USAAF Contract Flying School Airfields on:
[Wikipedia]
[Google]
[Amazon]
During
In April 1939, Congress authorized $300 million for the Air Corps to procure and maintain 6,000 aircraft. In the authorization, the Air Corps was authorized to enroll Army Flight Cadets in civilian training schools. Moving forward, in June 1939, the War Department approved Arnold's request to organize nine civilian flight schools to train Army pilots. Flight training would begin at most of these schools in July 1939. After the spring offensive by 
However, the existing CPS contractors were unable to expand to train this increased number. In response, the Air Corps issued a request for bid (RFB) to all of the 38 Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) approved flying schools in the country outlining the specifications for Army pilot training. From the schools responding to the RFB, the Air Corps selected eleven new contractors for Army primary flight training. With the war in Europe expanding, and the threat of war with the Japanese Empire becoming more and more a possibility, the Chief of Staff of the Army directed Arnold to increase pilot training to 30,000 per year. To meet this new rate, the CPS concept was again expanded by converting three of the Level 1 primary CPS schools to Level 2 basic flying training and expanded the number of CPS contractors.
However, in the strictest sense, these schools were not owned or leased by the USAAF, and for the most part, they were not designated or activated as Army Air Fields. In official Army directories, they were listed by the name of the civilian flying school, the name of the airport on which it operated, or sometimes just by the city name.
In addition to the Air Corps demands for civil flying schools to train military pilots, in late 1940, President Franklin Roosevelt accepted a proposal from
The CFS's were assigned to the various Flying Training Commands, and each had a designated USAAF Flying Training Detachment assigned for supervision and liaison with the command. According to the contract, the government supplied students with training aircraft, flying clothes, textbooks, and equipment. Schools furnished instructors, training sites and facilities, aircraft maintenance, quarters, and mess halls. To the flying cadets, the CPSs were just another training assignment—although the flight instructors were civilian contractors, the cadets still experienced the discipline and drudgery of military life.
Due to the wartime pressure to produce pilots rapidly the AAF paid scant attention to their military training. The atmosphere of the civilian-operated primary schools was not conducive to the development of rigid discipline, and too little time was available for military instruction at all the stages of pilot training. What instruction there was, over and above the regimen of Army life, was restricted largely to marching, ceremonies, inspections, and military customs and courtesies. The vigorous physical conditioning, however, continued and intensified during flying training.Craven & Cate, The Army Air Forces in World War II. Volume VI Men and Planes, Chapter 17, Individual Training of Flying Personnel
Trainers used were primarily Fairchild PT-19s, PT-17 Stearmans and Ryan PT-22s, although a wide variety of other types could be found at the airfields. The primary training syllabus was initially twelve weeks in length including 60 hours of flight time and 225 hours of ground training. However this was changed by the Army as the situation required. Although the number of flight hours remained at 60 throughout the war, the demands of the increasing pilot training rate resulted in the primary training to be reduced to ten weeks in 1940, then reduced to nine weeks in 1942. The instruction given at the CPSs was an adaptation of the primary phase formerly taught at
In 1941 the Air Corps directed Flying Training Command to establish a glider training program, however given the Army's inexperience, it was decided to utilize civilian glider and soaring schools in a similar manner to the primary powered flight program. Many glider pilots were already qualified and skilled powered aircraft pilots who had earned their CAA (Civil Aeronautic Administration) civilian pilot's license before war broke out. Other trainees for the glider pilot program had already gone through flight training but had been disqualified, not for lack of skill, but for problems beyond their control such as slightly deficient eyesight.
The main operation got under way at Combat Glider Pilot Training
/ref> As part of the training program, cadets learned to perform maintenance and, in an emergency, to rebuild wrecked gliders. This was a relatively simple operation, considering that the primary glider consisted of little more than a shell, equipped with radio, wheels, and brakes. The schools at Twentynine Palms, CA, Mobile, AL, Wickenburg, AZ, and Lamesa, AZ, were the first Glider Training Schools to open.
/ref> Once the Glider Pilot Cadet successfully completed their primary training, they moved on to advanced training, taught by AAF instructors at several military glider schools using the CG-4A Waco and British Airspeed Horsas that the pilots would eventually fly into combat during several operations primarily in the European Theater. Once in operational Troop Carrier squadrons, the gliders and their pilots were initially established as separate flights in the squadron organization. However, in late 1943, it was decided that having a separate glider force within the Troop Carrier squadrons, it was decided to end the separate glider instruction program and integrate the glider flying and maintenance training program into the Troop Carrier training program. The contract Glider Schools were subsequently closed or converted into Primary Flight Schools and all glider training was conducted by military glider pilot instructors at schools at Army Air Bases.
/ref> * Augustine Field, Madison, Mississippi : 62d Flying Training Detachment : Operated by: Mississippi Institute of Aeronautics *
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
civilian flying schools, under government contract, provided a considerable part of the flying training effort undertaken by the United States Army Air Forces
The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...
