Army Air Forces Training Command
Encyclopedia
Army Air Forces Training Command (AAFTC) (1943–1946) was a command of the United States Army Air Forces
. It was redesignated Air Training Command
on 1 July 1946 as part of the reorganization of the Army Air Forces after World War II
.
AAFTC was created as a result of the merger of the Army Air Forces Flying Training Command and the Army Air Forces Technical Training Command on 31 July 1943.
.
The command struggled with the challenge of a massive wartime expansion of the air forces. Throughout 1942, the need for combat crew personnel far exceeded the current and contemplated production of the command’s flying training schools. The rate of expansion of housing and training facilities, instructors, as well as the procurement of aircraft and other equipment, though at a breakneck pace, constrained the rate of increase of production. Facilities were used to their maximum capacity as quickly as they could be stood up. Some schools were expanded while they were still under construction.
During 1942, the new command selected locations for the more than fifty additional airfields necessary to implement the announced 75,000-pilot program. Local civic groups and congressmen "gave the site boards no respite," in the words of an AAF Training Command historian, as they lobbied for new bases in
their jurisdiction. New airfields had to be located in areas with sufficient flying space free of other air traffic, and the West Coast training center faced the extraordinary requirement to avoid sites near the internment camps for Japanese-Americans.
Until the late 1930s, flying training in the Army remained quite small after the rapid demobilization with the end of World War I
. In 1922 all flying training was consolidated in Texas
, considered to be an ideal location because of climate and other factors. Brooks Field
became the center for primary training and Kelly Field for advanced training. However, it was discovered that facilities in the San Antonio area were insufficient to accommodate the number of cadets entering primary training. Hence, in violation of the principle of geographic concentration, primary pilot training was also performed at March Field, California
, from 1927 to 1931.
Another problem for the training center was the growth of the city of San Antonio, which created hazards for training. Consequently, in June 1927 plans were created for the construction of a single large airfield outside of the city to house all flying training. The United States Congress
funded the new field's construction but not the purchase of the land, so the city of San Antonio borrowed the $546,000 needed to purchase the site selected for what became Randolph Field. By the fall of 1931, construction was essentially completed, so the Air Corps Training Center at Duncan Field, adjacent to Kelly, and the primary schools at Brooks and March moved to the new installation.
Advanced training remained at Kelly because experience showed that Randolph Field would become quite congested with only primary and basic training located there. Following the expansion, the number of pilots in training declined until only 184 graduated in 1937, compared to an average of 257 per year prior to 1931. But with the emergence of Nazi Germany
as a potential threat to the United States
, the Air Corps proposed a period of expansion to train 4,500 pilots over a two-year period.
Beginning in 1939, the Army contracted with nine civilian flying schools to provide primary flying training, while Randolph handled basic training, now completely separate from primary. Kelly Field, with Brooks as a subpost, took care of advanced flying training. In July 1939 the full course of flying instruction was shortened in length from a year to nine months—three for each phase. The number of primary contract schools expanded to 41 by the time of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, and to 60 at various times in 1943.
On 8 July 1940, the Air Corps reorganized its redesignated its training centers to manage the growing number of flying schools.
In July 1943 this command merged with the AAF Technical Training Command to form the Army Air Forces Training Command.
After the attack on Pearl Harbor and the United States entry into the war, the number of volunteers for pilot training was enormous. Fearing that they would lose them to the general draft, aviation cadet-applicants were given exemption from 1942 until 1944. The education requirement of at least 2 years of college was waived to broaden the number of suitable applicants.
Demand for pilots meant that training had to be modified to accommodate the large numbers of pilot candidates.
Training came in five stages. Classification lasted 1 to 2 weeks and the education and training stages were 9 weeks each. Each 9 week stage was divided into two 4.5 week (63 day) halves: a lower half and an upper half . The lower half was made up of students just beginning the stage and the upper half was made up of the students who were half-finished. The more experienced cadets would (hopefully) help the new cadets get through the section before they were promoted to the next stage.
Graduates were usually graded as Flight Officers (Warrant Officers); cadets who graduated at the top of their class were graded as Second Lieutenants. Aviation Cadets who washed out of pilot training were sent to navigator or bombardier school.
Civilian flying schools, under government contract, provided a considerable part of the flying training effort undertaken by the United States Army Air Forces. Their mission was to provide Level 1 primary pilot training
To the flying cadets, the Contract Flying Schools (CFS) were just another training assignment—although the flight instructors were civilian contractors, the cadets still experienced the discipline and drudgery of military life. 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. From the Air Corps, schools received a flat fee of $1,170 for each graduate and $18 per flying hour for students eliminated from training. Trainers used were primarily Fairchild PT-19
s, PT-17 Stearmans and Ryan PT-22s, although a wide variety of other types could be found at the airfields.
At one time or another during World War II, 64 contract schools conducted primary training, with a maximum of 56 schools operating at any one time. 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,
During World War II
civilian flying schools, under government contract, provided a considerable part of the flying training effort undertaken by the United States Army Air Forces
. In 1941 the Air Corps directed Flying Training Command to establish a glider training program. Contract schools opened soon after. Students 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.
By late 1944 Training Command ended all glider instruction, both flying and technical. Rather than create a separate glider force, the Army Air Forces had decided it would be more profitable to train its troop carrier pilots to also operate gliders.
In World War I, partially trained American pilots arrived in Europe unprepared to fight the Germans. They completed their training in French, British, and Italian schools in aircraft not available in the United States. Mechanics, too, received training overseas. The British helped train US ground crews at their airfields and in their factories. So too, did France. Based on that foundation, the air arm of the US Army grew quickly and compiled a credible combat record during World War I.
Two decades later, with World War II looming large, the United States had a chance to reciprocate. When the Lend-Lease Act became law on 11 March 1941, the British were isolated, facing a hostile continent. France had fallen in 1940, the British had retreated from Dunkirk at the same time, and the Germans had not yet reneged on the Hitler- Stalin non-aggression pact of 1939. Only the Royal Air Force (RAF), by denying air superiority to the Luftwaffe, had prevented a German invasion of the British Isles.
Aware of the RAF's urgent need for additional training facilities, the United States offered the British over 500 aircraft for use in the training of British pilots in the United States. General Hap Arnold also arranged for civilian contractors to
set up schools exclusively for training British pilots. The schools would accept 50 RAF students every 5 weeks for a 20-week course in order to produce 3,000 pilots a year. Known as the British Flying Training School program, it was unique among the programs the Air Corps offered to Allied nations inasmuch as the British dealt directly with the contractors and completely controlled all aspects of the flying training process. Basically, the Air Corps just helped the RAF and the contractors select the sites for the schools and then supervised their construction. The schools were located at Mesa, Arizona; Lancaster, California; Clewiston, Florida; Miami and Ponca City, Oklahoma; Terrell, Texas; and, briefly, Sweetwater, Texas.
The United States also assisted the Chinese Air Force. The Air Corps conducted most of the training for the Chinese at three Arizona installations: Luke, Williams, and Thunderbird Fields. Training the Chinese presented some special challenges. Because of their small stature some students could not reach all the controls. That problem was usually solved through the use of extra cushions and occasionally by switching them to another type of airplane. A bigger problem was the language barrier. It took all the interpreters the Air Corps could muster to support the training programs for the Chinese. In the end, 3,553 Chinese received flying and technical training, including 866 pilots.
While the preponderance of students trained in the United States during World War II were British, French, or Chinese,
over 20 other nations also sent students. Most came from Latin America, most notably Brazil and Mexico. A smattering
of others came from Australia, Turkey, the Netherlands, and the Soviet Union.
technical subjects like armament, engineering, communications, and photography.
By October 1942, 15 AAF technical schools, 34 civilian contract mechanics schools, 7 basic training centers, 5 universities, 5 commercial airline contract schools, and about 50 factory training schools provided technical training. In addition, there were other small technical training schools at various Flying Training Command and Second Air Force
bases. Because bad weather did not seriously hamper technical training the way it did flying training, many technical training bases were in the northern part of the country, whereas flying fields were concentrated in the south and along the west coast.
The Army air arm saw a need for skilled aviation mechanics and other technicians as it prepared for World War I
. At first, men who already possessed some mechanical experience received training at civilian trade schools and state universities. However, he policy proved both expensive and unsatisfactory. So the Army set up two mechanic schools, one at Kelly Field and another in a large building in Saint Paul, Minnesota
, that the War Department took over.
By the end of World War I, the Army had graduated about 5,000 men, nearly one-third of all aviation mechanics trained during 1918 (including those trained in 34 civilian institutions). The school at Kelly Field had begun operations in October 1917, but did not function effectively until June 1918, when 1,000 students entered training. By Armistice Day, 11 November 1918, Kelly had trained over 2,000 more mechanics. Though the school in St Paul closed after the war, Kelly remained in operation and trained some 5,000 more mechanics before January 1921 when the air mechanics school was moved as a result of reorganization to Chanute Field, Illinois
.
In addition to the flight mechanics, training in aerial photography for both officers and enlisted men began at Langley Field, Virginia
, in 1917. Instruction in radio communication took place at an aviation instruction center near Tours, France, in 1918, and an Air Service Communications School was established at Fort Sill
, Oklahoma
, the following year. In 1922 the photography school at Langley and the communications school at Fort Sill both joined
the mechanics course at Chanute, congregating all technical training in the Air Service at that location to form the Air Service Technical School, redesignated the Air Corps Technical School in 1926.
The former separate schools became departments, joined in 1930 by a Department of Armament and three years later by a Department of Clerical Instruction. In February 1938 Lowry Field, Colorado
, came under the jurisdiction of the Air Corps Technical School, still headquartered at Chanute. The Departments of Photography and Armament moved to Lowry, followed in September by the Department of Clerical Instruction. Scott Field
, Illinois
, came under the jurisdiction of Chanute in 1939.
The Department of Basic Instruction, inaugurated in 1935 at Chanute, relocated to the new location. The department returned to Chanute, however, when Scott became a radio school in 1940. Subject matter from the basic course was incorporated into the various specialized programs at Scott, and four of the departments—mechanics, communications, photography, and armament—taught both officers and enlisted personnel.
By early November 1941, students were entering technical training at the rate of 110,000 per year, and after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor the student flow rose sharply: 13,000 men entered technical training schools in January 1942 and 55,000 in December 1942. The peak occurred in March 1943, with 62,000 entrants. To accommodate the trainees,
the AAF pressed civilian mechanics and factory schools into service, and many colleges and universities offered training in certain specialties. New technical training bases included Keesler Field, Mississippi
, and Sheppard Field, Texas
, both activated in 1941. Thereafter, the number of stations increased at a rapid pace.
Basic military training was a major mission of the Air Corps Technical School and, later, Technical Training Command. In the early days of technical training there was little emphasis on basic military instruction. The amount of basic military
training provided to new enlisted personnel undergoing technical instruction varied with their unit commanders, who had sole responsibility for the program.
In 1935 efforts to change this arrangement began, but the real change occurred in 1939 when the Army proposed that each component arm and service set up their own enlisted replacement centers. Air Corps policy had been to furnish initial basic training for recruits at established stations, followed by about a month's preparatory training at Scott Field, Illinois,
before they went to Chanute for specialized training. Then in 1940 the War Department authorized the establishment of Air Corps enlisted replacement centers for the initial basic training of recruits.
The Air Corps established the first of these centers at Jefferson Barracks, Missouri
, in the summer of 1940, though formal activation did not occur until 21 February 1941. That fall the Technical Training Command activated two more basic training centers at Keesler Field, Mississippi, and Sheppard Field, Texas. A group of officers and enlisted men from
Scott Field became the initial staff for Jefferson Barracks, and it, in turn, provided cadres to staff the basic training centers at Keesler and Sheppard.
