Frank Glasgow Tinker (July 14, 1909 – June 13, 1939) was an American
volunteer fighter pilot
A fighter pilot or combat pilot is a Military aviation, military aviator trained to engage in air-to-air combat, Air-to-ground weaponry, air-to-ground combat and sometimes Electronic-warfare aircraft, electronic warfare while in the cockpit of ...
for the
''Fuerzas Aéreas de la República Española'' ("Air Forces of the Spanish Republic"; FARE), during the
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...
.
Tinker was credited officially with shooting down eight enemy aircraft and was the highest-scoring American
air ace
A flying ace, fighter ace or air ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down a certain minimum number of enemy aircraft during aerial combat; the exact number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an ace varies, but is ...
of the war. However, Tinker's logbook suggests that he claimed 19 victories, which would make him the sixth-
highest scoring pilot in FARE. That relatively few of his claims were officially recognized was due to the complex system of verifying air kills used by FARE and the
financial incentive paid to mercenaries: many victories were not verifiable because the downed aircraft crashed in an enemy-held area and/or an incentive would not have to be paid. In addition, Tinker and other pilots from ''Escuadrilla La Calle'' ("
La Calle's Squadron"), also known as ''1ª Escuadrilla de Chatos'' (1st ''
Chato'' Squadron"), shared a number of joint kills against
Junkers Ju 52
The Junkers Ju 52/3m (nicknamed ''Tante Ju'' ("Aunt Ju") and ''Iron Annie'') is a transport aircraft that was designed and manufactured by German aviation company Junkers. First introduced during 1930 as a civilian airliner, it was adapted int ...
bombers. He reported narrowly avoiding death at both the hands of enemy aviators and malfunctioning equipment.
He left a detailed record of his experiences as a fighter pilot for the Republicans in his memoir ''
Some Still Live'', published by
Funk & Wagnalls
Funk & Wagnalls was an American publisher known for its reference works, including ''A Standard Dictionary of the English Language'' (1st ed. 1893–5), and the ''Funk & Wagnalls Standard Encyclopedia'' (25 volumes, 1st ed. 1912).Funk & Wagnalls N ...
Co in New York, 1938 and recently republished by
The Clapton Press
The Clapton Press is an independent publisher based in London E5, established in 2018.
Memories of Spain
Although its publication list is not restricted to any particular theme, The Clapton Press has a strong interest in Spain and Latin America. ...
, London.
Early years
Frank Tinker was born in
Kaplan, Louisiana
Kaplan is a city in Vermilion Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 4,600 at the 2010 census, and 4,345 at the 2020 population estimates program. It is part of the Abbeville micropolitan statistical area in Acadiana.
History
In ...
, and grew up in
DeWitt, Arkansas
DeWitt is the second largest city in Arkansas County, Arkansas, Arkansas County, Arkansas, United States, which also serves as the county seat of the southern district of Arkansas County, Arkansas, Arkansas County. Population was 3,292 at the ti ...
. In 1926, he joined the
US Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...
hoping to gain an appointment to the
US Naval Academy
The United States Naval Academy (USNA, Navy, or Annapolis) is a federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as Secretary of the Navy. The Naval Academy is the sec ...
, which he did three years later. Graduating with the Class of '33, he did not receive a commission, along with the other lower half of the class, due to the
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...
. He and other classmates then enrolled in the
United States Army Air Corps
The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) was the aerial warfare service component of the United States Army between 1926 and 1941. After World War I, as early aviation became an increasingly important part of modern warfare, a philosophical ri ...
, and received flight training at
Randolph Field
Randolph Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located in Bexar County, Texas, ( east-northeast of Downtown San Antonio).
Opened in 1931, Randolph has been a flying training facility for the United States Army Air Corps, the United ...
. In 1934, he received his
naval commission, flight training at
Pensacola, Florida
Pensacola ( ) is a city in the Florida panhandle in the United States. It is the county seat and only incorporated city, city in Escambia County, Florida, Escambia County. The population was 54,312 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. ...
, and assigned as a reconnaissance
floatplane
A floatplane is a type of seaplane with one or more slender floats mounted under the fuselage to provide buoyancy. By contrast, a flying boat uses its fuselage for buoyancy. Either type of seaplane may also have landing gear suitable for land, ...
pilot on the
USS ''San Francisco'' cruiser. Lasting only six months as an
ensign
Ensign most often refers to:
* Ensign (flag), a flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality
* Ensign (rank), a navy (and former army) officer rank
Ensign or The Ensign may also refer to:
Places
* Ensign, Alberta, Alberta, Canada
* Ensign, Ka ...
in the navy, due to a
brawl in
Long Beach
Long Beach is a coastal city in southeastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is the list of United States cities by population, 44th-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 451,307 as of 2022. A charter ci ...
, and another in
Honolulu
Honolulu ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, located in the Pacific Ocean. It is the county seat of the Consolidated city-county, consolidated City and County of Honol ...