.Manning, Thomas A. (2005), ''History of Air Education and Training Command, 1942–2002''. Office of History and Research, Headquarters, AETC, Randolph AFB, Texas
History
With the consolidation of pilot training by the United States Army Air Corps in 1931, nearly all flying training had taken place atRandolph Field
Randolph Air Force Base was an United States Air Force base located at Universal City, Texas ( east-northeast of Downtown San Antonio).
Opened in 1931, Randolph has been a flying training facility for the United States Army Air Corps, the Un ...
, near San Antonio, Texas. During the 1930s, Randolph had produced about 500 new pilots per year, which was adequate for the peacetime air corps.Willard Weiner (1945), Two Hundred Thousand Flyers,: the Story of the Civilian AAF Pilot Training Program. Publisher: The Infantry Journal With war clouds gathering in Europe, especially after the 1938 Munich Agreement
The Munich Agreement ( cs, Mnichovská dohoda; sk, Mníchovská dohoda; german: Münchner Abkommen) was an agreement concluded at Munich on 30 September 1938, by Germany, the United Kingdom, France, and Italy. It provided "cession to Germany ...
, General Henry H. Arnold, the Chief of Staff of the Air Corps, realized that the Army was going to have to increase the number of its pilots in case of a general war breaking out again. As a result, Arnold and his command staff developed a plan to supplement the training at Randolph with military pilot training conducted by the civil flight schools in the United States.
Prewar years
In late 1938, eleven flight schools were contacted by theUnited States Army Air Corps
The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) was the aerial warfare service component of the United States Army between 1926 and 1941. After World War I, as early aviation became an increasingly important part of modern warfare, a philosophical r ...
by Arnold without any funding or Congressional Authorization. Arnold asked if they would, at their own expense, set up facilities to house, feed and train Army pilots. He promised that the Army would pay the schools $1,170 for each pilot that completed a primary flight training course, and $18 per flight hour for each student that washed out. Arnold received a commitment from eight flying schools, accepting his proposal.
In April 1939, Congress authorized $300 million for the Air Corps to procure and maintain 6,000 aircraft. In the authorization, the Air Corps was authorized to enroll Army Flight Cadets in civilian training schools. Moving forward, in June 1939, the War Department approved Arnold's request to organize nine civilian flight schools to train Army pilots. Flight training would begin at most of these schools in July 1939. After the spring offensive by Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
and the Fall of France in May, 1940, the Army, Arnold increased the rate of pilot training from 4,500 to 7,000 pilots per year. Each of the nine Contract Pilot Schools (CPS) were requested to open an additional school to accommodate this increase. In August 1940, the rate of pilot training was ordered increased to 12,000 per year.
All civil flying instructors had to be certified by the CAA, as well as the ground school instructors and aircraft mechanics. Also flying instructors had to undergo a two-week Army refresher program. In order to exempt the instructors and mechanics from the wartime draft, all were enlisted into the Army as privates in the Army Reserve. Each CPS was commanded by an Army officer (mostly, but not all West Point
The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known Metonymy, metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a f ...
graduates), who supervised all aspects of the program as well as insuring that military discipline was maintained. Also, a few Air Corps pilots conducted all check rides.
However, the existing CPS contractors were unable to expand to train this increased number. In response, the Air Corps issued a request for bid (RFB) to all of the 38 Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) approved flying schools in the country outlining the specifications for Army pilot training. From the schools responding to the RFB, the Air Corps selected eleven new contractors for Army primary flight training. With the war in Europe expanding, and the threat of war with the Japanese Empire becoming more and more a possibility, the Chief of Staff of the Army directed Arnold to increase pilot training to 30,000 per year. To meet this new rate, the CPS concept was again expanded by converting three of the Level 1 primary CPS schools to Level 2 basic flying training and expanded the number of CPS contractors.
However, in the strictest sense, these schools were not owned or leased by the USAAF, and for the most part, they were not designated or activated as Army Air Fields. In official Army directories, they were listed by the name of the civilian flying school, the name of the airport on which it operated, or sometimes just by the city name.
In addition to the Air Corps demands for civil flying schools to train military pilots, in late 1940, President Franklin Roosevelt accepted a proposal from British Prime Minister
The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government of the United Kingdom. The prime minister advises the sovereign on the exercise of much of the royal prerogative, chairs the Cabinet and selects its ministers. As moder ...
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 during the Second World War, and again from ...
that the United States train Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...
(RAF) pilots at civilian flying schools. The first RAF flight cadets began training in the United States in June 1941. The Army Air Corps (later Army Air Forces) maintained a small liaison detachment at each of these schools, however the RAF provided a cadre of officers for military supervision and training, while flight training was conducted by contract flying schools.
World War II
Primary Flight Training
After theJapanese attack on Pearl Harbor
The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service upon the United States against the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii, ju ...
and both Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany's declaration of war against the United States in December 1941, plans were made by the Army to increase the training rate to 50,000, then 70,000 and finally 102,000 pilots per year. The Defense Plant Corporation (DFC) purchased all of the CFS's and leased the facilities back to the civilian contractors. This effectively made them government property, although they continued to be operated by the civilian contractors. The DFC then funded the construction of all future CPSs.