By the time of the attack on Pearl Harbor, the Air Corps had 21,000 recruits at the three basic training centers. The subsequently phenomenal growth of enlistments made these three centers inadequate to supply recruits for technical
training, so the number of basic training centers expanded to 12 (plus one provisional center) by the spring of 1943. Shortly thereafter, the basic training mission declined in size because requirements for training were being met. Consequently, some of the 13 centers inactivated, while others moved to technical training centers such as Amarillo Field, Texas, that had previously not had basic training centers.
The number of trainees at basic training centers increased to its peak of 135,795 in February 1943.
In July 1943 this command (technical and indoctrination training) merged with the AAF Flying Training Command to form the Army Air Forces Training Command.
What had been Flying Training Command's major subordinate units—the Southeast Flying Training Center at Maxwell, the Gulf Coast Flying Training Center at Randolph, and the West Coast Flying Training Center at Santa Ana were redesignated as following:
The five districts that had belonged to Technical Training Command also transferred to the new AAF Training Command. However, on 31 August 1943, Training Command disbanded the Third District at Tulsa, Oklahoma
, and the Fifth District in Miami Beach, Florida
. The other three were redesignated.
Note: Sub-bases and auxiliary airfields not listed.
On 7 March 1942, the first African-Americans to become military pilots received their wings at Tuskegee Field, Alabama
. For many this event marked 25 years of determined effort to include blacks in military aviation. As early as 1917, Walter White
, Director of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
(NAACP), had called for the inclusion of blacks in the Air Corps only to be told that “no colored squadrons were being formed at the present time.” Finally, on 21 March 1941, the Air Corps activated the 99th Pursuit Squadron, which became the first squadron of what became the renowned Tuskegee Airmen
.
After the first class of five pilots graduated, it took until July 1942 for enough black airmen to complete flight training for the squadron to reach full strength. Even then, the Army was not ready to send black pilots overseas. Under the command of Capt Benjamin O. Davis, Jr.
, the 99th remained at Tuskegee and received additional training to prepare for combat. In April 1943 the unit deployed to French Morocco
in North Africa
.
Eventually enough graduates were available to comprise four fighter squadrons: the 100th, 301st, and 302d, all of which had also begun at Tuskegee before completing their training in Michigan. These squadrons, and the 99th were formed into the 332d Fighter Group.
As the war progressed the 332d’s squadrons established an enviable combat record. On 11 July 1944, P-51 Mustang
s from the 332d Fighter Group shot down 18 enemy fighters while flying escort for a large bomber formation. On 24 March 1945, while escorting B-17 Flying Fortresses during a raid on a tank factory in Berlin
, the 332d’s pilots downed three German jet fighters. For their actions, the 332d and three of its squadrons—the 99th, 100th and 301st—earned Distinguished Unit Citations
The Women Airforce Service Pilots of World War II
were pioneers, the first licensed women pilots in the United States
to fly military aircraft for a military service. The WASP was formed in August 1943 from two earlier, relatively independent programs for women pilots: Women's Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron (WAFS) and Women's Flying Training Detachment (WFTD).
As early as 1939, Jackie Cochran had suggested recruiting and training women to fly military aircraft. On 7 October 1942, shortly after the WAFS was formed, General Arnold
inaugurated a flight training program to produce 500 women ferry pilots. He appointed Cochran as the director of flying training, and by October 1942, 40 women had been accepted and sent for training at Howard Hughes Airport
in Houston, Texas
. The unit was called the WFTD, or among the women it was known as the "Woofteddies".
When facilities at Houston proved too limited, a new school was opened in February 1943 at Avenger Field, Sweetwater, Texas
, and training at Houston soon phased out. On 5 August 1943, the WAFS and the women of Cochran's WFTD school were united as the WASP. Cochran was named Director of Women Pilots, and Nancy Love continued in the WASP as executive of the Ferrying Division of the Air Transport Command
.
Classes entered the WASP program at monthly intervals. A total of 18 classes completed training: 8 in 1943 and 10 in 1944. Of the 25,000 women who applied for flight training, 1,830 were accepted, and of those, 1,074 received their wings. Entrance requirements remained essentially the same as those for the WAFS, except the age requirement was dropped from 21 to 18, and the flight experience was set at only 200 hours. That requirement was later dropped to 35 hours, and the 200-horsepower rating requirement was eventually eliminated.
The WASPs flew all types of military aircraft, including AT-6 Texan, AT-10 Wichita, AT-11 Kansan, and BT-13 Valiant
trainers; C-47 Skytrain
, C-54 Skymaster
, and C-60 Lodestar transports; A-25 Shrike (SB2C Helldiver) and A-26 Invader
attack aircraft; B-24 Liberator
, B-25 Mitchell
, TB-26 Marauder
, and B-29 Superfortress
bombers; P-38 Lightning
, P-40 Warhawk, P-47 Thunderbolt
, and P-51 Mustang
fighters. In addition to ferrying, the WASPs performed many other tasks such as glider and target towing, radar calibration flights, aircraft testing, and other noncombat duties to release male pilots for overseas action. The WASPs flew approximately 60 million miles and suffered 38 fatalities, or 1 to about 16,000 hours of flying.
The WASPs were employed under the Civil Service
program. It was always assumed they would become part of the Army when a proper place within the military organization could be found for them. In fact, bills were introduced in Congress to give them military rank, but even with General Arnold's support, all efforts failed to absorb the WASPs into the military. On 20 December 1944, the Army Air Forces, citing the changing combat situation, disbanded the WASP program. The WASPs returned to civilian life with no veterans' benefits.
In 1977 the United States Congress
finally granted benefits to the 850 remaining WASPs.
Public Law 554 on 15 May 1942 created a Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps for service with the Army of the United States. In September 1943 the WAAC was replaced by the Women's Army Corps (WAC). The measure permitted the enlistment of 150,000 women between the ages of twenty-one and forty-five, but the executive order which established the corps set an initial strength limit of 25,000. It was typical of the AAF, with its long-cherished ideas of independence, to desire a separate women’s corps completely independent of the women serving with other branches of the Army.
WAACs went though indoctrination training at Fort De Moines, Iowa under Army Service Forces
(ASF) auspices. Once completed, they began to arrive at Army Air Force stations in September. The influx of 27,000 recruits did not pose a major training problem for the AAF. There was no need for elaborate technical training because the majority of women, in contrast to the seventeen- and eighteen- year-old boys being inducted, had a usable skill before they enlisted, often in the highly prized clerical field. The AAF proposed and pioneered in a time-saving policy of avoiding unnecessary training for women already qualified.
AAF policy did not prevent specialist training for women who would benefit by it or were highly qualified for it; in fact, the AAF early opened to women virtually its entire roster of job specialties and schools. On 20 November 1943 Wacs were declared eligible to attend any noncombat training course attended by AAF men, provided that the training would in a station commander’s opinion increase an individual’s job efficiency or would enable her to be utilized in some higher skill for which she had unusual aptitude or civilian background.
The job training of women was so completely integrated with the entire AAF training program that virtually no separate statistics are available as a basis for comparing the record of the women with male trainees. Obviously, this policy meant that the Wacs had to be as well qualified as men to enroll in and graduate from a training course. It is known only that approximately 2,000 women completed courses in AAF technical schools, including those for Link-trainer instructors, airplane mechanics, sheet-metal workers, weather forecasters, weather observers, electrical specialists of several kinds, teletype operators, control-tower specialists, cryptographers, radio mechanics, parachute riggers, bombsight-maintenance specialists, clerks, photo-laboratory technicians, and photo-interpreters..
The AAF showed no reluctance in opening up its noncombat jobs to women, even jobs which required “unwomanly” mechanical skills. Toward the end of the war there was an increase in the number of women on technical assignments, when it became difficult to obtain enlisted men in the top intelligence brackets required by some of the work. At the peak of WAC enrollment, in January 1945, more than 200 different job categories were filled by enlisted women, while WAC officers held more than 60 different types of jobs in addition to that of company officer. A flexible system of assignment enabled the AAF to use Wacs with special skills found in only a very few women, like those who were skilled as chemists, cartographers, geodetic computers, topographers, sanitary inspectors, and even dog-trainers. But as might be expected, a high percentage—about 50 percent—of the Air Wacs held administrative or office jobs. These clerks, typists, and stenographers were doing only what they had been doing in civilian life.
As World War II
approached its conclusion (effectively on 14 August but formally not until 2 September), training activities and the strength of Training Command declined. The end of the war in Europe
in May caused the focus of training to shift from the needs of the European Theater to those of the Pacific, particularly courses associated with very heavy bombardment. Then, with the cessation of hostilities in the Pacific, most training ceased for those students not planning to remain in the post-war air forces. Before that time, however, the trend in training had gone increasingly toward specialized training on particular types of aircraft. Then during the last four months of 1945, rapid retrenchment in training occurred, and emphasis shifted to separating people from the Army Air Forces and reorganizing Training Command for its still undetermined peacetime goals.
By January 1945 basic military training had become a comparatively minor part of Training Command's activities. Only three centers remained active--Amarillo
, Sheppard
, and Keesler
. Buckley Field stopped basic training in December 1944, but it was early 1945 before all trainees had assignments. Only about 19,000 soldiers were in basic training in January, as compared to the peak figure of 135,796 in February 1943.
By mid-October 1945 Training Command reassigned all people and equipment in Western Flying Training Command to the jurisdiction of its central counterpart, which on 1 November 1945, became known as Western Flying Training Command.
Then on 15 December the enlarged western command absorbed Eastern Flying Training Command. The single entity became Flying Training Command on 1 January 1946, with its headquarters at Randolph Field, Texas
.
In June 1945 the San Antonio Aviation Cadet Center transferred to the Personnel Distribution Command. In preparation for that event, also in June, the Officer Candidate School
transferred from the aviation cadet center to Maxwell Field
, Alabama
.
Many pilot training installations discontinued training in 1945. The last contract primary pilot schools ended their operations in October. By that time, only Goodfellow Field, Texas
, and Tuskegee Field, Alabama
, continued to offer primary pilot training. The last class of black pilots graduated from primary training at Tuskegee on 20 November. Goodfellow's last primary class transferred to Randolph Field to finish training. Randolph began primary training on 26 December.
By the end of 1945, only Perrin Field, Texas
, and Tuskegee Field continued to provide basic pilot training. The remaining active advanced single-engine schools were at Luke Field, Arizona
; Stewart Field, New York
; and Tuskegee. Advanced twin-engine training continued only at Enid Field, Oklahoma
; Turner Field
, Georgia
; and Tuskegee. The 28th, 29th, 31st, 35th, 36th, 74th, 78th, 79th, 81st, and 83d Flying Training Wings were also inactivated.
Requirements in the combat theaters for graduates of technical training schools and even pilots proved to be smaller than initially expected, so the Army Air Forces reduced the size of these training programs in January 1944. The cut in technical training was particularly heavy, so AAF Training Command requested and received authority to discontinue the
headquarters of Central Technical Training Command in St Louis, Missouri, effective 1 March 1944.
Simultaneously, the headquarters of Eastern Technical Training Command moved from Greensboro, North Carolina
, to St Louis. All stations previously in the central command, with the exception of Keesler Field, became part of the eastern command. Keesler went to the western command.
In mid-October 1945, Training Command delegated all stations and activities of the Western Technical Training Command to the jurisdiction of the Eastern Technical Training Command, which it redesignated Technical Training Command. Its headquarters remained at Scott Field
, Illinois
, where the eastern command had been headquartered.
The revised single technical training command retained seven stations: Scott
and Chanute Fields in Illinois
; Keesler Field, Mississippi
; Boca Raton Field, Florida
; Lowry and Buckley Fields in Colorado
; and Amarillo Field, Texas
.
