Old Vance AFB
A look back at Vance and Enid before our time and at a bit of Vance's history
"Enid Flying School"? That's what it says. January 1941.
1941. Cool jackets.
Some of these structures were still here when we reported in.
WW II era
Will someone identify these airplanes?
Vance flight line, 1944
BT-15 trainers, 1944
BT-13 trainers, 1945
Students in class at Vance, 1944. One wonders if they had to pull snack bar duty.
Vance enters the jet age. Old WWII tower still there. But take a closer look. This is a Washington ANG bird. They probably came to pick their student up and take him home for the weekend.
Vance used T-33s for jet training in the 1950s and early 60s.
A look at old Enid
The Champlin Oil refinery on Enid's northeast corner, a landmark for us in our T-37 VFR pattern, is completely gone now.
Main Street in the 1950s. We once had a snowball battle across this street.
We had some class outings at Meadow Lake Park. The train is still there but all of the kiddie carnival rides have gone away.
Who remembers this? It's gone.
We did.
Bare bones base, 1950s style.
Click here for a brief history of Vance by the Oklahoma Historical Society
Click here to see how Vance has changed since 1973