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.
The last remaining T-1 Jayhawk at JBSA-Randolph, Texas, took its final flight to the "Boneyard" at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz., on July 15. The 99th Flying Training Squadron will train pilots using T-6 and simulator until it gets T-7 Red Hawk in fiscal 2026.