The CFS's were assigned to the various Flying Training Commands, and each had a designated USAAF Flying Training Detachment assigned for supervision and liaison with the command. According to the contract, the government supplied students with training aircraft, flying clothes, textbooks, and equipment. Schools furnished instructors, training sites and facilities, aircraft maintenance, quarters, and mess halls. To the flying cadets, the CPSs were just another training assignment—although the flight instructors were civilian contractors, the cadets still experienced the discipline and drudgery of military life.
Due to the wartime pressure to produce pilots rapidly the AAF paid scant attention to their military training. The atmosphere of the civilian-operated primary schools was not conducive to the development of rigid discipline, and too little time was available for military instruction at all the stages of pilot training. What instruction there was, over and above the regimen of Army life, was restricted largely to marching, ceremonies, inspections, and military customs and courtesies. The vigorous physical conditioning, however, continued and intensified during flying training.Craven & Cate, The Army Air Forces in World War II. Volume VI Men and Planes, Chapter 17, Individual Training of Flying PersonnelTrainers used were primarily Fairchild PT-19s, PT-17 Stearmans and Ryan PT-22s, although a wide variety of other types could be found at the airfields. The primary training syllabus was initially twelve weeks in length including 60 hours of flight time and 225 hours of ground training. However this was changed by the Army as the situation required. Although the number of flight hours remained at 60 throughout the war, the demands of the increasing pilot training rate resulted in the primary training to be reduced to ten weeks in 1940, then reduced to nine weeks in 1942. The instruction given at the CPSs was an adaptation of the primary phase formerly taught at
Randolph Field
Randolph Air Force Base was an United States Air Force base located at Universal City, Texas ( east-northeast of Downtown San Antonio).
Opened in 1931, Randolph has been a flying training facility for the United States Army Air Corps, the Un ...
. Each student in primary was required to make at least 175 landings. As given at the height of the effort, primary flying training was divided into four standard phases. In the pre-solo phase students became familiar with the general operation of a light aircraft. In the second, or intermediate phase, pre-solo work was reviewed, and precision of control was developed. The third, or accuracy, phase demanded high proficiency in various types of landing approaches and landings, and the fourth, or acrobatic, phase required ability to perform loops, Immelmann turns, slow rolls, half-rolls, and snap rolls. In 1944, after the training demand had peaked, the course length was increased back to ten weeks.
The Army Air Forces never reached the 102,000 pilot training rate. This was reduced to a more realistic rate of 93,600 in June 1943. The peak of AAF flying training was reached in November 1943 when the CPSs graduated 11,411 cadets. After that AAF flight training began a gradual reduction that resulted in the closing of most of the CPSs in the fall of 1944. Ten CPSs remained in operation in 1945, which were closed at the end of World War II and the Army Air Forces returned to in-house primary pilot training.
Glider Pilot Training
A subset of the CFS's were Glider Training Schools. Their mission was to train unpowered glider pilots; not powered aircraft pilots. Military Gliders were a new development that began in the 1920s when after the Treaty of Versailes, the German Air Force was disbanded. However, the treaty did not prohibit Germany from having sport gliding clubs, and by the late 1920s, many glider flying clubs had been established throughout the country. When the Nazi Party took over Germany in the early 1930s, the young men in the glider clubs formed the core of the newLuftwaffe
The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabtei ...
.Lowden, John L, A Brief History of the Combat Glider in World War II German DFS-230 combat gliders were used in the invasion of Belgium in May 1940 when they landed on top of the Eben Emael Fort and captured it. They were also used in the invasion of Crete. These actions led to the British and later American interest in Combat Gliders and their integration into their armed forces.
In 1941 the Air Corps directed Flying Training Command to establish a glider training program, however given the Army's inexperience, it was decided to utilize civilian glider and soaring schools in a similar manner to the primary powered flight program. Many glider pilots were already qualified and skilled powered aircraft pilots who had earned their CAA (Civil Aeronautic Administration) civilian pilot's license before war broke out. Other trainees for the glider pilot program had already gone through flight training but had been disqualified, not for lack of skill, but for problems beyond their control such as slightly deficient eyesight.
The main operation got under way at Twenty Nine Palms Army Airfield
Twentynine Palms Airport is a public use airport located six nautical miles (11 km) east of the central business district of Twentynine Palms, a city in San Bernardino County, California, United States. It is owned by the County of San Bern ...
, in the California desert, where thermal conditions were great for soaring flights. A facility, named Condor Field, was utilized with C-47 Skytrain
The Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota (RAF, RAAF, RCAF, RNZAF, and SAAF designation) is a military transport aircraft developed from the civilian Douglas DC-3 airliner. It was used extensively by the Allies during World War II and remained in f ...
s flown by Women Airforce Service Pilots
The Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) (also Women's Army Service Pilots or Women's Auxiliary Service Pilots) was a civilian women pilots' organization, whose members were United States federal civil service employees. Members of WASP became t ...
(WASP)s being used as tow tugs for the gliders, with Laister-Kauffman TG-4A sailplanes used for glider training.
