Retired Lt. Col. Claude R. Kinsey, who became an ace flying the P-38 during World War II, died Feb. 4, of cancer, the Washington Post reported Thursday. He was 86. Kinsey, who is credited with shooting down seven enemy aircraft over North Africa, enlisted in the Army Air Forces in 1940, becoming a sergeant after completing flying training. After Pearl Harbor, he was trained in the P-38 and commissioned. After the war, he flew B-47s in Strategic Air Command, retiring in 1965.
As Air Force leaders consider concepts of operations for Collaborative Combat Aircraft, sustainment in the field—and easing that support by using standard parts and limiting variants—should be a key consideration, according to a new study from AFA's Mitchell Institute of Aerospace Studies.