Surviving Artifacts

from

Kingman Army Air Field:

& Sales-Storage Depot No. 41

Planes:

Circa 1985

George Steinke, KAAF paintings & me

in front of the Base's relocated

Link Trainer Building

And these are 'feathers' that were once fastened to a Link Trainer in the building above during WWII:

(note the pre-War Insignia on each of the 5' silver wings, as well as the early tri-color striping on the rudder)

THE ART

Occasionally, military training could be very exciting and often dagerous, but for the most part, mind numbing tedium was the order of the day. It was left in the skilled hands of artists to lift spirits with colorful and often humorous depictions of daily life. The three extremely rare KAAF paintings shown at top were brushed onto wallboard, perhaps in a dayroom, and they depict several cartoon subjects that were very popular during the War: Miss LACE & The WOLF (the latter on his keester after being socked by the former), SAD SACK (in the mirror) and SNUFFY SMITH (having one of his outlandish dreams!)

These are but a few of the precious, Kingman Army Air Field paintings in the

Depot 41 Museum Collection

THE MAN

With his magical junkyard (where warbird aluminum & I made initital contact), his firsthand knowledge of what transpired at Kingman during the 40's, his unrivaled character - which, by the way, included a charming sense of humor - George I. Steinke was not only the single most influential person with regard to nearly every aspect of my Kingman envolvement, he remains one of the dearest friends I've ever had the pleasure of knowing.

An Arizona Aviation Hall of Famer with a host of unique accomplishments to his credit, during the late 40's George was instrumental in convincing Mohave County to move their antiquated

Port Kingman

operations (with its dirt runways) just a few miles further north on Hwy 66 in order to take advantage of the modern and recently-vacated Army Air Field.

George was also one of the owners of KINGMAN FLYING SERVICE which, among other things, provided "FREE Pilot Training for Vetrans" (Sic). According to this vintage poster, their stable of planes included Aeronca Champions, Stearmans, Fairchilds and BT-13s!

After living a life full of adventures, George passed away in 2002, almost reaching his 98th birthday.

He may be gone, but his indomitable spirit is with me daily and there will definitely be more on him later.... JCS

________________

Kingman, January 1943

Base Theater under construction:

Once completed, the same building with Kay Kaiser & his "College of Musical Knowledge" entertaining the troops:

“Evenin’ folks, how y’all?”

And finally, a contemporary photo of the KAAF theater remains some 60 years later, taken from about where the stage would have been:

Tell me, is that music I hear above Arizona's perpetual wind, or only my mind playing tricks on me again?!

photo credits this page:

George I. Steinke, Frank Ellerbrook,

Vern and Maude Heaton

Depot 41 Photo Archives