However, it was learned that the military gliders under development were fundamentally different in their flight characteristics than sailplanes in their handling, and especially the fact that once released, a military glider did not soar as a sailplane does. The combat gliders under development could not soar and
gain altitude once the pilot released the tow line as a sailplane could. They could only descend, and once a pilot committed to a landing and discovered, as he got closer, that the landing zone was under fire, mined, or otherwise obstructed, he had little room to maneuver to make a safe landing.
As a result, the TG-4A sailplanes were replaced by Aeronca TG-5As, Taylorcraft TG-6As, and Piper TG-8As unpowered glider conversions of powered light observation aircraft which had similar characteristics to the military gliders under development./ref> As part of the training program, cadets learned to perform maintenance and, in an emergency, to rebuild wrecked gliders. This was a relatively simple operation, considering that the primary glider consisted of little more than a shell, equipped with radio, wheels, and brakes. The schools at Twentynine Palms, CA, Mobile, AL, Wickenburg, AZ, and Lamesa, AZ, were the first Glider Training Schools to open.
/ref> Once the Glider Pilot Cadet successfully completed their primary training, they moved on to advanced training, taught by AAF instructors at several military glider schools using the CG-4A Waco and British Airspeed Horsas that the pilots would eventually fly into combat during several operations primarily in the European Theater. Once in operational Troop Carrier squadrons, the gliders and their pilots were initially established as separate flights in the squadron organization. However, in late 1943, it was decided that having a separate glider force within the Troop Carrier squadrons, it was decided to end the separate glider instruction program and integrate the glider flying and maintenance training program into the Troop Carrier training program. The contract Glider Schools were subsequently closed or converted into Primary Flight Schools and all glider training was conducted by military glider pilot instructors at schools at Army Air Bases.
Closure
During the course of the war, the schools graduated approximately 250,000 student pilots. All of the CFS's were inactivated by the end of the war, and were either turned over to the War Assets Administration (WAA) for disposal, or sold back to their previous private owners. Most today are small general aviation airports; some are major municipal airports, and some were abandoned with little or no evidence of their existence.List of Contract Flying Schools
Eastern Flying Training Command
29th Flying Training Wing *Albany Army Airfield
Southwest Georgia Regional Airport is an airport four miles southwest of Albany, in Dougherty County, Georgia, in the United States. The National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015 categorized it as a ''primary commercial servic ...
, Albany Georgia
: 52d Flying Training Detachment29th Flying Training Wing, lineage and history document Air Force Historical Agency, Maxwell AFB, Alabama
: Operated by: Darr Aero-Tech Primary Flying SchoolW.W.II Army Air Forces Contract Flying School Airfields – Database Summary/ref> * Augustine Field, Madison, Mississippi : 62d Flying Training Detachment : Operated by: Mississippi Institute of Aeronautics *
Avon Park Army Airfield
Avon Park Executive Airport is a city-owned, public-use airport located two nautical miles (3.7 km) west of the central business district of Avon Park, a city in Highlands County, Florida, United States.
Overview
According to the FAA's Na ...
, Avon Park, Florida
: 61st Flying Training Detachment
: Operated by: Lodwick Aviation Military Academy
* Carlstrom Field
Carlstrom Field is a former military airfield, located southeast of Arcadia, Florida. The airfield was one of thirty-two Air Service training camps established in 1917 after the United States entry into World War I.
History
Carlstrom Field ...
, Arcadia, Florida
: 53d Flying Training Detachment
: 2148th Army Air Forces Base Unit (Contract Pilot School, Primary), April 1944
: Operated by: Embry-Riddle Company
* Chester Field, McBride, Missouri
: 74th Flying Training Detachment
: Operated by: Anderson Air Activities
* Decatur Airport, Decatur, Alabama
: 65th Flying Training Detachment
: Operated by: Southern Regional Airways, Inc
* 63rd Army Air Forces Contract Pilot School, Douglas, Georgia
: 63d Flying Training Detachment
: Operated by: South Georgia College
* Dorr Field
Dorr Field is a former military airfield, located east of Arcadia, Florida. The airfield was one of thirty-two Air Service training camps established in 1917 after the United States entry into World War I.
History
Dorr Field was named after ...
, Arcadia, Florida
: 54th Flying Training Detachment
: Operated by: Embry-Riddle Company
* Fletcher Field, Clarksdale, Mississippi
: 69th Flying Training Detachment
: Operated by: Clarksdale School of Aviation
* Harrell Field, Camden, Arkansas
: 59th Flying Training Detachment
: Operated by: Wiggings-Marden Aero Corp
* Harris Army Airfield
Cape Girardeau Regional Airport is a city owned public use airport in Scott County, Missouri, United States. It is located five nautical miles (6 mi, 9 km) southwest of the central business district of Cape Girardeau, a city in C ...
, Cape Giardeau, Missouri
: 73d Flying Training Detachment
: Operated by: Cape Institute of Aeronautics, Inc
* Hawthorne School of Aeronautics, Orangeburg, South Carolina
: 58th Flying Training Detachment
: 2162d Army Air Forces Base Unit (Contract Pilot School, Primary), April 1944
: Hawthorne School of Aeronautics
* Lodwick Field, Lakeland, Florida
: 61st Flying Training Detachment
: 2160th Army Air Forces Base Unit (Contract Pilot School, Primary), April 1944
: Operated by: Lodwick School of Aeronautics
* Lafayette Airport, Lafayette, Louisiana
: 70th Flying Training Detachment
: Lafayette School of Aeronautics
* McKellar Field
McKellar is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Archibald McKellar (1816–1894), Canadian politician
* Archie McKellar (1912–1940), Royal Air Force fighter pilot during the Battle of Britain
* Colin McKellar (1903–1970), Aus ...