By the end of 1945, the primary functions of AAF Training Command had become the rapid separation of eligible personnel from the Army Air Forces and the recruiting of Regular Army enlistees to operate the post-war air forces. Consequently, in early September Training Command headquarters set up a demobilization unit in its Personnel (A-1) Division, and on 22 October it established a Recruiting Section. Its goal was to create an entirely voluntary force, preferably one consisting of experienced, three-year reenlistees.
On 1 July 1946, AAF Training Command was redesignated as Air Training Command
. At about the same time, Army Air Forces began interpreting the word "command" to mean a major air command. For that reason, on 1 November the Flying Training and
Technical Training Commands became the Flying and Technical Training Divisions of Air Training Command. In addition, the Military Training Center in San Antonio (which had earlier been a part of Technical Training Command) became the Indoctrination Division. All three were co-equal in status.
On 27 September 1947, Air Training Command became a major command of the United States Air Force
. On 1 July 1993, it was inactivated. The assets of Air Training Command along with those of the inactivated Air University were consolidated and designated as Air Education and Training Command
which is the main training component of the present-day Air Force.
United States Army Air Forces
The United States Army Air Forces was the military aviation arm of the United States of America during and immediately after World War II, and the direct predecessor of the United States Air Force....
. It was redesignated Air Training Command
Air Training Command
Air Training Command is a former major command of the United States Army Air Forces and United States Air Force. ATC came into being as a redesignation of the Army Air Forces Training Command on July 1, 1946...
on 1 July 1946 as part of the reorganization of the Army Air Forces after World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
AAFTC was created as a result of the merger of the Army Air Forces Flying Training Command and the Army Air Forces Technical Training Command on 31 July 1943.
Lineage
- Constituted and established as: Air Corps Flying Training Command, 23 January 1942
- Redesignated as: Army Air Forces Flying Training Command, abt 15 March 1942
- Inactivated on 1 July 1943
- Constituted and established as: Air Corps Technical Training Command, 23 January 1942
- Redesignated as: Army Air Forces Technical Training Command, abt 15 March 1942
- Inactivated on 1 July 1943
- Established as Army Air Forces Training Command on 1 July 1943
- Redeisgnated as Air Training Command on 1 July 1946
Assignments
- Chief of Air CorpsUnited States Army Air CorpsThe United States Army Air Corps was a forerunner of the United States Air Force. Renamed from the Air Service on 2 July 1926, it was part of the United States Army and the predecessor of the United States Army Air Forces , established in 1941...
, 23 January 1942 - Headquarters, Army Air Forces, 7 July 1943-1 July 1946
Components
- Southeast Air Corps Training CenterSoutheast Air Corps Training CenterSoutheast Air Corps Training Center is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was assigned to the Army Air Forces Training Command, stationed at Maxwell Field, Alabama. It was inactivated on 15 December 1945.-History:...
, 8 July 1940
- Redesignated: Eastern Flying Training Command, 31 July 1943-15 December 1945
- Gulf Coast Air Corps Training Center, 8 July 1940
- Redesignated: Central Flying Training Command, 31 July 1943
- Redesignated: Western Flying Training Command, 15 December 1945
- Redesignated: Army Air Forces Flying Training Command, 1 January-1 July 1946
- West Coast Air Corps Training CenterWest Coast Air Corps Training CenterWestern Flying Training Command is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was assigned to the Army Air Forces Training Command, stationed at Santa Ana Army Air Base, California...
, 8 July 1940
- Redesignated: Western Flying Training Command, 31 July 1943-1 November 1945
- First Technical Training District, 1 November 1941
- Redesignated: Eastern Technical Training Command, 31 August 1943
- Redesignated: Technical Training Command, 15 October 1945-1 July 1946
- Second Technical Training District, 1 November 1941
- Redesignated: Central Technical Training Command, 31 August 1943-1 March 1944
- Third Technical Training District, 1 November 1941-31 August 1943
- Fourth Technical Training District, 1 November 1941
- Redesignated: Western Technical Training Command, 31 August 1943-15 October 1945
- Fifth Training District, 1 November 1941-31 August 1943
Stations
- Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, 23 January 1942 - Fort Worth, TexasFort Worth, TexasFort Worth is the 16th-largest city in the United States of America and the fifth-largest city in the state of Texas. Located in North Central Texas, just southeast of the Texas Panhandle, the city is a cultural gateway into the American West and covers nearly in Tarrant, Parker, Denton, and...
, 1 July 1942 - Barksdale Field, LouisianaLouisianaLouisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
,25 February-1 July 1946
Air Corps/Army Air Forces Flying Training Command
Constituted and established on 23 January 1942. Its mission was to train pilots, flying specialists, and combat crews. Redesignated on or about 15 March 1942, after the Army Air Forces became a subordinate but autonomous arm of the United States ArmyUnited States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
.
The command struggled with the challenge of a massive wartime expansion of the air forces. Throughout 1942, the need for combat crew personnel far exceeded the current and contemplated production of the command’s flying training schools. The rate of expansion of housing and training facilities, instructors, as well as the procurement of aircraft and other equipment, though at a breakneck pace, constrained the rate of increase of production. Facilities were used to their maximum capacity as quickly as they could be stood up. Some schools were expanded while they were still under construction.
During 1942, the new command selected locations for the more than fifty additional airfields necessary to implement the announced 75,000-pilot program. Local civic groups and congressmen "gave the site boards no respite," in the words of an AAF Training Command historian, as they lobbied for new bases in
their jurisdiction. New airfields had to be located in areas with sufficient flying space free of other air traffic, and the West Coast training center faced the extraordinary requirement to avoid sites near the internment camps for Japanese-Americans.
Flying Training
Until the late 1930s, flying training in the Army remained quite small after the rapid demobilization with the end of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. In 1922 all flying training was consolidated in Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, considered to be an ideal location because of climate and other factors. Brooks Field
Brooks City-Base
Brooks City-Base was a United States Air Force facility located in San Antonio, Texas, southeast of Downtown San Antonio.In 2002 Brooks Air Force Base was renamed Brooks City-Base when the property was conveyed to the Brooks Development Authority as part of a unique project between local, state,...
became the center for primary training and Kelly Field for advanced training. However, it was discovered that facilities in the San Antonio area were insufficient to accommodate the number of cadets entering primary training. Hence, in violation of the principle of geographic concentration, primary pilot training was also performed at March Field, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, from 1927 to 1931.
Another problem for the training center was the growth of the city of San Antonio, which created hazards for training. Consequently, in June 1927 plans were created for the construction of a single large airfield outside of the city to house all flying training. The United States Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
funded the new field's construction but not the purchase of the land, so the city of San Antonio borrowed the $546,000 needed to purchase the site selected for what became Randolph Field. By the fall of 1931, construction was essentially completed, so the Air Corps Training Center at Duncan Field, adjacent to Kelly, and the primary schools at Brooks and March moved to the new installation.
Advanced training remained at Kelly because experience showed that Randolph Field would become quite congested with only primary and basic training located there. Following the expansion, the number of pilots in training declined until only 184 graduated in 1937, compared to an average of 257 per year prior to 1931. But with the emergence of Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
as a potential threat to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, the Air Corps proposed a period of expansion to train 4,500 pilots over a two-year period.
Beginning in 1939, the Army contracted with nine civilian flying schools to provide primary flying training, while Randolph handled basic training, now completely separate from primary. Kelly Field, with Brooks as a subpost, took care of advanced flying training. In July 1939 the full course of flying instruction was shortened in length from a year to nine months—three for each phase. The number of primary contract schools expanded to 41 by the time of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, and to 60 at various times in 1943.
On 8 July 1940, the Air Corps reorganized its redesignated its training centers to manage the growing number of flying schools.
- The Southeast Air Corps Training CenterSoutheast Air Corps Training CenterSoutheast Air Corps Training Center is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was assigned to the Army Air Forces Training Command, stationed at Maxwell Field, Alabama. It was inactivated on 15 December 1945.-History:...
headquartered at Maxwell FieldMaxwell FieldMaxwell Field was the football stadium located behind the former location of Louisville Male High School, 911 S. Brook St., Louisville, Kentucky, 40203 which was bounded by the streets of Brook, Breckinridge, Floyd, and Caldwell streets in Louisville, Kentucky. In 1984 a double murder known locally...
, AlabamaAlabamaAlabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
, managed those in the eastern third of the nation, basically east of the Mississippi RiverMississippi RiverThe Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
.
- The Gulf Coast Air Corps Training Center at Randolph Field handled those in the central sector, from west of the Mississippi River to the Rocky MountainsRocky MountainsThe Rocky Mountains are a major mountain range in western North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch more than from the northernmost part of British Columbia, in western Canada, to New Mexico, in the southwestern United States...
.
- The West Coast Air Corps Training CenterWest Coast Air Corps Training CenterWestern Flying Training Command is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was assigned to the Army Air Forces Training Command, stationed at Santa Ana Army Air Base, California...
at Moffett Field, CaliforniaCaliforniaCalifornia is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
(later moved to Santa Ana Army Air BaseSanta Ana Army Air BaseSanta Ana Army Air Base was an air base built during World War II that was decommissioned in 1946. The air base was used for basic training but did not have planes, hangars or runways. The base was and located in Costa Mesa between Baker Street on the north, Harbor Blvd. on the west, Wilson...
), managed those in the western tier, consisting of the Pacific CoastPacific CoastA country's Pacific coast is the part of its coast bordering the Pacific Ocean.-The Americas:Countries on the western side of the Americas have a Pacific coast as their western border.* Geography of Canada* Geography of Chile* Geography of Colombia...
to the Rocky Mountains.
In July 1943 this command merged with the AAF Technical Training Command to form the Army Air Forces Training Command.
Flying Training Organization
After the attack on Pearl Harbor and the United States entry into the war, the number of volunteers for pilot training was enormous. Fearing that they would lose them to the general draft, aviation cadet-applicants were given exemption from 1942 until 1944. The education requirement of at least 2 years of college was waived to broaden the number of suitable applicants.
Demand for pilots meant that training had to be modified to accommodate the large numbers of pilot candidates.
Training came in five stages. Classification lasted 1 to 2 weeks and the education and training stages were 9 weeks each. Each 9 week stage was divided into two 4.5 week (63 day) halves: a lower half and an upper half . The lower half was made up of students just beginning the stage and the upper half was made up of the students who were half-finished. The more experienced cadets would (hopefully) help the new cadets get through the section before they were promoted to the next stage.
- Classification stage processed the cadet and issued him his equipment. This was the stage where it would be decided whether the cadet would train as a navigator, bombardier, or pilot.
- Pre-Flight stage taught the mechanics and physics of flight and required the cadets to pass courses in mathematics and the hard sciences. Then the cadets were taught to apply their knowledge practically by teaching them aeronautics, deflection shooting, and thinking in three dimensions. Typically, cadets reported to a preflight school at the San Antonio Aviation Cadet Center; Maxwell Field, Alabama, or Santa Ana Army Air Base, California.
- Primary Pilot Training taught basic flight using two-seater training aircraft. Performed at civilian-operated flight schools for primary training. At peak strength there were 56 such schools in operation. The most popular primary trainers were the Stearman PT-13 and PT-17 "Kaydet," the Fairchild PT-19 "Cornell," and the Ryan PT-20 "Recruit."
- Basic Pilot Training taught the cadets to fly in formation, fly by instruments or by aerial navigation, fly at night, and fly for long distances. Cadets flew aircraft such as the Vultee BT-13 "Valiant" and were evaluated to determine who should go into single-engine advanced training and who should proceed to twin-engine training.
- Advanced Pilot Training placed the graduates in two categories: single-engined and multi-engined. Single-engined pilots flew fighters and fighter-bombers. Multi-engined pilots learned to fly transports and bombers. First they flew Trainer aircraft, then transitioned to front-line aircraft. Those students selected for single-engine training flew the AT-6 "Texan," and those who went into twin-engine training flew the Curtiss AT-9 "Jeep," the all-wood Beechcraft AT-10 "Wichita," or the Cessna AT-17 "Bobcat."
