Danny:-
And now I come to think of it, the two RAF "experts" who were supposed to have come out to us in India to teach us how to dive-bomb had reputedly "done a Course" at Pensacola.
Just possible that they went on to Opa Locka to learn that bit, Danny. Wiki tells us that there:-
Training in fighter, dive-bombing and torpedo bombing skills took place at various times during the base's operation and aircraft used included the
Brewster F2A Buffalo fighter,
SBD Dauntless dive bomber,
TBF Avenger torpedo bomber,
You'll recall that Hanson learnt to be a fighter pilot there on the Buffalo following training at Pensacola. Interestingly the field and the town were named by Glen Curtis, after he retired from making aircraft and became a property developer:-
In 1926 he founded the
City of Opa-locka, naming it Opa-tisha-woka-locka (quickly shortened to Opa-locka), a Native American name that translates into
the high land north of the little river with a camping place.
I imagine that getting your teeth around that lot while climbing into a taxi after a night out had much to do with its foreshortening to Opa Locka!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miami-...cutive_Airport