, Jackson, Tennessee
: 68th Flying Training Detachment
: Operated by: Georgia Air Services, Incorporated
* Moton Field, Tuskegee, Alabama
: 66th Flying Training Detachment
: 2564th Army Air Forces Base Unit (Contract Pilot School, Primary) (Colored), April 1944
: Operated by: Tuskegee Institute
* Palmer Field, Bennettsville, South Carolina
: 53d Flying Training Detachment
: Operated by: Georgia Air Service, Incorporated and Southeastern Air Service, Incorporated
* Souther Field
Souther Field is a former military airfield, located Northeast of Americus, Georgia. It was one of thirty-two Air Service training camps established after the United States entry into World War I in April 1917.
After World War II, the prope ...
, Americus, Georgia
: 56th Flying Training Detachment
: Operated by: Graham Aviation Co.
* Taylor Field, Ocala, Florida
: 57th Flying Training Detachment
: Operated by: Greenville Aviation School
* Thompson-Robbins Field, Helena, Arkansas
: 59th Flying Training Detachment
: Operated by: Helena Aerotech
* Van de Graaff Field
Tuscaloosa National Airport is 3.5 miles northwest of Tuscaloosa, in Tuscaloosa County, Alabama. The airport is owned and operated by the City of Tuscaloosa. The FAA's National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2019–2023 categorized the ...
, Tuscaloosa, Alabama
: 51st Flying Training Detachment
: Operated by: Alabama Institute of Aeronautics, Inc
* Woodward Field, Camden, South Carolina
: 64th Flying Training Detachment
: Operated by: Southern Aviation School
; Glider Training Schools
* Antigo Airport, Antigo, Wisconsin
: 14th Glider Training Detachment
: Pre-Glider/Primary Training School
: Operated by: Anderson Air Activities
* Bates Field, Mobile Alabama
: 18th Glider Training Detachment
: Basic Glider Training School
: Operated by: Mobile Area Soaring Corp.
* Greenville Municipal Airport, Greenville, South Carolina
: 48th Glider Training Detachment
: Elementary/Advanced Training School
: Operated by: Southern Airways, Inc.
* Grand Forks Airport, Grand Forks, North Dakota
: 24th Glider Training Detachment
: Pre-Glider/Primary Training School
: Operated by: Jolly Flying Service
* Kirkwood Field, Crookston, Minnesota
: 33D Glider Training Detachment
: Pre-Glider/Primary Training School
: Operated by: L. Millar-Wittig
* Lobb Field, Rochester, Minnesota
: 32d Glider Training Detachment
: Pre-Glider/Primary Training School
: Operated by: Fontana School of Aeronautics
* Stillwater Airport, Stillwater, Minnesota
: 34th Glider Training Detachment
: Pre-Glider/Primary Training School
: Operated by: North Aviation Company
* Monticello Field, Monticello, Minnesota
: 35th Glider Training Detachment
: Pre-Glider/Primary Training School
: Operated by: Hinck Flying Service, Inc.
Central Flying Training Command
31st Flying Training Wing * Arledge Field, Stamford, Texas : 308th Flying Training Detachment31st Flying Training Wing, lineage and history document Air Force Historical Agency, Maxwell AFB, Alabama : Operated by: Stamford Flying School and Lou Foote Flying Service and Coleman Flying School *Avenger Field
Avenger Field is a Texas airport in Nolan County, three miles west of Sweetwater. The National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015 called it a ''general aviation'' facility.
Facilities
Avenger Field covers 896 acres (363 ...
, Sweetwater, Texas
: 319th Flying Training Detachment
: 2563d Army Air Forces Base Unit (Women Air Service Pilots), April 1944
: Operated by: Aviation Enterprises. Conducted Primary, Basic and Advanced (WASP) training
* Bruce Field, Ballinger, Texas
: 306th Flying Training Detachment
: Operated by: Fred Harmon Flying School
* Chickasha Municipal Airport, Chickasha, Oklahoma
: 316th Flying Training Detachment
: 2549th Army Air Forces Base Unit (Contract Pilot School, Primary), April 1944
: Operated by: Wilson-Bonfils Flying School
* Cimarron Field, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
: 310th Flying Training Detachment
: Operated by: Oklahoma Air College
* Coleman Municipal Airport, Coleman, Texas
: 304th Flying Training Detachment
: Operated by: Coleman FLying School, Limited
* Corsicana Field, Corsicana, Texas
: 301st Flying Training Detachment
: Operated by: Air Activities of Texas
* Cuero Municipal Airport, Cuero, Texas
: 303d Flying Training Detachment
: Operated by: Brayton Flying Services, Inc.