Graduates were usually graded as Flight Officers (Warrant Officers); cadets who graduated at the top of their class were graded as Second Lieutenants. Aviation Cadets who washed out of pilot training were sent to navigator or bombardier school.
Contract Flying Schools
- main: USAAF Contract Flying School Airfields
Civilian flying schools, under government contract, provided a considerable part of the flying training effort undertaken by the United States Army Air Forces. Their mission was to provide Level 1 primary pilot training
To the flying cadets, the Contract Flying Schools (CFS) were just another training assignment—although the flight instructors were civilian contractors, the cadets still experienced the discipline and drudgery of military life. 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. From the Air Corps, schools received a flat fee of $1,170 for each graduate and $18 per flying hour for students eliminated from training. Trainers used were primarily Fairchild PT-19
Fairchild PT-19
|-See also:-Bibliography:* Mondey, David. American Aircraft of World War II . London: Bounty Books, 2006. ISBN 978-0-7537-1461-4....
s, PT-17 Stearmans and Ryan PT-22s, although a wide variety of other types could be found at the airfields.
At one time or another during World War II, 64 contract schools conducted primary training, with a maximum of 56 schools operating at any one time. 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,
Glider training
- main: USAAF Glider Training Airfields
During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
civilian flying schools, under government contract, provided a considerable part of the flying training effort undertaken by the United States Army Air Forces
United States Army Air Forces
The United States Army Air Forces was the military aviation arm of the United States of America during and immediately after World War II, and the direct predecessor of the United States Air Force....
. In 1941 the Air Corps directed Flying Training Command to establish a glider training program. Contract schools opened soon after. Students 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.
By late 1944 Training Command ended all glider instruction, both flying and technical. Rather than create a separate glider force, the Army Air Forces had decided it would be more profitable to train its troop carrier pilots to also operate gliders.
Foreign flying training
In World War I, partially trained American pilots arrived in Europe unprepared to fight the Germans. They completed their training in French, British, and Italian schools in aircraft not available in the United States. Mechanics, too, received training overseas. The British helped train US ground crews at their airfields and in their factories. So too, did France. Based on that foundation, the air arm of the US Army grew quickly and compiled a credible combat record during World War I.
Two decades later, with World War II looming large, the United States had a chance to reciprocate. When the Lend-Lease Act became law on 11 March 1941, the British were isolated, facing a hostile continent. France had fallen in 1940, the British had retreated from Dunkirk at the same time, and the Germans had not yet reneged on the Hitler- Stalin non-aggression pact of 1939. Only the Royal Air Force (RAF), by denying air superiority to the Luftwaffe, had prevented a German invasion of the British Isles.
Aware of the RAF's urgent need for additional training facilities, the United States offered the British over 500 aircraft for use in the training of British pilots in the United States. General Hap Arnold also arranged for civilian contractors to
set up schools exclusively for training British pilots. The schools would accept 50 RAF students every 5 weeks for a 20-week course in order to produce 3,000 pilots a year. Known as the British Flying Training School program, it was unique among the programs the Air Corps offered to Allied nations inasmuch as the British dealt directly with the contractors and completely controlled all aspects of the flying training process. Basically, the Air Corps just helped the RAF and the contractors select the sites for the schools and then supervised their construction. The schools were located at Mesa, Arizona; Lancaster, California; Clewiston, Florida; Miami and Ponca City, Oklahoma; Terrell, Texas; and, briefly, Sweetwater, Texas.
The United States also assisted the Chinese Air Force. The Air Corps conducted most of the training for the Chinese at three Arizona installations: Luke, Williams, and Thunderbird Fields. Training the Chinese presented some special challenges. Because of their small stature some students could not reach all the controls. That problem was usually solved through the use of extra cushions and occasionally by switching them to another type of airplane. A bigger problem was the language barrier. It took all the interpreters the Air Corps could muster to support the training programs for the Chinese. In the end, 3,553 Chinese received flying and technical training, including 866 pilots.
While the preponderance of students trained in the United States during World War II were British, French, or Chinese,
over 20 other nations also sent students. Most came from Latin America, most notably Brazil and Mexico. A smattering
of others came from Australia, Turkey, the Netherlands, and the Soviet Union.
Air Corps/Army Air Forces Technical Training Command
Constituted and established on 26 March 1941. Its mission was the orientation, classification, basic, and technical training of enlisted men and the training of nonrated officers at officer candidate and officer training schools and intechnical subjects like armament, engineering, communications, and photography.
By October 1942, 15 AAF technical schools, 34 civilian contract mechanics schools, 7 basic training centers, 5 universities, 5 commercial airline contract schools, and about 50 factory training schools provided technical training. In addition, there were other small technical training schools at various Flying Training Command and Second Air Force
Second Air Force
The Second Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Air Education and Training Command . It is headquartered at Keesler Air Force Base, Mississippi....
bases. Because bad weather did not seriously hamper technical training the way it did flying training, many technical training bases were in the northern part of the country, whereas flying fields were concentrated in the south and along the west coast.
Technical Training
The Army air arm saw a need for skilled aviation mechanics and other technicians as it prepared for World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. At first, men who already possessed some mechanical experience received training at civilian trade schools and state universities. However, he policy proved both expensive and unsatisfactory. So the Army set up two mechanic schools, one at Kelly Field and another in a large building in Saint Paul, Minnesota
Saint Paul, Minnesota
Saint Paul is the capital and second-most populous city of the U.S. state of Minnesota. The city lies mostly on the east bank of the Mississippi River in the area surrounding its point of confluence with the Minnesota River, and adjoins Minneapolis, the state's largest city...
, that the War Department took over.
By the end of World War I, the Army had graduated about 5,000 men, nearly one-third of all aviation mechanics trained during 1918 (including those trained in 34 civilian institutions). The school at Kelly Field had begun operations in October 1917, but did not function effectively until June 1918, when 1,000 students entered training. By Armistice Day, 11 November 1918, Kelly had trained over 2,000 more mechanics. Though the school in St Paul closed after the war, Kelly remained in operation and trained some 5,000 more mechanics before January 1921 when the air mechanics school was moved as a result of reorganization to Chanute Field, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
.
In addition to the flight mechanics, training in aerial photography for both officers and enlisted men began at Langley Field, Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
, in 1917. Instruction in radio communication took place at an aviation instruction center near Tours, France, in 1918, and an Air Service Communications School was established at Fort Sill
Fort Sill
Fort Sill is a United States Army post near Lawton, Oklahoma, about 85 miles southwest of Oklahoma City.Today, Fort Sill remains the only active Army installation of all the forts on the South Plains built during the Indian Wars...
, Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
, the following year. In 1922 the photography school at Langley and the communications school at Fort Sill both joined
the mechanics course at Chanute, congregating all technical training in the Air Service at that location to form the Air Service Technical School, redesignated the Air Corps Technical School in 1926.
The former separate schools became departments, joined in 1930 by a Department of Armament and three years later by a Department of Clerical Instruction. In February 1938 Lowry Field, Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
, came under the jurisdiction of the Air Corps Technical School, still headquartered at Chanute. The Departments of Photography and Armament moved to Lowry, followed in September by the Department of Clerical Instruction. Scott Field
Scott Air Force Base
Scott Air Force Base is a base of the United States Air Force in St. Clair County, Illinois, near Belleville.-Overview:The base is named after Corporal Frank S. Scott, the first enlisted person to be killed in an aviation crash...
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
, came under the jurisdiction of Chanute in 1939.
The Department of Basic Instruction, inaugurated in 1935 at Chanute, relocated to the new location. The department returned to Chanute, however, when Scott became a radio school in 1940. Subject matter from the basic course was incorporated into the various specialized programs at Scott, and four of the departments—mechanics, communications, photography, and armament—taught both officers and enlisted personnel.
By early November 1941, students were entering technical training at the rate of 110,000 per year, and after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor the student flow rose sharply: 13,000 men entered technical training schools in January 1942 and 55,000 in December 1942. The peak occurred in March 1943, with 62,000 entrants. To accommodate the trainees,
the AAF pressed civilian mechanics and factory schools into service, and many colleges and universities offered training in certain specialties. New technical training bases included Keesler Field, Mississippi
Mississippi
Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
, and Sheppard Field, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, both activated in 1941. Thereafter, the number of stations increased at a rapid pace.
Indoctrination Training
Basic military training was a major mission of the Air Corps Technical School and, later, Technical Training Command. In the early days of technical training there was little emphasis on basic military instruction. The amount of basic military
training provided to new enlisted personnel undergoing technical instruction varied with their unit commanders, who had sole responsibility for the program.
In 1935 efforts to change this arrangement began, but the real change occurred in 1939 when the Army proposed that each component arm and service set up their own enlisted replacement centers. Air Corps policy had been to furnish initial basic training for recruits at established stations, followed by about a month's preparatory training at Scott Field, Illinois,
before they went to Chanute for specialized training. Then in 1940 the War Department authorized the establishment of Air Corps enlisted replacement centers for the initial basic training of recruits.
The Air Corps established the first of these centers at Jefferson Barracks, Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
, in the summer of 1940, though formal activation did not occur until 21 February 1941. That fall the Technical Training Command activated two more basic training centers at Keesler Field, Mississippi, and Sheppard Field, Texas. A group of officers and enlisted men from
Scott Field became the initial staff for Jefferson Barracks, and it, in turn, provided cadres to staff the basic training centers at Keesler and Sheppard.
By the time of the attack on Pearl Harbor, the Air Corps had 21,000 recruits at the three basic training centers. The subsequently phenomenal growth of enlistments made these three centers inadequate to supply recruits for technical
training, so the number of basic training centers expanded to 12 (plus one provisional center) by the spring of 1943. Shortly thereafter, the basic training mission declined in size because requirements for training were being met. Consequently, some of the 13 centers inactivated, while others moved to technical training centers such as Amarillo Field, Texas, that had previously not had basic training centers.
The number of trainees at basic training centers increased to its peak of 135,795 in February 1943.
In July 1943 this command (technical and indoctrination training) merged with the AAF Flying Training Command to form the Army Air Forces Training Command.
AAF Training Command
On 31 July 1943, the Army Air Forces activated Training Command.What had been Flying Training Command's major subordinate units—the Southeast Flying Training Center at Maxwell, the Gulf Coast Flying Training Center at Randolph, and the West Coast Flying Training Center at Santa Ana were redesignated as following:
- Eastern Flying Training Command, headquartered at Maxwell Field, Alabama
- Central Flying Training CommandCentral Flying Training CommandFlying Division, Air Training Command is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was assigned to the Air Training Command, stationed at Randolph Air Force Base, Texas...
, headquartered at Randolph Field, Texas - Western Flying Training Command, headquartered at Santa Ana Army Air Base, California
The five districts that had belonged to Technical Training Command also transferred to the new AAF Training Command. However, on 31 August 1943, Training Command disbanded the Third District at Tulsa, Oklahoma
Tulsa, Oklahoma
Tulsa is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 46th-largest city in the United States. With a population of 391,906 as of the 2010 census, it is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with 937,478 residents in the MSA and 988,454 in the CSA. Tulsa's...
, and the Fifth District in Miami Beach, Florida
Miami Beach, Florida
Miami Beach is a coastal resort city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States, incorporated on March 26, 1915. The municipality is located on a barrier island between the Atlantic Ocean and Biscayne Bay, the latter which separates the Beach from Miami city proper...
. The other three were redesignated.
