Rico's friend Kelley forwards this video and some history about the first man to shoot down a Bf-109; it was an American, Frank Tinker, flying for the Republican side in the Spanish Civil War:
Tinker was a good ol' boy from Louisiana. Got thrown out of the Navy for drinking and brawling. Went to Spain. Found previously untapped potential in the Polikarpov fighters (IL-15 biplane, and, IL-16 monoplane). Did not do well upon his return to the States; apparently the FBI was on his case for his Communist sympathies. Tinker committed suicide at the age of thirty.
Tinker was a good ol' boy from Louisiana. Got thrown out of the Navy for drinking and brawling. Went to Spain. Found previously untapped potential in the Polikarpov fighters (IL-15 biplane, and, IL-16 monoplane). Did not do well upon his return to the States; apparently the FBI was on his case for his Communist sympathies. Tinker committed suicide at the age of thirty.
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