, the navy dissolved his commission. Tinker then became a
third mate
A third mate (3/M) or third officer is a licensed member of the deck department of a merchant ship. The third mate is a watchstander and customarily the ship's safety officer and fourth-in-command (fifth on some ocean liners). The position i ...
on a
Standard Oil
Standard Oil Company was a Trust (business), corporate trust in the petroleum industry that existed from 1882 to 1911. The origins of the trust lay in the operations of the Standard Oil of Ohio, Standard Oil Company (Ohio), which had been founde ...
tanker.
Spanish Civil War
After the start of the Spanish Civil War, Tinker offered his service to the
Loyalist Government. Tinker disliked
Benito Mussolini
Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who, upon assuming office as Prime Minister of Italy, Prime Minister, became the dictator of Fascist Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 un ...
after
Ethiopia
Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...
, and Mussolini's support of the
Rebels
A rebel is a participant in a rebellion.
Rebel or rebels may also refer to:
People
* Rebel (given name)
* Rebel (surname)
* Patriot (American Revolution), during the American Revolution
* American Southerners, as a form of self-identification; ...
. After signing a contract with the Spanish Embassy in
Mexico City
Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...
, he received a Spanish passport with the
nom de guerre
A ''nom de guerre'' (, 'war name') is a pseudonym chosen by someone to use when they are involved in a particular activity, especially fighting in a war.
In Ancien régime, ''ancien régime'' Kingdom of France, France it would be adopted by each n ...
of Francisco Gómez Trejo. His contract included $1500 per month, and an additional $1000 for each enemy plane he downed. Tinker then traveled by train to
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
, boarded the
SS ''Normandie'' for France, then traveled by train to
Barcelona
Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...
. At the San Xavier field in
Los_Alcázares
Los Alcázares () is a municipality and a coastal spa town and former fishing village on the western side of the Mar Menor in the autonomous community and province of Murcia, southeastern Spain.
The Mar Menor (little sea) belongs to three othe ...
, he checked out as a combat pilot, joining
Harold Edward Dahl,
Albert Baumler
Albert John "Ajax" Baumler (April 17, 1914 – August 2, 1973) was an American fighter ace during the Spanish Civil War and World War II.
Early life
Baumler was born in Bayonne, New Jersey. In 1935–1936, he underwent primary pilot training at ...
, and other American pilots and English pilots at
Manises Air Base
Manises Air Base () is a defunct Spanish Air Force base. It was located in Manises by Valencia Airport, the civilian airport for the city and metropolitan area of Valencia, Spain.
Units
The air base housed the following units in the past:
*24th ...
.
From 7 January 1937, Tinker along with Dahl and Charlie Koch, joined three British and one Irish pilot in Walter Kantz's 19 Bomber Squadron , flying
Breguet 19
Breguet may refer to:
* Breguet (watch), watch manufacturer
**Abraham-Louis Breguet (1747–1823), Swiss watchmaker
** Louis-François-Clement Breguet (1804–1883), French physicist, watchmaker, electrical and telegraph work
* Breguet Aviation, ...
bombers.
[
On 23 January, Tinker, Koch, Allison, Dahl, Leider. and 12 Spanish pilots, joined Andrés García La Calle's ]Wright Cyclone
Wright Cyclone was the name given to a family of air-cooled radial piston engines designed by the Wright Aeronautical Corporation and used in numerous American aircraft in the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s.
Background
The Wright Aeronautical Corporatio ...
powered Polikarpov I-15
The Polikarpov I-15 () was a Soviet biplane fighter aircraft of the 1930s. Nicknamed ''Chaika'' (', "gull") because of its gulled upper wings,Gunston 1995, p. 299.Green and Swanborough 1979, p. 10. it was operated in large numbers by the Soviet ...
squadron in Los Alcázares
Los Alcázares () is a municipality and a coastal spa town and former fishing village on the western side of the Mar Menor in the autonomous community and province of Murcia, southeastern Spain.
The Mar Menor (little sea) belongs to three othe ...
. On 10 February, now based at Guadalajara
Guadalajara ( ; ) is the capital and the most populous city in the western Mexican List of states of Mexico, state of Jalisco, as well as the most densely populated municipality in Jalisco. According to the 2020 census, the city has a population ...
, they flew their first mission over enemy territory, each dropping four 24-pound bombs onto factories along the Jarama
Jarama () is a river in central Spain. It flows north to south and passes east of Madrid where the El Atazar Dam is built on a tributary, the Lozoya River. It flows into the river Tagus in Aranjuez. The Manzanares is a tributary of the Jaram ...
.[
The squadron took part in the ]Battle of Guadalajara
The Battle of Guadalajara (March 8–23, 1937) saw the victory of the Spanish Republican Army (''Ejército Popular Republicano'', or EPR) and of the International Brigades over the Italian and Nationalist forces attempting to encircle Madrid dur ...