* Fort Stockton Field, Fort Stockton, Texas
: 313th Flying Training Detachment
: Operated by: Pacific Air School Limited
* Garner Field, Uvalde, Texas
: 305th Flying Training Detachment
: 2566th Army Air Forces Base Unit (Contract Pilot School, Primary), April 1944
: Operated by: Hangar Six, Incorporated
* Grider Field, Pine Bluff, Arkansas
: 312th Flying Training Detachment
: Operated by: Pine Bluff School of Aviation
* Harvey Parks Airport, Sikeston, Missouri
: 311th Flying Training Detachment
: Operated by: Missouri Institute of Aeronautics
* Hatbox Field
Hatbox Field is a closed airfield located within city limits, two nautical miles (3.7 km) west of central Muskogee, Oklahoma, Muskogee, a city in Muskogee County, Oklahoma, Muskogee County, Oklahoma, United States. It was opened sometime in ...
, Muskogee, Oklahoma
: 315th Flying Training Detachment
: Operated by Spartan Aircraft Company and Spartan School of Aeronautics
* Hicks Field
Hicks Field (Camp Taliaferro Field #1) is a former World War I military airfield, located North-northwest of Saginaw, Texas. It operated as a training field for the Air Service, United States Army between 1917 until 1920. It was one of thi ...
, Fort Worth, Texas
: 307th Flying Training Detachment
: Operated by: Texas Aviation School and W. F. Long Flying School.
* Jones Field, Bonham, Texas
: 302d Flying Training Detachment
: Operated by: Bonham Aviation School
* Miami Municipal Airport, Miami, Oklahoma
: 322d Flying Training Detachment
: Operated by: Spartan School of Aeronautics
* Mustang Field, El Reno, Oklahoma
: 320th Flying Training Detachment
: Operated by: Midwest Air School
* Parks Metropolitan Airport, East St. Louis, Illinois
: 309th Flying Training Detachment
: Operated by: Parks Air College
* Ponca City Municipal Airport, Ponca City, Oklahoma
: 323d Flying Training Detachment
: Operated by: Darr School of Aeronautics
* Terrell Municipal Airport, Terrell, Texas
: 321st Flying Training Detachment
: Operated by: Terell Aviation School, Limited
* Tulsa Municipal Airport
Tulsa International Airport is a civil-military airport five miles (8 km) northeast of downtown Tulsa, in Tulsa County, Oklahoma, United States. It was named Tulsa Municipal Airport when the city acquired it in 1929;
: Operated by: Spartan School of Aeronautics
*
/ref> : Following the attack on Pearl Harbor, The Army Air Corps determined that the schools should double from the 50 students input, to 100 students, and that 20% of :the class would be USAAC cadets. Also, that the USAAC would take the BT-13 aircraft, and increase the PT-17's and AT-6's. Also the course would increase to 200 hours. This was eventually adopted by the USAAF beginning in the fall of 1944. * British Flight Training School No. 1 : 321st Flying Training Detachment (31st FTW) : 2564th Army Air Forces Base Unit (Contract Pilot School Primary/Advanced), April 1944 : Terrell Municipal Airport, Texas : Operated by: Dallas Aviation School * British Flight Training School No. 2 : 14th Flying Training Detachment (36th FTW) : 3043d Army Air Forces Base Unit (Contract Pilot School Primary/Advanced), April 1944 : Lancaster Airport, California : Operated by: Polaris Flight Academy * British Flight Training School No. 3 : 322d Flying Training Detachment (31st FTW) : 2565th Army Air Forces Base Unit (Contract Pilot School Primary/Advanced), April 1944 : Miami Municipal Airport, Oklahoma : Operated by: Spartan School * British Flight Training School No. 4 : 15th Flying Training Detachment (36th FTW) : 3052d Army Air Forces Base Unit (Contract Pilot School Primary/Advanced), April 1944 : Falcon Field, Mesa, Arizona : Operated by: Southwest Airways * British Flight Training School No. 5 : 75th Flying Training Detachment (29th FTW) : 2155th Army Air Forces Base Unit (Contract Pilot School Primary/Advanced), April 1944 :
Victory Field
Victory Field is a minor league ballpark in downtown Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. It is home to the Indianapolis Indians of the International League.
History
Victory Field opened on July 11, 1996, with the Indians falling to the Oklahom ...
, Vernon, Texas
: 317th Flying Training Detachment
: Operated by: Hunter Flying Service and Richey Flying Service.
; Glider Training Schools
* Aberdeen Regional Airport, Aberdeen, South Dakota
: 26th Glider Training Detachment
: Pre-Glider/Primary Training School
: Operated by: Anderson & Brennan Flying Service
* Eberts Field
Eberts Field is a former military airfield, located northwest of Lonoke, Arkansas. The airfield was one of thirty-two Air Service training camps established in 1917 after the United States entry into World War I.
It operated as a training f ...
, Lonoke, Arkansas
: 15th Glider Training Detachment
: Pre-Glider/Primary Training School
: Operated by: Kenneth Starnes Flying Service
* Renner Field, Goodland, Kansas
: 22d Glider Training Detachment
: Pre-Glider/Primary Training School
: Operated by: William A. Ong
* Hale County Airport
Hale County Airport is a public airport about south-southwest of Plainview, Texas. There are no airline flights now.
