At the beginning of the Second World War the United Kingdom recognised that it would need to train a large number of pilots. A number of flying and aircrew training schools were set up across the British Empire where pilots could be trained without risk of enemy interference. The British Flying Training Schools (BFTS) were set up in the United States of America from 1941 as a result of the Lend Lease Bill. [1]
Seven schools were opened. These were:
Terrell is a city in Kaufman County, Texas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 15,816. In 2019 the estimated population was 18,869. Terrell is located 32 miles (51 km) east of Dallas.
Williams Air Force Base is a former United States Air Force (USAF) base, located in Maricopa County, Arizona, east of Chandler, and about 30 miles (48 km) southeast of Phoenix. It is a designated Superfund site due to a number of soil and groundwater contaminants.
Air Midwest, Inc., was a Federal Aviation Administration Part 121 certificated air carrier that operated under air carrier certificate number AMWA510A issued on May 15, 1965. It was headquartered in Wichita, Kansas, United States, and was a subsidiary of Mesa Air Group. Besides initially flying as an independent air carrier, it later operated code sharing feeder flights on behalf of Eastern Air Lines as Eastern Air Midwest Express, on behalf of American Airlines as American Eagle, on behalf of Trans World Airlines (TWA) as Trans World Express and on behalf of US Airways as US Airways Express. It also operated feeder flights on behalf of Braniff (1983-1990) and Ozark Air Lines in addition to flying for Mesa Airlines. Air Midwest was shut down by its parent company, Mesa Airlines, in June 2008.
Waco Regional Airport is five miles northwest of Waco, in McLennan County, Texas. It is owned by the City of Waco.
Ponca City Regional Airport is a city-owned airport two miles northwest of Ponca City, in Kay County, Oklahoma, United States.
Enid Woodring Regional Airport is a city-owned, public-use airport located four nautical miles southeast of the central business district of Enid, a city in Garfield County, Oklahoma, United States. It is also referred to as Woodring Airport and was formerly known as Enid Woodring Municipal Airport. This airport is included in the National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015, which categorized it as a general aviation facility. It is mostly used for military training flights based at Vance Air Force Base.
Vance Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located in southern Enid, Oklahoma, about 65 mi (105 km) north northwest of Oklahoma City. The base is named after local World War II hero and Medal of Honor recipient, Lieutenant Colonel Leon Robert Vance Jr.
Central Airlines was a passenger airline in Arkansas, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma and Texas from 1949 to 1967. It was founded by Keith Kahle in 1944 to operate charter and fixed base services in Oklahoma, but was not granted an air operator's certificate until 1946 and did not begin scheduled flights until 15 September 1949, just before the certificate expired. Central was then headquartered at Meacham Field in Fort Worth, Texas. The airline was eventually acquired by and merged into the original Frontier Airlines (1950-1986) which continued and expanded its network.
Brownwood Regional Airport is six miles north of Brownwood, in Brown County, Texas. The National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015 categorized it as a general aviation facility. The 21st Cavalry Brigade of the III Corps, U.S. Army use the airport for training in Apache and Blackhawk helicopters.
Falcon Field is in an airport located in Maricopa County, Arizona. It was originally built 6 miles northeast of Mesa, which owns it. However, it is now within city limits. The National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2017–2021 categorized it as a reliever airport. Scheduled service to Bullhead City on Western Express Air ended in January 2007.
Santa Ana Army Air Base (SAAAB) was a World War II-era air base located near Santa Ana, California. The air base was decommissioned in 1946, and part of the land was annexed by Costa Mesa in 1953. The air base was used for basic training, although it did not have planes, hangars or runways. The base was 1,336 acres (5.41 km2), and the main section of the base was located between Baker Street to the north, Harbor Boulevard to the west, Wilson Street on the south, and Newport Boulevard on the east. The land formerly occupied by the air base is today the home of John Wayne Airport, the Orange County Fairgrounds, and Orange Coast College.
During World War II, the United States Army Air Forces (AAF) established numerous airfields in Oklahoma for training pilots and aircrews of AAF fighters and bombers or as major maintenance and supply centers.
Terrell Municipal Airport is a public access airport located within the city limits of Terrell, Texas, 1 mile SE of central Terrell.
Avenger Field is a Texas airport in Nolan County, three miles west of Sweetwater. The National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015 called it a general aviation facility.
Airglades Airport is a county-owned public-use airport in Hendry County, Florida, United States. It is located 5 miles (8.0 km) west of the central business district of Clewiston, Florida.
The US Army Air Forces in WWII had major subordinate Commands below the Air Staff level. These Commands were organized along functional missions. One such Command was the Flying Training Command (FTC). It began as Air Corps Flying Training Command on 23 January 1942, was redesignated Army Air Forces Flying Training Command (AAFTC) on 15 March 1942, and merged with Army Air Forces Technical Training Command to become Army Air Forces Training Command on 31 July 1943. Continuing service after the war, it was redesignated Air Training Command on 1 July 1946. During the consolidation of Air Force Major Commands in the retrenchment of the 1990s, Air Training Command assumed control of Air University and became Air Education and Training Command on 1 July 1993—today's Air Education and Training Command (AETC), which celebrated its 75th anniversary 23 January 2017. see the Lineage and honors statement for AETC.
The AT6 Monument is a granite memorial to Royal Air Force cadets who were killed while on a training flight during World War II. It stands on Big Mountain, north of Moyers, Oklahoma, in the United States, and was dedicated on February 20, 2000—the 57th anniversary of the deadly crashes.
Miami Municipal Airport is two miles northwest of Miami, in Ottawa County, Oklahoma. The National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015 called it a general aviation facility.
Lancaster Airport was an airport about 1.5 miles (2.4 km) northwest of Lancaster, California. It was closed in the late 1940s and is now a housing development.
The 31st Flying Training Wing is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the Central Flying Training Command, and was disbanded on 30 December 1945 at Fort Worth Army Airfield, Texas.
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