The 37th Flying Training Wing is an inactive

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 ...

unit. It was last assigned to the

Western Flying Training Command The Army Air Forces Western Flying Training Command (WFTC) was a command of the United States Army Air Forces. It was assigned to the Army Air Forces Training Command, stationed at Santa Ana Army Air Base, California. It was inactivated on 1 No ...

, and was disbanded on 16 June 1946 at Luke Field, Arizona. There is no lineage between the United States Air Force

37th Training Wing The 37th Training Wing is a unit of the United States Air Force assigned to the 2nd Air Force and the Air Education and Training Command. As the host unit to Lackland Air Force Base, Joint Base San Antonio, Texas, the wing (military aviation un ...

, established on 22 December 1939 as the 37th Pursuit Group (Interceptor) at

Albrook Army Airfield Albrook may refer to the following entities in Panama: *Albrook (Panama Metro), a Panama City Metro station *Albrook Air Force Station, a former U.S. Air Force base near Panama Canal **Albrook (area), a complex of buildings formerly part of the air ...

, Panama Canal Zone, and this organization.

History

The wing directed Training Command Flight Schools in Arizona. Most of the assigned schools provided phase II basic and phase II advanced flying training for Air Cadets, although the wing also commanded both contract basic (phase I) and Army schools. Graduates of the advanced schools were commissioned as Second Lieutenants, received their "wings" and were reassigned to Operational or Replacement Training Units operated by one of the four numbered air fores in the zone of interior. As training requirements changed during the war, schools were activated and inactivated or transferred to meet those requirements.Manning, Thomas A. (2005), ''History of Air Education and Training Command, 1942–2002''. Office of History and Research, Headquarters, AETC, Randolph AFB, Texas

Lineage

* Established as 37th Flying Training Wing on 17 December 1942 : Activated on 8 January 1943 : Disbanded 16 June 1946.35th Flying Training Wing, lineage and history document Air Force Historical Agency, Maxwell AFB, Alabama

Assignments

* AAF West Coast (later, AAF Western Flying) Training Center, 8 January 1943 – 16 June 1946

Training aircraft

The schools of the wing used a wide variety of planes to support its numerous training needs: * Primary training aircraft were the Boeing-Stearman PT-17 and

Ryan PT-22 The Ryan PT-22 Recruit, the main military version of the Ryan ST, is a military trainer aircraft that was used by the United States Army Air Corps during WWII for primary pilot training. Design and development The PT-22's fuselage is a simple ...

. PT-13 and PT-27 aircraft were also used which were basic Stearmans with varying horsepower ratings. * The

Vultee BT-13 The Vultee BT-13 Valiant is an American World War II-era basic (a category between primary and advanced) trainer aircraft built by Vultee Aircraft for the United States Army Air Corps, and later US Army Air Forces. A subsequent variant of th ...

was the basic training aircraft, along with its cousin the Vultee BT-15 * The

North American AT-6 The North American Aviation T-6 Texan is an American single-engined advanced trainer aircraft, which was used to train pilots of the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF), United States Air Force (USAF), United States Navy, Royal Air Force, Ro ...

was used as the single-engine advanced trainer * The

Cessna AT-17 Bobcat The Cessna AT-17 Bobcat or Cessna Crane is a twin-engine advanced Trainer (aircraft), trainer aircraft designed and made in the United States, and used during World War II to bridge the gap between single-engine trainers and larger multi-engine ...

was the standard two-engine advanced trainer, along with the Cessna UC-78 variant of the AT-17 : Curtiss-Wright AT-9s were used for high performance two-engine training in perpetration for

Lockheed P-38 The Lockheed P-38 Lightning is an American single-seat, twin piston-engined fighter aircraft that was used during World War II. Developed for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) by the Lockheed Corporation, the P-38 incorporated a distinc ...

Lightning training : Beechcraft AT-10s were used for pilots in training for two engine bombers (B-25s and B-26s) :

Beechcraft AT-11 The Beechcraft Model 18 (or "Twin Beech", as it is also known) is a 6- to 11-seat, twin-engined, low-wing, tailwheel light aircraft manufactured by the Beechcraft, Beech Aircraft Corporation of Wichita, Kansas. Continuously produced from 1937 ...

s were used for pilots in training for C-47 transports

Assigned Schools

; Ajo Army Airfield, Arizona : AAF Flying Gunnery School (Fixed) : 330th Gunnery Training Group : Opened: August 1942, Closed: April 1945 (AT-6, AT-9) : Satellite of Luke Field; taken over by Williams Field, 1 July 1943 ; Dateland Army Airfield, Dateland, Arizona : AAF Advanced Flying School, Two-Engine : Satellite of Yuma Army Airfield : Airfield supported gunnery training, no permanent aircraft assigned ;

Douglas Army Airfield Bisbee Douglas International Airport is a county-owned airport northwest of Douglas and east of Bisbee, both in Cochise County, Arizona, United States, that was formerly known as Douglas Army Airfield (Douglas AAF). The FAA's National Plan ...