- First District at Greensboro, North CarolinaGreensboro, North CarolinaGreensboro is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the third-largest city by population in North Carolina and the largest city in Guilford County and the surrounding Piedmont Triad metropolitan region. According to the 2010 U.S...
was redesignated as the Eastern Technical Training Command - Second District in St Louis, Missouri was redesignated as the Central Technical Training Command
- Fourth District in Denver, ColoradoDenver, ColoradoThe City and County of Denver is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Denver is a consolidated city-county, located in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains...
was redesignated as the Western Technical Training Command
Major World War II Units and Stations
- Eastern Flying Training Command (EFTC)
- 74th Flying Training Wing (Preflight); HQ EFTC, Maxwell Army Air Field, AlabamaAlabamaAlabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
- Specialized Flying School, Maxwell Army Airfield, Alabama
- Preflight/Navigator Training School, Selman Army AirfieldSelman Army AirfieldSelman Army Airfield is an inactive United States Air Force base, approximately 7.7 miles east of Monroe, Louisiana. It was active during World War II as a Army Air Forces Training Command airfield. It was closed on 1 September 1945-History:...
, Louisiana - Royal Netherlands Air Force Flying School, Jackson Army Airbase, Mississippi
- 27th Flying Training Wing (Basic), Cochran Army Airfield, GeorgiaGeorgia (U.S. state)Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
- Basic Flying School, Courtland Army Airfield, Alabama
- Basic Flying School, Gunter Field, Alabama
- Basic Flying School, Newport Army Airfield, Arkansas
- Basic Flying School, Walnut Ridge Army Airfield, Arkansas
- Basic Flying School, Bainbridge Army Airfield, Georgia
- Basic Flying School, Cochran Army Airfield, Georgia
- Basic Flying School, Greenville Army AirfieldGreenville Air Force Base (Mississippi)Greenville Air Force Base is a former United States Air Force base in Greenville, Mississippi. It was closed in the 1960s and redeveloped into Mid-Delta Regional Airport.- History :...
, Mississippi - Basic Flying School, Greenwood Army Airfield, Mississippi
- Basic Flying School, Malden Army Airfield, Mississippi
- Basic Flying School, Shaw Field, South Carolina
- Basic and Advanced Flying School, Tuskegee Army Airfield, Alabama
- 29th Flying Training Wing (Primary), Moody Army Airfield, GeorgiaGeorgia (U.S. state)Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
- 28th Flying Training Wing (Advanced, Single-Engine), Craig Army Airfield, AlabamaAlabamaAlabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
- Advanced Single Engine School, Craig Army Airfield, Alabama
- Advanced Single Engine School, Napier Army Airfield, Alabama
- Advanced Single Engine School, Marianna Army Airfield, Florida
- Advanced Single Engine School, Spence Army Airfield, Georgia
- 30th Flying Training Wing (Advanced, Twin-Engine), Columbus Army Airfield, MississippiMississippiMississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
- Advanced Twin Engine School, Blytheville Army Airfield, Arkansas
- Advanced Twin Engine School, Stuttgart Army Airfield, Arkansas
- Advanced Twin Engine School, Freeman Army AirfieldFreeman Army AirfieldFreeman Army Airfield is an inactive United States Army Air Force base. It is located south-southwest of Seymour, Indiana.The base was established in 1942 as a pilot training airfield. It was also the first military helicopter pilot training airfield...
, Indiana - Advanced Twin Engine School, Moody Army Airfield, Georgia
- Advanced Twin Engine School, Turner Army Airfield, Georgia
- Advanced Twin Engine School, George Army Airfield, Illinois
- Advanced Twin Engine School, Columbus Army Airfield, Georgia
- 76th Flying Training Wing (Specialized 4-Engine), Smyrna Army Airfield, TennesseeTennesseeTennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
- Combat School, 4-Engine, Hendricks Army Airfield, Florida
- Combat School, 4-Engine, Smyrna Army Airfield, Tennessee
- Transition School, 4-Engine, Lockbourne Army Airbase, Ohio
- 75th Flying Training Wing (Flexible Gunnery), Buckingham Army AirfieldBuckingham Army AirfieldBuckingham Army Airfield is an inactive United States Air Force base, approximately 10 miles east of Fort Myers, Florida. It was active during World War II as a Army Air Forces Training Command airfield...
, FloridaFloridaFlorida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
- Flexible Gunnery School, Buckingham Army AirfieldBuckingham Army AirfieldBuckingham Army Airfield is an inactive United States Air Force base, approximately 10 miles east of Fort Myers, Florida. It was active during World War II as a Army Air Forces Training Command airfield...
, Florida - Flexible Gunnery School, Naples Army Airfield, Florida
- Flexible Gunnery School, Tyndall Army Airfield, Florida
- Flexible Gunnery School, Apalachicola Army Airfield, Florida
- Fixed Gunnery School, Eglin Field, Florida
- Flexible Gunnery School, Buckingham Army Airfield
- Central Flying Training CommandCentral Flying Training CommandFlying Division, Air Training Command is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was assigned to the Air Training Command, stationed at Randolph Air Force Base, Texas...
(CFTC)
- Headquarters, CFTC, Randolph Field, TexasTexasTexas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
- 78th Flying Training Wing (Preflight), San Antonio Aviation Cadet Center, TexasTexasTexas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
- Observation Training School, Brooks Army Airfield, Texas
- Specialized Training School, Randolphh Army Airfield, Texas
- 32d Flying Training Wing (Basic), Perrin Army Airfield, TexasTexasTexas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
- Basic Flying School, Coffeyville Army AirfieldCoffeyville Army AirfieldCoffeyville Army Airfield was a World War II training base of the United States Army Air Forces Central Flying Training Command . It is currently the city-owned Coffeyville Municipal Airport.-History:...
, Kansas - Basic Flying School, Garden City Army Airfield, Kansas
- Basic Flying School, Independence Army Airfield, Kansas
- Basic Flying School, Strother Army Airfield, Kansas
- Basic Flying School, Enid Army Airfield, Oklahoma
- Basic Flying School, Majors Army Airfield, Texas
- Basic Flying School, Goodfellow Army Airfield, Texas
- Basic Flying School, Perrin Army Airfield, Texas
- Basic Flying School, Waco Army Airfield, Texas
- Basic Flying School, Coffeyville Army Airfield
- 31st Flying Training Wing (Primary), Enid Field, OklahomaOklahomaOklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
- 33d Flying Training Wing (Advanced, Single-Engine), Blackland Army Airfield, TexasTexasTexas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
- Advanced Single Engine School, Eagle Pass Army Airfield, Texas
- Advanced Single Engine School, Moore Field, Texas
- Advanced Single Engine School, Aloe Army AirfieldAloe Army AirfieldAloe Army Airfield is an abandoned airfield located west of Victoria, Texas.-History:Aloe AAF was established by the United States Army Air Forces as an advanced flying school, first known as Victoria Field #2 on 28 July 1942. It was redesignated as Aloe Army Airfield on 27 October 1942.Its...
, Texas
- 77th Flying Training Wing (Advanced, Single Engine), Foster Army Airfield, TexasTexasTexas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
- Advanced Single Engine School, Foster Army Airfield, Texas
- Advanced Single Engine School, Bryan Army Airfield, Texas
- 34th Flying Training Wing (Bomber and Specialized 2/4-Engine), San Angelo Army AirfieldSan Angelo Army AirfieldThe primary mission of the field was to train Bombardiers for B-25 Mitchell, B-26 Marauder medium; B-17 Flying Fortress and B-24 Liberator heavy bombers, and later B-29 Superfortress very heavy bombers for combat missions during World War II.-History:...
, TexasTexasTexas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
- Advanced Twin Engine School, Altus Army Airfield, Oklahoma
- Advanced Twin Engine School, Frederick Army Airfield, Oklahoma
- Advanced Twin Engine School, Ellington Army Airfield, Texas
- Advanced Twin Engine School, Lubbock Army Airfield, Texas
- Advanced Twin Engine School, Pampa Army AirfieldPampa Army AirfieldPampa Army Airfield is an abandoned airfield located about 11 miles east of Pampa in Gray County, Texas. During World War II, the United States Army Air Forces used Pampa Airfield as a training airfield by the Army Air Forces Flying Training Command, Gulf Coast Training Center.- History...
, Texas - Advanced Twin Engine School, Blackland Army Airfield, Texas
- Transition School, 4-Engine, Liberal Army Airfield, Kansas
- Transition School, 4-Engine, Tarrant Army Airfield, Texas
- 79th Flying Training Wing (Flexible Gunnery), Harlingen Army Airfield, TexasTexasTexas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
- Flexible Gunnery School, Harlingen Army Airfield, Texas
- Flexible Gunnery School, Laredo Army Airfield, Texas
- Fixed Gunnery School, Matagorda Island General Bombing and Gunnery Range, Texas
- 80th Flying Training Wing (Navigation & Glider), San Marcos Army Airfield, TexasTexasTexas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
- Navigator Training School, Hondo Army Airfield, Texas
- Navigator Training School, San Marcos Army Airfield, Texas
- Glider School, South Plains Army Airfield, Texas
- Western Flying Training Command (WFTC)
- 81st Flying Training Wing (Preflight); HQ WFTC, Santa Ana Army Air BaseSanta Ana Army Air BaseSanta Ana Army Air Base was an air base built during World War II that was decommissioned in 1946. The air base was used for basic training but did not have planes, hangars or runways. The base was and located in Costa Mesa between Baker Street on the north, Harbor Blvd. on the west, Wilson...
, CaliforniaCaliforniaCalifornia is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
- Glider School, Fort Sumner Army Airfield, New Mexico
- 35th Flying Training Wing (Basic), Minter Field, CaliforniaCaliforniaCalifornia is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
- Basic Flying School, Minter Field, California
- Basic Flying School, Marana Army Airfield, Arizona
- Basic Flying School, Chico Army Airfield, California
- Basic Flying School, Merced Army Airfield, California
- Basic Flying School, Gardner Army AirfieldGardner Army AirfieldGardner Army Airfield is a former United States Army Air Force World War II Field located 9 miles southeast of Taft, California. It was named for Major John H...
, California - Basic Flying School, Pecos Army Airfield, Texas
- 36th Flying Training Wing (Primary), Santa Anna Field, CaliforniaCaliforniaCalifornia is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
- 37th Flying Training Wing (Advanced, Single-Engine), Luke Field, ArizonaArizonaArizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
- Advanced Single Engine School, Luke FieldLuke Air Force BaseLuke Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located seven miles west of the central business district of Glendale, in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States. It is also about west of Phoenix, Arizona....
, Arizona - Advanced Single Engine School, Yuma Army Airfield, Arizona
- Advanced Twin Engine School, Dateland Army AirfieldDateland Army AirfieldDateland Air Force Auxiliary Field is an abandoned military airfield located 40 miles east of Yuma, Arizona. It's last known military use was in 1957-World War II:...
, Arizona
- Advanced Single Engine School, Luke Field
- 38th Flying Training Wing (Bomber and Specialized 2/4-Engine), Kirtland Field, New MexicoNew MexicoNew Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
- 82d Flying Training Wing (Flexible Gunnery), Las Vegas Army Airfield, NevadaNevadaNevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...
- Flexible Gunnery School, Kingman Army Airfield, Arizona
- Flexible Gunnery School, Yucca Army AirfieldYucca Army AirfieldYucca Army Airfield is a former military airfield located about west of Yucca, in Mohave County, Arizona. It is on the east side of Interstate 40, south of Kingman. It is presently used as a testing facility by Chrysler LLC.- Military use:...