History
Provided contract glider training to the United States Army Air Forces, 1942–1944. Training provided by Clint Bree ...
, Plainview, Texas
: 4th Glider Training Detachment
: Pre-Glider/Primary Training School
: Operated by: Clint Breedlove Aerial Service
* Hartlee Field Airport, Denton, Texas
: 17th Glider Training Detachment
: Basic Glider Training School
: Operated by: Harte Flying Service
* Hays Airport, Hays, Kansas
: 19th Glider Training Detachment
: Pre-Glider/Primary Training School
: Operated by: Morey Airplane Company
* Janesville Field, Janesville, Wisconsin
: 16th Glider Training Detachment
: Pre-Glider/Primary Training School
: Operated by: Bonham Aviation School
* Okmulgee Municipal Airport, Okmulgee, Oklahoma
: 25th Glider Training Detachment
: Pre-Glider/Primary Training School
: Operated by: Sooner Air Training Corp.
* Pittsburg Airport, Pittsburg, Kansas
: 21st Glider Training Detachment
: Pre-Glider/Primary Training School
: Operated by: McFarland Flying Service
* Spencer Municipal Airport, Spencer, Iowa
: 23d Glider Training Detachment
: Pre-Glider/Primary Training School
: Operated by: Hunter Flying Service
: Hunter Flying Service moved from Spencer, Iowa, to Hamilton Airport at Hamilton, Texas, on 20 October 1942.
* Theldor Airfield, Vinita, Oklahoma
: 27th Glider Training Detachment
: Pre-Glider/Primary Training School
: Operated by: Burke Aviation Service
Western Flying Training Command
36th Flying Training Wing * Dos Palos Airport, Firebaugh/Dos Palos, California : 13th Flying Training Detachment : Operated by: Coast Aviation Corporation * Falcon Field, Mesa, Arizona : 15th Flying Training Detachment36th Flying Training Wing, lineage and history document Air Force Historical Agency, Maxwell AFB, Alabama : 3044th Army Air Forces Base Unit (Contract Pilot School, Primary), April 1944 : Southwest Airways Co *Gary Field
W. R. Byron Airport is a privately owned, private use airport in Riverside County, California, United States. It is located four nautical miles (5 mi, 7 km) northwest of the central business district of Blythe, California, with ...
, Riverside, California
: 10th Flying Training Detachment
: Operated by: Morton Mfg. Company/Morton Air Academy
* Grand Central Airport, Glendale, California
: 9th Flying Training Detachment
: Operated by: Cal-Aero Academy
* Lone Pine Airport
Lone Pine Airport is a public airport located one mile (1.6 km) southeast of Lone Pine (geographic coordinates N36-35.30; W118-03.12) serving Inyo County, California, United States. The airport has two runways and is mostly used for general ...
, Lone Pine, California
: 16th Flying Training Detachment
: Operated by: Lone Pine Academy
* Ontario Army Airfield
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Cana ...
, Ontario, California
: 7th Flying Training Detachment
: Operated by: Cal-Aero Academy
* Oxnard Army Airfield, Oxnard, California
: 14th Flying Training Detachment
: 3043d Army Air Forces Base Unit (Contract Pilot School, Primary), April 1944
: Operated by: Mira Loma Flight Academy
* Palo Alto Airport, King City, California
: 3d Flying Training Detachment
: Operated by: Palo Alto School of Aviation Airport
* Rankin Field, Tulare, California
: 4th Flying Training Detachment
: 3050th Army Air Forces Base Unit (Contract Pilot School, Primary), April 1944
: Operated by: Rankin Aeronautical Academy
* Ryan Airfield, Tucson, Arizona
: 11th Flying Training Detachment
: Operated by: Ryan School of Aeronautics
* Sequoia Field
Sequoia Field Airport is a county-owned, public-use airport located eight nautical miles (15 km) north of the central business district of Visalia, a city in Tulare County, California, United States.
Facilities and aircraft
Sequoia F ...
, Visalia, California
: 8th Flying Training Detachment
: Operated by: Visalia-Dinuba School of Aeronautics
* Santa Maria Army Airfield
Santa Maria Public Airport (Capt. G. Allan Hancock Field) is three miles (5 km) south of Santa Maria, in northern Santa Barbara County, California, United States.
History
The airport was built by the United States Army during World War ...
, Santa Maria, California
: 1st Flying Training Detachment
: Operated by: Hancock College of Aeronautics
* Thunderbird Field No. 1, Phoenix, Arizona
: 12th Flying Training Detachment
: 3040th Army Air Forces Base Unit (Contract Pilot School, Primary), April 1944
: Operated by: Southwest Airways
* Thunderbird Field No. 2, Scottsdale, Arizona
: 6th Flying Training Detachment
: Operated by: Thunderbird Corporation
* Twenty Nine Palms Army Airfield
Twentynine Palms Airport is a public use airport located six nautical miles (11 km) east of the central business district of Twentynine Palms, a city in San Bernardino County, California, United States. It is owned by the County of San Bern ...
