Panama City's mayor, Harry Fannin, dug the first spade full of sand, and Colonel Warren Maxwell, Tyndall's first commander, wielded the first ax on the stubborn palmetto plants, so common on the East Peninsula.

A native of Sewall's Point, Florida, Lieutenant Tyndall was a fighter pilot during World War I, Silver Star recipient, and commander of the 22nd Aero Squadron, who was credited with shooting down six German planes well behind enemy lines in 1918.

While inspecting Army fields near Mooresville, North Carolina, on 15 July 1930, Tyndall's plane, Curtiss P-1F Hawk, 28–61, crashed, killing him instantly.

[6] In September 1950, Tyndall became an Air Training Command (ATC) installation, designated as the USAF Pilot Instructor School.

The base also trained Ground Controlled Intercept (GCI) operators as well as interceptor pilots & flight crews for the Air Defense Command (ADC).

Airborne radar operator students would begin their training aboard radar-equipped TB-25 Mitchells, then transition to either Lockheed F-94 Starfire or Northrop F-89 Scorpion aircraft.

[6][8][9] In the late 1950s into the 1960s, the base transitioned into the North American F-100 Super Sabre, F-101B, F-102A and TF-102B, F-104 Starfighter, and the F-106A and B aircraft, training interceptor pilots for ADC assignments.

The base maintained an alert facility from which the F-101 Voodoo and F-102 Delta Dagger interceptors were scrambled to intercept unknown aircraft.

[6] On 1 July 1956 Tyndall AFB became the station operating for the third phase of the ADC mobile radar program, designated as TM-198.

Activated by the 678th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron, Tyndall became operational to support the CIM-10 Bomarc surface-to-air missile program at Hurlburt Field.

In 1958 the site was operating with an AN/FPS-20 search radar and a pair of AN/FPS-6 height-finder sets to support the 4751st Air Defense Missile Squadron.

operates an ARSR-4 search radar under FAA control as part of the Joint Surveillance System (JSS) as site "J-11".

[6] The 21st century proved to be momentous for Tyndall AFB, because it was selected as the first home of the Air Force's newest aircraft, the F-22 Raptor.

In 2012, with the gaining of a combat-coded F-22 squadron, Tyndall AFB returned to Air Combat Command, after a 19-year tenure in AETC.

[12][13] A weather station near the base recorded a wind gust of 130 miles per hour (210 km/h) before it failed, according to the National Hurricane Center advisory shortly after landfall.

[20][21] Thirty-three of Tyndall´s 55 F-22 stealth fighters were flown to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton, Ohio before the storm.

The unit's role is to provide integrated, realistic training and exercises to combat support teams.

[27] The soil of an aerial gunnery school training range on Tyndall was contaminated with lead from 12-gauge shotgun shells during World War II.

When the hurricane destroyed the fence in October 2018, contractors erected a temporary replacement slightly offset which included some sections contaminated with lead to be located within the campus.

During this time, Tyndall also hosted training for F-15C/D maintenance personnel and intelligence officers assigned to F-15C/D units.

The 95 FS was reactivated in September 2013 as part of the F-22 Raptor consolidation plan that moved the 7th Fighter Squadron's aircraft to Tyndall.

The 325th Fighter Wing is host to more than 30 tenant organizations located at Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida.

Otherwise, it operates at Tyndall as a Geographically Separate Unit (GSU) of AFRC's 301st Fighter Wing at NAS JRB Fort Worth/Carswell Field, Texas.

As the CONUS geographical component of the bi-national North American Aerospace Defense Command and air component of United States Northern Command (USNORTHCOM), 1 AF also provides airspace surveillance and control and directs all air sovereignty activities for the continental United States.

The 53 WEG also serves as primary manager for "William Tell", a biennial air-to-air weapons and aerial gunnery meet and competition for fighter aircraft held by the United States Air Force during even-numbered years.

Established in 2018, the Tyndall AFB detachment of the 125th serves as a holding unit for Florida Air National Guard trainees.

Once enlisted, Air Guardsmen awaiting basic training and tech school will be sent to the Student Flight detachment nearest to their home.

The 337th Air Control Squadron (337 ACS) is a Geographically Separate Unit (GSU) of the 33d Operations Group, 33d Fighter Wing, at Eglin AFB, Florida.

All of the Air Force's Air Battle Managers are initially trained at Tyndall prior to proceeding to Tinker AFB, Oklahoma for actual positional training in the E-3 Sentry AWACS aircraft or Robins AFB, Georgia for the E-8 Joint STARS aircraft.

[42] Prior to October 2012, Tyndall AFB was home to the Air Force Civil Engineer Support Agency (AFCESA).