, Arizona - Flexible Gunnery School, Las Vegas Army Airfield, Nevada
- Fixed Gunnery School, Indian Springs Auxiliary Army Airfield, Nevada
- Fixed Gunnery School, Ajo Army Airfield, Arizona
- Fixed Gunnery School, Gila Bend General Bombing and Gunnery Range, Arizona
- 83d Flying Training Wing (Advanced, Twin-Engine), Douglas Army Airfield, ArizonaArizonaArizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
- Advanced Twin Engine School, Williams Army Airfield, Arizona
- Advanced Twin Engine School, Douglas Army Airfield, Arizona
- Specialized Twin Engine School, Hereford Army AirfieldHereford Army AirfieldHereford Army Airfield is an abandoned military airfield located about west-southwest of Hereford, Arizona.-Military use:The airfield was was acquired by the War Department in August 1942 for use as an auxiliary air field for Douglas Army Airfield, Arizona. A total of were acquired by the War...
, Arizona - Advanced Twin Engine School, Stockton Army Airfield, California
- Advanced Twin Engine School, Roswell Army Airfield, New Mexico
- Advanced Twin Engine School, Marfa Army AirfieldMarfa Army AirfieldMarfa Army Airfield is an abandoned airfield located in the high desert of West Texas, about southeast of El Paso.-History:...
, Texas - Advanced Twin Engine School, Mather Army Airfield, California
- Advanced Twin Engine School, La Junta Army Airfield, Colorado
- Eastern Technical Training Command (ETTC)
- RADAR Technical School, Boca Raton Field, FloridaFloridaFlorida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
- Basic Training Center; HQ ETTC, Greensboro, North CarolinaGreensboro, North CarolinaGreensboro is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the third-largest city by population in North Carolina and the largest city in Guilford County and the surrounding Piedmont Triad metropolitan region. According to the 2010 U.S...
- Aircraft Mechanics Technical School; Basic Training Center, Gulfport Field, MississippiMississippiMississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
- Aircraft Mechanics/Weapons Technical School; Basic Training Center, Keesler Field, MississippiMississippiMississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
- Reassigned to WTTC, 1 March 1944
- Basic Training Center; Officer Candidate School, Miami Beach, FloridaMiami Beach, FloridaMiami Beach is a coastal resort city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States, incorporated on March 26, 1915. The municipality is located on a barrier island between the Atlantic Ocean and Biscayne Bay, the latter which separates the Beach from Miami city proper...
- Weapons/Photography Technical School; Basic Training Center, Seymour Johnson Field, North CarolinaNorth CarolinaNorth Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
- Intelligence Technical School; Aviation Cadet School; Radio Technical School, Yale UniversityYale UniversityYale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
, New Haven, ConnecticutNew Haven, ConnecticutNew Haven is the second-largest city in Connecticut and the sixth-largest in New England. According to the 2010 Census, New Haven's population increased by 5.0% between 2000 and 2010, a rate higher than that of the State of Connecticut, and higher than that of the state's five largest cities, and...
- Central Technical Training Command (CTTC)
-
- Inactivated 1 March 1944; All components reassigned to ETTC.
- Aircraft Mechanics Technical School, Chanute Field, IllinoisIllinoisIllinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
- Aircraft Engine Technical School, Indianapolis, IndianaIndianapolis, IndianaIndianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population is 839,489. It is by far Indiana's largest city and, as of the 2010 U.S...
- Basic Training Center, Jefferson Barracks, MissouriMissouriMissouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
- Meteorology Technical School, Scott FieldScott Air Force BaseScott Air Force Base is a base of the United States Air Force in St. Clair County, Illinois, near Belleville.-Overview:The base is named after Corporal Frank S. Scott, the first enlisted person to be killed in an aviation crash...
, IllinoisIllinoisIllinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,... - Radio Mechanics/Aircraft Radio Maintenance Technical School, Sioux Falls Field, South DakotaSouth DakotaSouth Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux American Indian tribes. Once a part of Dakota Territory, South Dakota became a state on November 2, 1889. The state has an area of and an estimated population of just over...
- Radio Mechanics/Radio Operation Technical School, Tomah, WisconsinTomah, WisconsinTomah is a city in Monroe County, Wisconsin, United States. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 9,093. The city is located partially within the Town of Tomah.-Education:...
- Radio Mechanics/Radio Operation Technical School, Truax FieldDane County Regional Airport-Statistics:-External links:* Dane County Regional Airport: * Wisconsin Airport Directory: * * - Listen live to Madison's Air Traffic Control...
, WisconsinWisconsinWisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
- Western Technical Training Command (WTTC)
- Aircraft Mechanics Technical School; Basic Training Center, Amarillo Field, TexasTexasTexas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
- Weapons/Photographic Technical School; Basic Training Center, Buckley Field, ColoradoColoradoColorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
- Administration Technical School; Miscellaneous Support Services training, Fort Logan, ColoradoColoradoColorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
- Quartermasters Technical School; Basic Training Center, Kearns, UtahKearns, UtahKearns is a township and census-designated place in Salt Lake County, Utah, United States. Named after Utah's U.S. Senator Thomas Kearns, it had a population of 35,731 at the 2010 Census.This was a 6.2 percent increase over the 2000 figure of 33,659...
- Engine Mechanics Technical School; Basic Training Center, Lincoln Army Airfield, NebraskaNebraskaNebraska is a state on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha, on the Missouri River....
- Weapons/Photographic Technical School; Miscellaneous training, Lowry Field, ColoradoColoradoColorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
- Civil Engineering Technical School; Basic Training Center, Sheppard Field, TexasTexasTexas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
Note: Sub-bases and auxiliary airfields not listed.
Training classifications
- Aircraft Maintenance
- Of the constellation of technical training courses offered to officers and enlisted men in 116 different schools (32 of them factory schools) at the end of 1944, many involved advanced training in aircraft maintenance. One of the most important of these was a power plant course designed to produce engine specialists. This covered maintenance of standard aircraft engines and their accessories, including superchargers, generators, starters, and carburetors.
- Armament Maintenance
- Among other specialists trained in technical training schools were experts in armament maintenance. Combat aircraft were complex, including lots of lethal equipment, such as machine gunMachine gunA machine gun is a fully automatic mounted or portable firearm, usually designed to fire rounds in quick succession from an ammunition belt or large-capacity magazine, typically at a rate of several hundred rounds per minute....
s, cannonCannonA cannon is any piece of artillery that uses gunpowder or other usually explosive-based propellents to launch a projectile. Cannon vary in caliber, range, mobility, rate of fire, angle of fire, and firepower; different forms of cannon combine and balance these attributes in varying degrees,...
s, bombBombA bomb is any of a range of explosive weapons that only rely on the exothermic reaction of an explosive material to provide an extremely sudden and violent release of energy...
s, and related gun turretTurretIn architecture, a turret is a small tower that projects vertically from the wall of a building such as a medieval castle. Turrets were used to provide a projecting defensive position allowing covering fire to the adjacent wall in the days of military fortification...
s and bombsightBombsightA bombsight is a device used by bomber aircraft to accurately drop bombs. In order to do this, the bombsight has to estimate the path the bomb will take after release from the aircraft. The two primary forces during its fall are gravity and air drag, which makes the path of the bomb through the air...
s. Such equipment exceeded the capabilities of general airplane mechanics and required the technical expertise of specialized armament maintainers.
- Bombardier Training
- Nine locations in Central and Western Flying Training Commands provided bombardierBombardier (air force)A bombardier , in the United States Army Air Forces and United States Air Force, or a bomb aimer, in the Royal Air Force and other Commonwealth air forces, was the crewman of a bomber responsible for assisting the navigator in guiding the plane to a bombing target and releasing the aircraft's bomb...
training.
- Flexible Gunnery Training
- At the time of the attack on Pearl HarborPearl HarborPearl Harbor, known to Hawaiians as Puuloa, is a lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. Much of the harbor and surrounding lands is a United States Navy deep-water naval base. It is also the headquarters of the U.S. Pacific Fleet...
, the Army Air Corps still did not have a specialized school for flexible gunnery. Three schools opened in December 1941, and the program grew rapidly. In July 1943 flexible gunnery schools had possessed few tactical aircraft with which to train, mainly 55 twin-engine B-34 Lexingtons (Lockheed Venturas). By December 1944 they had 440 four-engine aircraft (173 B-17 Flying Fortresses, 255 B-24 LiberatorB-24 LiberatorThe Consolidated B-24 Liberator was an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and a small number of early models were sold under the name LB-30, for Land Bomber...
s, and 12 YB-40 Flying Fortresses). By the latter date, students on gunnery missions fired from these, while two-engine aircraft towed targets and single engine tactical aircraft simulated attacks on the bombers. Unfortunately, towed targets hardly resembled attacking fighter aircraft, but one device that more closely simulated combat conditions was a camera gun that students "fired" at fighter aircraft flying in normal attack patterns toward the bombers. These cameras, which came into general use during 1944 and 1945.
- Flight Engineer Training
- In putting together the curriculum for training pilots and copilots on the B-29 SuperfortressB-29 SuperfortressThe B-29 Superfortress is a four-engine propeller-driven heavy bomber designed by Boeing that was flown primarily by the United States Air Forces in late-World War II and through the Korean War. The B-29 was one of the largest aircraft to see service during World War II...
, Training Command could make use of its experience in transition training for heavy bombers. No such experience was available in the case of flight engineers, because the B-29 was the first AAF aircraft that required a flight engineerFlight engineerFlight engineers work in three types of aircraft: fixed-wing , rotary wing , and space flight .As airplanes became even larger requiring more engines and complex systems to operate, the workload on the two pilots became excessive during certain critical parts of the flight regime, notably takeoffs...
. This individual operated the engine control panel of the aircraft. Located behind the pilot, the panel contained all operating instruments but those the pilot used to control the altitude and direction of the B-29. At the direction of the pilot, the flight engineer used these instruments to adjust the throttleThrottleA throttle is the mechanism by which the flow of a fluid is managed by constriction or obstruction. An engine's power can be increased or decreased by the restriction of inlet gases , but usually decreased. The term throttle has come to refer, informally and incorrectly, to any mechanism by which...
s, fuel mixture, superchargerSuperchargerA supercharger is an air compressor used for forced induction of an internal combustion engine.The greater mass flow-rate provides more oxygen to support combustion than would be available in a naturally aspirated engine, which allows more fuel to be burned and more work to be done per cycle,...
, and propellerPropeller (aircraft)Aircraft propellers or airscrews convert rotary motion from piston engines or turboprops to provide propulsive force. They may be fixed or variable pitch. Early aircraft propellers were carved by hand from solid or laminated wood with later propellers being constructed from metal...
pitch. He also computed the aircraft's cruising range, fuel consumption, engine performance, weight and balance, and airworthiness. Flight engineers underwent comprehensive training at Amarillo and Lowry Fields before assignment to B-29 transition training.
- Navigator Training
- Until the early 1930s, pilots had been their own navigatorNavigatorA navigator is the person on board a ship or aircraft responsible for its navigation. The navigator's primary responsibility is to be aware of ship or aircraft position at all times. Responsibilities include planning the journey, advising the Captain or aircraft Commander of estimated timing to...
s. Then as airlineAirlineAn airline provides air transport services for traveling passengers and freight. Airlines lease or own their aircraft with which to supply these services and may form partnerships or alliances with other airlines for mutual benefit...
s began to make long distance flights, they added a navigator to the flight crew. The military, however, continued to treat navigation training as part of pilot training. Consequently when it, too, began to see a need for specialized navigators, in July 1940 the Army signed a contract with Pan American Airways, Incorporated, to provide training in navigationNavigationNavigation is the process of monitoring and controlling the movement of a craft or vehicle from one place to another. It is also the term of art used for the specialized knowledge used by navigators to perform navigation tasks...
and meteorologyMeteorologyMeteorology is the interdisciplinary scientific study of the atmosphere. Studies in the field stretch back millennia, though significant progress in meteorology did not occur until the 18th century. The 19th century saw breakthroughs occur after observing networks developed across several countries...
to flying cadets, an arrangement that continued until 1944. In November 1940 the Air Corps opened its first navigator school at Barksdale Field, LouisianaLouisianaLouisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
.