, Twenty-Nine Palms, California
: 17th Flying Training Detachment
: Operated by: Twenty-Nine Palms Air Academy
* War Eagle Field, Lancaster, California
: 18th Flying Training Detachment
: Operated by: Polaris Flight Academy
; Glider Training Schools
* Artesia Municipal Airport, Artesia, New Mexico
: 11th Glider Training Detachment
: Basic/Advanced Glider Training School
: Operated by: Big Spring Flying Service
* Big Spring Army Glider Training School
Big Spring Army Glider Training School is an abandoned facility located approximately north-northwest of Big Spring, Texas. It is now farmland and no trace of it exists.
History
The facility consisted of a 7,000' dirt runway located in a spar ...
, Big Spring, Texas
: 28th Glider Training Detachment
: Pre-Glider/Primary Training School
: Operated by: Big Spring Flying Service
* Echeverria Field, Wickenburg, Arizona.
: Opened initially as Wickenburg Airport
: 5th Glider Training Detachment
: Basic Glider Training School
: Operated by: Arizona Gliding Academy
: Converted to Primary flight training school in March 1943, re-named Echeverria Field
: 20th Flying Training Detachment
: Operated by Claiborne Flight Academy
* Condor Field, Twenty-Nine Palms, California
: 6th Glider Training Detachment
: Basic Glider Training School
: Operated by: Twenty-Nine Palms Air Academy
* Fort Morgan Municipal Airport
Fort Morgan Municipal Airport is six miles north of Fort Morgan, in Morgan County, Colorado, United States. The airport is in the city limits in a detached section of the city. The National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015 ca ...
, Fort Morgan, Colorado
: 1st Glider Training Detachment
: Pre-Glider/Primary Training School
: Operated by: Plains Airways, Inc
* Lamesa Army Airfield, Lamesa, Texas
: 29th Glider Training Detachment
: Pre-Glider/Primary Training School
: Operated by: Clint Breedlove Aerial Service
* Tucumcari Municipal Airport, Tucumcari, New Mexico
: 9th Glider Training Detachment
: Elementary/Advanced Training School
: Operated by: Cutter-Carr Flying Service
British Flight Training Schools
Royal Air Force flying cadets used the PT-17 or PT-19; the BT-13 and AT-6 for their training in the United States. Unlike the Army Air Forces, RAF cadets remained at the same airfield for all three levels of their training.British Flight Training Schools (BFTS)/ref> : Following the attack on Pearl Harbor, The Army Air Corps determined that the schools should double from the 50 students input, to 100 students, and that 20% of :the class would be USAAC cadets. Also, that the USAAC would take the BT-13 aircraft, and increase the PT-17's and AT-6's. Also the course would increase to 200 hours. This was eventually adopted by the USAAF beginning in the fall of 1944. * British Flight Training School No. 1 : 321st Flying Training Detachment (31st FTW) : 2564th Army Air Forces Base Unit (Contract Pilot School Primary/Advanced), April 1944 : Terrell Municipal Airport, Texas : Operated by: Dallas Aviation School * British Flight Training School No. 2 : 14th Flying Training Detachment (36th FTW) : 3043d Army Air Forces Base Unit (Contract Pilot School Primary/Advanced), April 1944 : Lancaster Airport, California : Operated by: Polaris Flight Academy * British Flight Training School No. 3 : 322d Flying Training Detachment (31st FTW) : 2565th Army Air Forces Base Unit (Contract Pilot School Primary/Advanced), April 1944 : Miami Municipal Airport, Oklahoma : Operated by: Spartan School * British Flight Training School No. 4 : 15th Flying Training Detachment (36th FTW) : 3052d Army Air Forces Base Unit (Contract Pilot School Primary/Advanced), April 1944 : Falcon Field, Mesa, Arizona : Operated by: Southwest Airways * British Flight Training School No. 5 : 75th Flying Training Detachment (29th FTW) : 2155th Army Air Forces Base Unit (Contract Pilot School Primary/Advanced), April 1944 :
Airglades Airport
Airglades Airport is a county-owned public-use airport in Hendry County, Florida, United States. It is located west of the central business district of Clewiston, Florida.
Overview
The airport has a lighted 5950-foot runway (13-31) and ample ...
, Clewiston, Florida
: Operated by: Embry-Riddle Aero School
* British Flight Training School No. 6
: 323d Flying Training Detachment (31st FTW)
: 2542d Army Air Forces Base Unit (Contract Pilot School Primary/Advanced), April 1944
: Ponca City Airport, Oklahoma
: Operated by: Darr School
* British Flight Training School No. 7
: 318th Flying Training Detachment (31st FTW)
: Open June 16–August 18, 1942, assets dispersed afterwards
: Sweetwater Municipal Airport, Sweetwater, Texas
: Operated by: Aviation Enterprises, Ltd.
: (Last class, from #2 BFTS, Lancaster, California, transferred to Sweetwater,
: Aircraft, 51 students, and RAF Staff. Students further displaced to
: other BFTS schools, in August, 1942.
References
{{Portal bar, Aviation, Schools, World War II USAAF Contract Flying School Airfields Flying Training Schools of air forces