, Douglas, Arizona : AAF Advanced Flying School, Two-Engine, also Two-Engine Transition : 310th Two-Engine Flying Training Group : Opened: August 1942, Closed: November 1945 (AT-9, AT-17, UC-78, AT-24) : Aircraft carried fuselage code: "A"; Became exclusive B-25 Mitchell and B-26 Marauder two-engine transition school October 1944, closed November 1945 ; Echeverria Field, Wickenburg, Arizona : AAF Contract Pilot School (Primary) : 5th Glider Training Detachment : Opened: October 1941, Closed: April 1944 (PT-17, PT-27, PT-13) : Operated by: Claiborne Flight Academy; Glider training Jan 1941 – Feb 1943; Primary flight training February 1943 – April 1944 ; Gila Bend Gunnery Range, Gila Bend, Arizona : AAF Flying Gunnery School (Fixed) : Opened: September 1942, Closed: September 1944 (AT-6) : Satellite of Luke Field, operated AT-6s for gunnery practice ; Luke Field, Phoenix, Arizona : AAF Advanced Flying School, Single-Engine : AAF Advanced Flying School, Single-Engine (Transition) : 330th Single Engine Flying Training Group : Opened: March 1941, Closed: July 1946 (PT-17, AT-6, P-36, P-39, P-40) : Aircraft carried fuselage code "X"; AT-6s flown from July 1941 until end of war; transition school operated P-36s (1941), P-39s, P-40s; Advanced Flying School closed July 1946; remained open as training base, becoming Luke Air Force Base in 1948. ;

Marana Army Air Field Pinal Airpark , also known as Pinal County Airpark, is a non-towered, county-owned, public-use airport located northwest of the central business district of Marana, in Pinal County, Arizona, United States. Silverbell Army Heliport is co-loc ...

, Marana, Arizona : AAF Basic Flying School : AAF Advanced Flying School, Single-Engine : Opened: August 1942, Closed: August 1945 (BT-13, AT-6) : Aircraft carried fuselage code: "S";Flight Training Field Fuselage Codes of World War II
/ref> Became advanced single-engine school October 1944 ; Ryan Army Airfield, Tucson, Arizona : AAF Contract Pilot School (Primary) : 11th Flying Training Detachment : Opened: July 1942, Closed: September 1944 (PT-17, PT-22, PT-27) : Operated by: Ryan School of Aeronautics, Hemet, California; transferred to United States Marine Corps, April 1945 ;

Thunderbird Field No. 1 Thunderbird Field was a military airfield in Glendale, Arizona, used for contract primary flight training of Allied pilots during World War II. Created in part by actor James Stewart, the field became part of the United States Army Air Forces trai ...

, Phoenix, Arizona : AAF Contract Pilot School (Primary) : 6th Flying Training Detachment : Opened: September 1939, Closed: July 1945 (PT-13, PT-17) : Operated by: Thunderbird Corporation ; Thunderbird Field No. 2, Scottsdale, Arizona : AAF Contract Pilot School (Primary) : 12th Flying Training Detachment : Opened: June 1942, Closed: October 1944 (PT-17) : Operated by: Thunderbird Corporation ;

Williams Field Williams Field or Willy Field is a United States Antarctic Program airfield in Antarctica. Williams Field consists of two snow runways located on approximately 8 meters (25 ft) of compacted snow, lying on top of 8–10 ft of ice, floa ...

, Chandler, Arizona : AAF Advanced Flying School, Single-Engine : AAF Advanced Flying School, Two/Four-Engine, also Two/Four-Engine Transition : Opened: January 1942, Closed: June 1948 (AT-6, AT-9, AT-10, AT-11, AT-17, B-25, B-17, B-24) : Aircraft carried fuselage code: "Y" Became single-engine AT-6 school in December 1943; Two/Four engine training beginning May 1945; became permanent USAF Williams Air Force Base, 1948. Closed 1993 ;

Yuma Army Airfield Marine Corps Air Station Yuma or MCAS Yuma is a United States Marine Corps air station in Arizona. It is the home of multiple squadrons of F-35B Lightning IIs of the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, Marine Aviation Weapons and Tactics Squadron 1 (MA ...

, Yuma, Arizona : AAF Advanced Flying School, Single-Engine : AAF Advanced Flying School, Two-Engine, also Two-Engine Transition : 307th Single-Engine Flying Training Group : Opened: November 1942, Closed: December 1945 (AT-6, AT-9, AT-17, UC-78, B-25) : Aircraft carried fuselage code: "U"; Also operated Yuma gunnery and bombing ranges

Stations

* Luke Field, Arizona, 8 January 1943 – 16 June 1946.

References

{{USAAF Training Bases World War II Training wings of the United States Army Air Forces Military units and formations established in 1942 Military units and formations disestablished in 1946 1942 establishments in Arizona 1946 disestablishments in Arizona