- Officer Candidate/Training School
- Training for non-rated offers was needed to relieve flying officers of their nonflying duties during the wartime expansion of the Air Corps and the Army Air Forces. The Officer Candidate SchoolOfficer Candidate SchoolOfficer Candidate School or Officer Cadet School are institutions which train civilians and enlisted personnel in order for them to gain a commission as officers in the armed forces of a country....
began as a 12-week course, but it expanded to 16 weeks in 1943. It also began as a uniform program for all officer candidates, but after 1943 the last phase of training was divided into specialized training for adjutants and personnel officers, as well as supply, mess, intelligence, guard company, and training officers. Later, it expanded to include physical training and technical officers.
- The Army Air Forces also commissioned some individuals with special qualifications directly from civilian life. These people required some military training, so Training Command also set up an Officer Training School (OTS) at Miami Beach, FloridaFloridaFlorida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
to provide six weeks of military instruction. Most OTS students were 30 years old or more, with the bulk of them in their 30s or 40s. They came from all walks of life, but most were teacherTeacherA teacher or schoolteacher is a person who provides education for pupils and students . The role of teacher is often formal and ongoing, carried out at a school or other place of formal education. In many countries, a person who wishes to become a teacher must first obtain specified professional...
s, businessmen, or professionals. The majority were slated for administrative or instructional duties in the Army Air Forces, but others became ferry pilots. Beginning in the winter of 1942, Medical, Dental, and Sanitary Corps officers also attended Officer Training School in courses separate from those for other officers.
- B-29 Superfortress Transition Training
- Until the fall of 1944, Second Air ForceSecond Air ForceThe Second Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Air Education and Training Command . It is headquartered at Keesler Air Force Base, Mississippi....
provided all B-29 SuperfortressB-29 SuperfortressThe B-29 Superfortress is a four-engine propeller-driven heavy bomber designed by Boeing that was flown primarily by the United States Air Forces in late-World War II and through the Korean War. The B-29 was one of the largest aircraft to see service during World War II...
transition training for the Army Air Forces. Then, on 12 September 1944, HQ AAF directed Training Command to establish B-29 schools for the transition of crews consisting of pilots, copilots, and flight engineerFlight engineerFlight engineers work in three types of aircraft: fixed-wing , rotary wing , and space flight .As airplanes became even larger requiring more engines and complex systems to operate, the workload on the two pilots became excessive during certain critical parts of the flight regime, notably takeoffs...
s. By late September, plans called for five schools to provide transition training in very heavy bombers, including a school for the TB-32 DominatorB-32 DominatorThe Consolidated B-32 Dominator was a heavy bomber made for United States Army Air Forces during World War II, and has the distinction of being the last Allied aircraft to be engaged in combat during World War II. It was developed in parallel with the Boeing B-29 Superfortress as a fallback design...
at Fort Worth, TexasFort Worth, TexasFort Worth is the 16th-largest city in the United States of America and the fifth-largest city in the state of Texas. Located in North Central Texas, just southeast of the Texas Panhandle, the city is a cultural gateway into the American West and covers nearly in Tarrant, Parker, Denton, and...
. Training of pilots and flight engineers as instructors got underway at Maxwell FieldMaxwell FieldMaxwell Field was the football stadium located behind the former location of Louisville Male High School, 911 S. Brook St., Louisville, Kentucky, 40203 which was bounded by the streets of Brook, Breckinridge, Floyd, and Caldwell streets in Louisville, Kentucky. In 1984 a double murder known locally...
, AlabamaAlabamaAlabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
, on 20 September 1944, when the school took over facilities previously used for B-24 LiberatorB-24 LiberatorThe Consolidated B-24 Liberator was an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and a small number of early models were sold under the name LB-30, for Land Bomber...
training. Limited availability of B-29s restricted training, but by November regular training of crews had begun at Maxwell on B-29s stripped of their armament and gear. Further expansion of training was limited by continued delays in the delivery of B-29s, so Second Air Force continued to provide the bulk of B-29 transition training.
The Tuskegee Airmen
- main: Tuskegee AirmenTuskegee AirmenThe Tuskegee Airmen is the popular name of a group of African American pilots who fought in World War II. Formally, they were the 332nd Fighter Group and the 477th Bombardment Group of the U.S. Army Air Corps....
On 7 March 1942, the first African-Americans to become military pilots received their wings at Tuskegee Field, Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
. For many this event marked 25 years of determined effort to include blacks in military aviation. As early as 1917, Walter White
Walter Francis White
Walter Francis White was a civil rights activist who led the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People for almost a quarter of a century and directed a broad program of legal challenges to segregation and disfranchisement. He was also a journalist, novelist, and essayist...
, Director of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, usually abbreviated as NAACP, is an African-American civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909. Its mission is "to ensure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights of all persons and to...
(NAACP), had called for the inclusion of blacks in the Air Corps only to be told that “no colored squadrons were being formed at the present time.” Finally, on 21 March 1941, the Air Corps activated the 99th Pursuit Squadron, which became the first squadron of what became the renowned Tuskegee Airmen
Tuskegee Airmen
The Tuskegee Airmen is the popular name of a group of African American pilots who fought in World War II. Formally, they were the 332nd Fighter Group and the 477th Bombardment Group of the U.S. Army Air Corps....
.
After the first class of five pilots graduated, it took until July 1942 for enough black airmen to complete flight training for the squadron to reach full strength. Even then, the Army was not ready to send black pilots overseas. Under the command of Capt Benjamin O. Davis, Jr.
Benjamin O. Davis, Jr.
Benjamin Oliver Davis Jr. was an American born United States Air Force general and commander of the World War II Tuskegee Airmen....
, the 99th remained at Tuskegee and received additional training to prepare for combat. In April 1943 the unit deployed to French Morocco
French Morocco
French Protectorate of Morocco was a French protectorate in Morocco, established by the Treaty of Fez. French Morocco did not include the north of the country, which was a Spanish protectorate...
in North Africa
North Africa
North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, linked by the Sahara to Sub-Saharan Africa. Geopolitically, the United Nations definition of Northern Africa includes eight countries or territories; Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, South Sudan, Sudan, Tunisia, and...
.
Eventually enough graduates were available to comprise four fighter squadrons: the 100th, 301st, and 302d, all of which had also begun at Tuskegee before completing their training in Michigan. These squadrons, and the 99th were formed into the 332d Fighter Group.
As the war progressed the 332d’s squadrons established an enviable combat record. On 11 July 1944, P-51 Mustang
P-51 Mustang
The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang was an American long-range, single-seat fighter and fighter-bomber used during World War II, the Korean War and in several other conflicts...
s from the 332d Fighter Group shot down 18 enemy fighters while flying escort for a large bomber formation. On 24 March 1945, while escorting B-17 Flying Fortresses during a raid on a tank factory in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, the 332d’s pilots downed three German jet fighters. For their actions, the 332d and three of its squadrons—the 99th, 100th and 301st—earned Distinguished Unit Citations
Women Airforce Service Pilots
- main: Women Airforce Service PilotsWomen Airforce Service PilotsThe Women Airforce Service Pilots and its predecessor groups the Women's Flying Training Detachment and the Women's Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron were pioneering organizations of civilian female pilots employed to fly military aircraft under the direction of the United States Army Air Forces...
The Women Airforce Service Pilots of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
were pioneers, the first licensed women pilots in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
to fly military aircraft for a military service. The WASP was formed in August 1943 from two earlier, relatively independent programs for women pilots: Women's Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron (WAFS) and Women's Flying Training Detachment (WFTD).
As early as 1939, Jackie Cochran had suggested recruiting and training women to fly military aircraft. On 7 October 1942, shortly after the WAFS was formed, General Arnold
Henry H. Arnold
Henry Harley "Hap" Arnold was an American general officer holding the grades of General of the Army and later General of the Air Force. Arnold was an aviation pioneer, Chief of the Air Corps , Commanding General of the U.S...
inaugurated a flight training program to produce 500 women ferry pilots. He appointed Cochran as the director of flying training, and by October 1942, 40 women had been accepted and sent for training at Howard Hughes Airport
William P. Hobby Airport
William P. Hobby Airport is a public airport in Houston, Texas, located from Downtown Houston. The airport covers and has four runways. Hobby Airport is Houston's oldest commercial airport and was the city's primary air terminal until the opening of Houston Intercontinental Airport in 1969...
in Houston, Texas
Houston, Texas
Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...
. The unit was called the WFTD, or among the women it was known as the "Woofteddies".
When facilities at Houston proved too limited, a new school was opened in February 1943 at Avenger Field, Sweetwater, Texas
Sweetwater, Texas
Sweetwater is the county seat of Nolan County, Texas, United States. The population was 11,415 at the 2000 census.-History:Sweetwater received a U.S. post office in 1879. The Texas and Pacific Railway started service in 1881, with the first train arriving on March 12 of that year, beginning...
, and training at Houston soon phased out. On 5 August 1943, the WAFS and the women of Cochran's WFTD school were united as the WASP. Cochran was named Director of Women Pilots, and Nancy Love continued in the WASP as executive of the Ferrying Division of the Air Transport Command
Air Transport Command
Air Transport Command is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its mission was to meet the urgent demand for the speedy reinforcement of the United States' military bases worldwide during World War II, using an air supply system to supplement surface transport...
.
Classes entered the WASP program at monthly intervals. A total of 18 classes completed training: 8 in 1943 and 10 in 1944. Of the 25,000 women who applied for flight training, 1,830 were accepted, and of those, 1,074 received their wings. Entrance requirements remained essentially the same as those for the WAFS, except the age requirement was dropped from 21 to 18, and the flight experience was set at only 200 hours. That requirement was later dropped to 35 hours, and the 200-horsepower rating requirement was eventually eliminated.
The WASPs flew all types of military aircraft, including AT-6 Texan, AT-10 Wichita, AT-11 Kansan, and BT-13 Valiant
BT-13 Valiant
The Vultee BT-13 Valiant was an American World War II-era basic trainer aircraft built by Vultee Aircraft for the United States Army Air Corps, and later US Army Air Forces...
trainers; C-47 Skytrain
C-47 Skytrain
The Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota is a military transport aircraft that was developed from the Douglas DC-3 airliner. It was used extensively by the Allies during World War II and remained in front line operations through the 1950s with a few remaining in operation to this day.-Design and...
, C-54 Skymaster
C-54 Skymaster
The Douglas C-54 Skymaster was a four-engined transport aircraft used by the United States Army Air Forces and British forces in World War II and the Korean War. Besides transport of cargo, it also carried presidents, British heads of government, and military staff...
, and C-60 Lodestar transports; A-25 Shrike (SB2C Helldiver) and A-26 Invader
A-26 Invader
The Douglas A-26 Invader was a United States twin-engined light attack bomber built by the Douglas Aircraft Co. during World War II that also saw service during several of the Cold War's major conflicts...
attack aircraft; B-24 Liberator
B-24 Liberator
The Consolidated B-24 Liberator was an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and a small number of early models were sold under the name LB-30, for Land Bomber...
, B-25 Mitchell
B-25 Mitchell
The North American B-25 Mitchell was an American twin-engined medium bomber manufactured by North American Aviation. It was used by many Allied air forces, in every theater of World War II, as well as many other air forces after the war ended, and saw service across four decades.The B-25 was named...
, TB-26 Marauder
B-26 Marauder
The Martin B-26 Marauder was a World War II twin-engine medium bomber built by the Glenn L. Martin Company. First used in the Pacific Theater in early 1942, it was also used in the Mediterranean Theater and in Western Europe....
