With Memorial Day coming up soon many thanks go out to the veterans that made it possible for us to enjoy our freedom that we have here in the United States of America. But did you know that Royal Air Force pilots trained in America too?
There were 5 different plans for the training of RAF pilots in the U.S.A. during World War II:
The Refreshers Course- Training of U.S. citizens, who volunteered for service with a company called “British Aviation”. The idea was that they would be accepted for service with the RAF when they came to the UK. This course started in November 1940 and was intended to turn out 35 pilots per month.
The American Airways Navigation Course at Miami- Training of observers at an estimated rate of 840 per year. This training commenced in March 1941.
The BFTS (British Flying Training Schools)- Seven civilian operator schools for the RAF, financed largely by Lend-Lease turning out roughly 2,300 pilots per year. This course commenced in May 1941.
The Arnold Scheme- The use of U.S. Army Air Corps schools both (civil and service) to train RAF pupils. This too was financed largely by Lend-Lease, and it was producing roughly 4,000 pilots per year. This commenced in June 1941.
The Towers Scheme- Use of U.S. Navy schools for the training of Fleet Air Arm and RAF pilots, and possibly observers and wireless operators. Financed mainly by Lend-Lease and turning out pilots at the rate of 1200 per year. This commenced in July l94l.
There were seven contract civilian operators that handled the training for BFTS (British Flying Training Schools)- the schools were numbered:
• No. 1- Terrell, Texas operated by Major William F. Long- June 9, 1941 (2,200 trainees)
• No. 2- Lancaster, California by Major Corliss Champion Moseley (Polaris Flight Academy, later co-founder of Western Air Express)- June 9, 1941 (350 trainees?)
• No. 3- Miami, Oklahoma by Captain Maxwell W. Balfour (Spartan School of Aeronautics)- June 16, 1941 (2,124 trainees)
• No. 4- Mesa, Arizona by Mr. John Howard Connelly (Southwest Airways Company)- June 16, 1941 (1,200 trainees)
• No. 5- Arcadia, FL (later moved to) Clewiston, Florida by Mr. John Paul Riddle (Embry-Riddle Flying School)- July 17, 1941 (1,877 trainees)
• No. 6- Ponca City, Oklahoma by Mr. Harold S. Darr (then president of Braniff Airlines)- August 23, 1941 (1,113 trainees)
• No. 7- Sweetwater, Texas by Plosser-Prince Air Academy- June 15, 1942 but closed August 1942 (100 trainees)
I was surprised to find out that No. 5- BFTS was once located near Arcadia, Florida (we based our Piper Cherokee at XØ6 there) so let’s take a look at that school!
Embry-Riddle started training pilots in 1941 for the U.S. Army Air Corps at Carlstrom Field in Arcadia but in September 1941 the training of RAF cadets moved to the newly constructed Riddle Field in Clewiston, Florida.
Sectional 1943 |
Current Sectional |
Dorr Field was one of at least 5 satellite airfields used to support flight training operations as a sub-base of Carlstrom Field; Carlstrom was used mostly for British pilots and Dorr for American pilots.
Move to Clewiston, Florida by September 1941 |
Carlstrom Field |
Dorr Field |
Clewiston Field Sign |
Riddle-Clewiston Field |
Here are the types of airplanes that the cadets trained in:
Primary training began in airplanes such as the Fairchild and Stearman and then basic training was done in the Vultee BT-13 and then advanced training progressed to the North American AT-6 (or Harvards).
At the beginning of the program, a time when the need for pilots was most acute, the RAF flight training curriculum had been reduced from the standard 150 hours to just 130. By the end of the war and with victory in sight, instruction was extended to 220 hours.
The training was designed to be 20 weeks total in duration, with intakes of 50 pupils every three weeks. The syllabus was divided into 2 stages, each 10 weeks in length. The first stage, involved 70 hrs. of flying in the primary trainers. The second advanced stage, involved 80 hrs. training in basic and advanced trainers, the pupil “cut rate” was estimated to be 28%.
Fairchild PT19 |
Stearmans |
Vultee BT-13 |
North American AT6 |
The BFTSs continued on until the end of the war and on the August 27, 1945, 4 years after the first British cadets arrived in the USA, all flight training in America on behalf of the RAF came to an end. In all 6,921 RAF, and 558 USAAF pilots received their wings at these schools.
If you want to learn more about BFTS’s take a look at “Embry-Riddle at War: Aviation Training during World War II (Florida History and Culture)” you can get it here: Embry-Riddle at War: Aviation Training during World War II (Florida History and Culture) by Prof. Stephen G. Craft
Here is another book about BFTS’s: “The Royal Air Force in Texas: Training British Pilots in Terrell during World War II (War and the Southwest Series)” you can get it here: Embry-Riddle at War: Aviation Training during World War II (Florida History and Culture) by Tom Killebrew