.[ On March 14, Tinker shot down his first aircraft, an Italian Fiat CR.32 fighter,][ followed by another CR.32 on March 20.][ On April 17, he shot down a German ]Heinkel He 51
The Heinkel He 51 was a German single-seat biplane fighter aircraft. A seaplane variant and a ground-attack version were also developed. It was a development of the earlier He 49.
Design and development
In 1931, Heinkel recruited the tal ...
fighter from Legion Condor
The Condor Legion () was a unit of military personnel from the air force and army of Nazi Germany’s Wehrmacht which served with the Nationalist faction during the Spanish Civil War. The legion developed methods of strategic bombing that were ...
over Teruel
Teruel () is a city in Aragon, located in eastern Spain, and is also the capital of Teruel (province), Teruel Province. It had a population of 35,900 as of 2022, making it the least populated provincial capital in Spain. It is noted for its har ...
.[
On May 3, 1937, Tinker and Baumler, the remaining American fighter pilots, were assigned to Ivan A. Lakeev's squadron, and on 30 May, started flying the ]Polikarpov I-16
The Polikarpov I-16 () is a Soviet single-engine single-seat fighter aircraft of revolutionary design; it is a low-wing cantilever monoplane fighter with retractable landing gear, and the first such aircraft to attain operational status. It "in ...
.[
On 2 and 16 June, he shot down two more CR.32s. On 12 July, he became the first American combat pilot to shoot down a ]Messerschmitt Bf 109
The Messerschmitt Bf 109 is a monoplane fighter aircraft that was designed and initially produced by the Nazi Germany, German aircraft manufacturer Messerschmitt#History, Bayerische Flugzeugwerke (BFW). Together with the Focke-Wulf Fw 190, the ...
. On 17 July, Tinker shot down another Bf 109A, and on 18 July, another CR.32. On 29 July, Tinker made his last flight in Spain.[
While in Spain, Tinker socialized with ]Ernest Hemingway
Ernest Miller Hemingway ( ; July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) was an American novelist, short-story writer and journalist. Known for an economical, understated style that influenced later 20th-century writers, he has been romanticized fo ...
, Herbert Matthews
Herbert Lionel Matthews (January 10, 1900 – July 30, 1977) was a reporter and editorialist for ''The New York Times'' who, at the age of 57, won widespread attention after revealing that the 30-year-old Fidel Castro was still alive and living in ...
, Martha Gellhorn
Martha Ellis Gellhorn (8 November 1908 – 15 February 1998) was an American novelist, travel writer and journalist who is considered one of the great war correspondents of the 20th century. She reported on virtually every major world confli ...
, Henry Tilton Gorrell, and members of the Lincoln Brigade.[
]
Later years and death
After Tinker's return to the US, both the Army and Navy rejected his requested return to service. Instead, he wrote articles for various magazines and newspapers, including his ''Some Still Live'' series for the Saturday Evening Post
''The Saturday Evening Post'' is an American magazine published six times a year. It was published weekly from 1897 until 1963, and then every other week until 1969. From the 1920s to the 1960s, it was one of the most widely circulated and influ ...
. He was found in his Little Rock hotel room with a fatal gunshot wound to his head, an empty whiskey bottle, and an acceptance letter from the Flying Tigers
The First American Volunteer Group (AVG) of the Republic of China Air Force, nicknamed the Flying Tigers, was formed to help oppose the Japanese invasion of China. Operating in 1941–1942, it was composed of pilots from the United States Ar ...
. His tombstone included the epitaph
An epitaph (; ) is a short text honoring a deceased person. Strictly speaking, it refers to text that is inscribed on a tombstone or plaque, but it may also be used in a figurative sense. Some epitaphs are specified by the person themselves be ...
''¿Quién Sabe?'' (Who knows?).[
Arkansas Aviation Historical Society inducted Tinker into the Arkansas Aviation Hall of Fame in 1999.
On July 11, 2009, the centennial of his birth, his niece and the Grand Prairie Historical Society honored his memory in a DeWitt, Arkansas ceremony.]
See also
* Yankee Squadron
The Yankee Squadron was a group of mercenary American military aviators who flew for the Spanish Republican Air Force during the Spanish Civil War.
History
In November 1936, representatives of the Second Spanish Republic (Spanish Republican ...
* PTSD
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental disorder that develops from experiencing a traumatic event, such as sexual assault, domestic violence, child abuse, warfare and its associated traumas, natural disaster, traffic collision, ...
References
Bibliography
*
External links
Biplane fighter aces - Jr Frank Glasgow Tinker
Frank Tinker: The American Ace in Spain
Flyers of Fortune: American Airmen in the Spanish Civil War
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tinker, Frank Glasgow
1909 births
1939 deaths
1939 suicides
Suicides by firearm in Arkansas
Spanish Civil War flying aces
United States Navy officers
American military personnel who died by suicide
United States Naval Aviators
Americans who served in foreign militaries
People from Kaplan, Louisiana
American people of the Spanish Civil War
People from DeWitt, Arkansas