, and B-29 Superfortress
B-29 Superfortress
The B-29 Superfortress is a four-engine propeller-driven heavy bomber designed by Boeing that was flown primarily by the United States Air Forces in late-World War II and through the Korean War. The B-29 was one of the largest aircraft to see service during World War II...
bombers; P-38 Lightning
P-38 Lightning
The Lockheed P-38 Lightning was a World War II American fighter aircraft built by Lockheed. Developed to a United States Army Air Corps requirement, the P-38 had distinctive twin booms and a single, central nacelle containing the cockpit and armament...
, P-40 Warhawk, P-47 Thunderbolt
P-47 Thunderbolt
Republic Aviation's P-47 Thunderbolt, also known as the "Jug", was the largest, heaviest, and most expensive fighter aircraft in history to be powered by a single reciprocating engine. It was heavily armed with eight .50-caliber machine guns, four per wing. When fully loaded, the P-47 weighed up to...
, and P-51 Mustang
P-51 Mustang
The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang was an American long-range, single-seat fighter and fighter-bomber used during World War II, the Korean War and in several other conflicts...
fighters. In addition to ferrying, the WASPs performed many other tasks such as glider and target towing, radar calibration flights, aircraft testing, and other noncombat duties to release male pilots for overseas action. The WASPs flew approximately 60 million miles and suffered 38 fatalities, or 1 to about 16,000 hours of flying.
The WASPs were employed under the Civil Service
Civil service
The term civil service has two distinct meanings:* A branch of governmental service in which individuals are employed on the basis of professional merit as proven by competitive examinations....
program. It was always assumed they would become part of the Army when a proper place within the military organization could be found for them. In fact, bills were introduced in Congress to give them military rank, but even with General Arnold's support, all efforts failed to absorb the WASPs into the military. On 20 December 1944, the Army Air Forces, citing the changing combat situation, disbanded the WASP program. The WASPs returned to civilian life with no veterans' benefits.
In 1977 the United States Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
finally granted benefits to the 850 remaining WASPs.
Women's Army Auxiliary Corps
Public Law 554 on 15 May 1942 created a Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps for service with the Army of the United States. In September 1943 the WAAC was replaced by the Women's Army Corps (WAC). The measure permitted the enlistment of 150,000 women between the ages of twenty-one and forty-five, but the executive order which established the corps set an initial strength limit of 25,000. It was typical of the AAF, with its long-cherished ideas of independence, to desire a separate women’s corps completely independent of the women serving with other branches of the Army.
WAACs went though indoctrination training at Fort De Moines, Iowa under Army Service Forces
Army Service Forces
The Army Service Forces were one of the three autonomous components of the Army of the United States during World War II, the others being the Army Air Forces and Army Ground Forces. They were created on February 28, 1942 by Executive Order Number 9082 "Reorganizing the Army and the War Department"...
(ASF) auspices. Once completed, they began to arrive at Army Air Force stations in September. The influx of 27,000 recruits did not pose a major training problem for the AAF. There was no need for elaborate technical training because the majority of women, in contrast to the seventeen- and eighteen- year-old boys being inducted, had a usable skill before they enlisted, often in the highly prized clerical field. The AAF proposed and pioneered in a time-saving policy of avoiding unnecessary training for women already qualified.
AAF policy did not prevent specialist training for women who would benefit by it or were highly qualified for it; in fact, the AAF early opened to women virtually its entire roster of job specialties and schools. On 20 November 1943 Wacs were declared eligible to attend any noncombat training course attended by AAF men, provided that the training would in a station commander’s opinion increase an individual’s job efficiency or would enable her to be utilized in some higher skill for which she had unusual aptitude or civilian background.
The job training of women was so completely integrated with the entire AAF training program that virtually no separate statistics are available as a basis for comparing the record of the women with male trainees. Obviously, this policy meant that the Wacs had to be as well qualified as men to enroll in and graduate from a training course. It is known only that approximately 2,000 women completed courses in AAF technical schools, including those for Link-trainer instructors, airplane mechanics, sheet-metal workers, weather forecasters, weather observers, electrical specialists of several kinds, teletype operators, control-tower specialists, cryptographers, radio mechanics, parachute riggers, bombsight-maintenance specialists, clerks, photo-laboratory technicians, and photo-interpreters..
The AAF showed no reluctance in opening up its noncombat jobs to women, even jobs which required “unwomanly” mechanical skills. Toward the end of the war there was an increase in the number of women on technical assignments, when it became difficult to obtain enlisted men in the top intelligence brackets required by some of the work. At the peak of WAC enrollment, in January 1945, more than 200 different job categories were filled by enlisted women, while WAC officers held more than 60 different types of jobs in addition to that of company officer. A flexible system of assignment enabled the AAF to use Wacs with special skills found in only a very few women, like those who were skilled as chemists, cartographers, geodetic computers, topographers, sanitary inspectors, and even dog-trainers. But as might be expected, a high percentage—about 50 percent—of the Air Wacs held administrative or office jobs. These clerks, typists, and stenographers were doing only what they had been doing in civilian life.
Postwar consolidation
As World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
approached its conclusion (effectively on 14 August but formally not until 2 September), training activities and the strength of Training Command declined. The end of the war in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
in May caused the focus of training to shift from the needs of the European Theater to those of the Pacific, particularly courses associated with very heavy bombardment. Then, with the cessation of hostilities in the Pacific, most training ceased for those students not planning to remain in the post-war air forces. Before that time, however, the trend in training had gone increasingly toward specialized training on particular types of aircraft. Then during the last four months of 1945, rapid retrenchment in training occurred, and emphasis shifted to separating people from the Army Air Forces and reorganizing Training Command for its still undetermined peacetime goals.
By January 1945 basic military training had become a comparatively minor part of Training Command's activities. Only three centers remained active--Amarillo
Amarillo Air Force Base
Amarillo Air Force Base, originally Amarillo Army Air Field is a former United States Air Force base located in Potter County, Texas, approximately 6 miles East of downtown Amarillo within the easternmost city limits...
, Sheppard
Sheppard Air Force Base
Sheppard Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located five miles north of the central business district of Wichita Falls, in Wichita County, Texas, United States. It is the largest training base and most diversified in Air Education and Training Command...
, and Keesler
Keesler Air Force Base
Keesler Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located in Biloxi, a city in Harrison County, Mississippi, United States. The base is named in honor of aviator 2d Lt Samuel Reeves Keesler, Jr., a Mississippi native killed in France in First World War.-Units:The base is home of...
. Buckley Field stopped basic training in December 1944, but it was early 1945 before all trainees had assignments. Only about 19,000 soldiers were in basic training in January, as compared to the peak figure of 135,796 in February 1943.
Flying Training Command
By mid-October 1945 Training Command reassigned all people and equipment in Western Flying Training Command to the jurisdiction of its central counterpart, which on 1 November 1945, became known as Western Flying Training Command.
Then on 15 December the enlarged western command absorbed Eastern Flying Training Command. The single entity became Flying Training Command on 1 January 1946, with its headquarters at Randolph Field, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
.
In June 1945 the San Antonio Aviation Cadet Center transferred to the Personnel Distribution Command. In preparation for that event, also in June, the Officer Candidate School
Officer Candidate School
Officer Candidate School or Officer Cadet School are institutions which train civilians and enlisted personnel in order for them to gain a commission as officers in the armed forces of a country....
transferred from the aviation cadet center to Maxwell Field
Maxwell Field
Maxwell Field was the football stadium located behind the former location of Louisville Male High School, 911 S. Brook St., Louisville, Kentucky, 40203 which was bounded by the streets of Brook, Breckinridge, Floyd, and Caldwell streets in Louisville, Kentucky. In 1984 a double murder known locally...
, Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
.
Many pilot training installations discontinued training in 1945. The last contract primary pilot schools ended their operations in October. By that time, only Goodfellow Field, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, and Tuskegee Field, Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
, continued to offer primary pilot training. The last class of black pilots graduated from primary training at Tuskegee on 20 November. Goodfellow's last primary class transferred to Randolph Field to finish training. Randolph began primary training on 26 December.
By the end of 1945, only Perrin Field, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, and Tuskegee Field continued to provide basic pilot training. The remaining active advanced single-engine schools were at Luke Field, Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
; Stewart Field, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
; and Tuskegee. Advanced twin-engine training continued only at Enid Field, Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
; Turner Field
Turner Field
Turner Field is a stadium in Atlanta, Georgia, home to Major League Baseball's Atlanta Braves since 1997. Turner Field was originally built as Centennial Olympic Stadium, it was completed in 1996 to serve as the centerpiece of the 1996 Summer Olympics...
, Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
; and Tuskegee. The 28th, 29th, 31st, 35th, 36th, 74th, 78th, 79th, 81st, and 83d Flying Training Wings were also inactivated.
Technical Training Command
Requirements in the combat theaters for graduates of technical training schools and even pilots proved to be smaller than initially expected, so the Army Air Forces reduced the size of these training programs in January 1944. The cut in technical training was particularly heavy, so AAF Training Command requested and received authority to discontinue the
headquarters of Central Technical Training Command in St Louis, Missouri, effective 1 March 1944.
Simultaneously, the headquarters of Eastern Technical Training Command moved from Greensboro, North Carolina
Greensboro, North Carolina
Greensboro is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the third-largest city by population in North Carolina and the largest city in Guilford County and the surrounding Piedmont Triad metropolitan region. According to the 2010 U.S...
, to St Louis. All stations previously in the central command, with the exception of Keesler Field, became part of the eastern command. Keesler went to the western command.
In mid-October 1945, Training Command delegated all stations and activities of the Western Technical Training Command to the jurisdiction of the Eastern Technical Training Command, which it redesignated Technical Training Command. Its headquarters remained at Scott Field
Scott Air Force Base
Scott Air Force Base is a base of the United States Air Force in St. Clair County, Illinois, near Belleville.-Overview:The base is named after Corporal Frank S. Scott, the first enlisted person to be killed in an aviation crash...
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
, where the eastern command had been headquartered.
The revised single technical training command retained seven stations: Scott
Scott Air Force Base
Scott Air Force Base is a base of the United States Air Force in St. Clair County, Illinois, near Belleville.-Overview:The base is named after Corporal Frank S. Scott, the first enlisted person to be killed in an aviation crash...
and Chanute Fields in Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
; Keesler Field, Mississippi
Mississippi
Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
; Boca Raton Field, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
; Lowry and Buckley Fields in Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
; and Amarillo Field, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
.
Demobilization
By the end of 1945, the primary functions of AAF Training Command had become the rapid separation of eligible personnel from the Army Air Forces and the recruiting of Regular Army enlistees to operate the post-war air forces. Consequently, in early September Training Command headquarters set up a demobilization unit in its Personnel (A-1) Division, and on 22 October it established a Recruiting Section. Its goal was to create an entirely voluntary force, preferably one consisting of experienced, three-year reenlistees.
Air Training Command
On 1 July 1946, AAF Training Command was redesignated as Air Training Command
Air Training Command
Air Training Command is a former major command of the United States Army Air Forces and United States Air Force. ATC came into being as a redesignation of the Army Air Forces Training Command on July 1, 1946...
. At about the same time, Army Air Forces began interpreting the word "command" to mean a major air command. For that reason, on 1 November the Flying Training and
Technical Training Commands became the Flying and Technical Training Divisions of Air Training Command. In addition, the Military Training Center in San Antonio (which had earlier been a part of Technical Training Command) became the Indoctrination Division. All three were co-equal in status.
On 27 September 1947, Air Training Command became a major command of the United States Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
. On 1 July 1993, it was inactivated. The assets of Air Training Command along with those of the inactivated Air University were consolidated and designated as Air Education and Training Command
Air Education and Training Command
Air Education and Training Command was established July 1, 1993, with the realignment of Air Training Command and Air University. It is one of the U.S. Air Force's ten major commands and reports to Headquarters, United States Air Force....
which is the main training component of the present-day Air Force.