ok620.3508/full" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /> </p><p><br /></p><p>This evening’s token is from Vance Air Force Base (VAFB), Oklahoma, and is my first from this installation.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]433892[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>From VAFB’s beginning and to the present day, the mission has been to train pilots to fly. In 1941 land was leased from the city of Enid and construction began for the yet unnamed base, and it activated on 21 Nov the same year. Referred to initially as Air Corps Basic Flying School, Enid, Oklahoma, it wasn’t until 11 February 1942 it was named the Enid Army Flying School (also known as Woodring Field) then a few months later as Enid Army Air Field. Throughout World War Two Enid Army Flying School graduated 8,169 students from its basic phase of training and another 826 from the advanced training school. With the decreased demand for pilots after the War, the installation was deactivated 2 July 1945 and transferred a year later to the Army Corps of Engineers (my sources conflict with this, it may have been as late as 31 July 1947).</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]433893[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>With the Air Force being newly established in 1947 plans were made to make permanent bases on some WWII sites. Enid Army Flying School was reopened as a permanent facility on 26 August 1948, taking the name Enid Air Force Base, though this was not to last. Following a long standing tradition of naming installations after fallen airmen, Enid was renamed 9 July 1949 to Vance Air Force Base in honor of Lt Col Leon Robert Vance, Jr., a native of Enid who posthumously received the Medal of Honor for gallantry in action.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]433894[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>Lt Col Vance’s story is pretty incredible and he survived only to go missing on his return trip to the States for further treatment of his injuries and to be fitted with a prosthetic foot. Below is from the official website of Vance AFB, it gives a summary but they omitted a few details:</p><p><br /></p><p>“On 5 June 1944, Lt Col Vance led the 489th Bombardment Group in an attack against defended enemy positions over the coast of France. His aircraft was hit with severe anti-aircraft fire which seriously crippled the B-24, killed the pilot, and wounded several members of the crew, including Vance, whose right foot was nearly severed off. Despite his injury, and with three of the four engines lost, he led his formation over the target and bombed it successfully.</p><p>With only one engine, Lt Col Vance flew to the English coast, whereupon he ordered everyone to bail out. When Lt Col Vance believed one crewmember could not jump due to injuries, he decided to ditch the crippled bomber in the English Channel to give the man a chance to survive. To add further to the danger of ditching the ship, a 500-pound bomb remained hung up in the bomb bay. In the water, the aircraft started to sink rapidly with Vance pinned in the cockpit by a turret which had collapsed during landing. As the plane was settling beneath the waves an explosion threw Vance clear of the wreckage.”</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]433895[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>The article above failed to mention Vance was pinned down in such a way that he could only see out of a side window of the aircraft, that he and another crewman tied a tourniquet around his leg to slow the bleeding, that B-24s generally didn’t survive ditching efforts, and that after the sinking aircraft exploded Vance swam for 50 minutes in the English Channel before being rescued.</p><p><br /></p><p>From 26 August 1948 to 1 November 1972 the 3575th Pilot Training Wing was the host unit and was to provide pilot training in multi-engine aircraft as well as maintaining and operating the base. Through the Cold War the types of schooling provided and the aircraft changed, but the mission remained the same. On 1 November 1972 the 71st was activated and took command of the base and its mission and is still the tenant unit.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]433897[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>Today VAFB trains student pilots in three different types of aircraft, depending on what type of aircraft they’ll fly as graduates. VAFB has students and instructors from all branches and boasts 32,995 total pilot wings awarded since 1941.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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