List of British Commonwealth Air Training Plan facilities in South Africa

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This article contains a list of the facilities of the Joint Air Training Scheme which was a major programme for training South African Air Force, Royal Air Force and Allied air crews during World War II. [1]

Contents

An Elementary Flying Training School (EFTS) gave a recruit 50 hours of basic aviation instruction on a simple trainer like the Tiger Moth. Pilots who showed promise went on to training at a Service Flying Training School (STFS). The Service Flying Training School provided advanced training for pilots, including fighter and multi-engined aircraft. Other trainees went on to different specialties, such as wireless, navigation or bombing and gunnery. In South Africa, the Elementary Flying Training School and Service Flying Training School were renamed Air Schools. [1]

Training schools

Air SchoolBaseMajor types of aircraftTrainingEstablishedOpenedDisbandedMottoUnit publicationComment
1 Air SchoolBaragwanath Tiger Moth Elementary flying11 Nov 1940
(ex 1 EFTS)
30 Apr 194429 Feb 1944”Start Well, Finish Well"
2 Air School Randfontein Tiger MothElementary flying11 Nov 1940
(ex 2 EFTS)
2 Oct 1944”Knowledge is Light"
3 Air School Wonderboom Tiger MothElementary flying11 Nov 1940
(ex 3 EFTS)
16 Feb 194125 Sep 1944”Tertius Primus Erit"
4 Air School Benoni Tiger MothElementary flying11 Nov 1940
(ex 4 EFTS)
1 Sep 194124 Jun 1945”Vier sal eerste wees"”Big Ben"
5 Air School Witbank Tiger MothElementary flying11 Nov 1940
(ex 5 EFTS)
13 Oct 194115 Dec 1944”Wings for Victory"”Tiger Rag"
6 Air School Potchefstroom Tiger MothElementary flying11 Nov 1940
(ex 6 EFTS)
4 Aug 19416 Aug 1946”Eendrag en Vryheid"”Hotchpotch"
7 Air School Kroonstad Tiger MothElementary flying22 Dec 1941Jul 194216 Jan 1945”Nil Sine Labore"”The Dust SheetBuildings taken over by SA Army
21 Air School Kimberley Hind, Hart, Oxford Service flying11 Nov 194030 Apr 19411 Feb 1945”Pro Patria"”21"Now Kimberley Airport
22 Air School Vereeniging Hind, HartService flying11 Nov 1940
(ex 2 SFTS)
”Ad Unum Ad Astra"”Clamp"
23 Air SchoolZwartkop Air StationHind, HartService flying11 Nov 1940
(ex 3 SFTS)
”Superna Petimus"”Tale-Spin"
24 Air School Nigel (Dunnottar)Master, Oxford, Harvard, [1] HartService flying11 Nov 194029 Jul 1941 [1] 03 Sep 1946 [1] ”Per Artem Ad Astra"Now Dunnottar Military Base. (-26.347741, 28.459463)
25 Air School Standerton Hind, Hart, Master, HarvardService flying11 Nov 1940
(ex 5 SFTS)
”Ex Unite Ad Victoria"
26 Air School Pietersburg Hind, HartService flying11 Nov 1940”Nemo Mortalium Omnibus Hors Sarit"
27 Air SchoolBloemspruitHind, HartService flying11 Nov 1940”Finis Coronat Opus"Now AFB Bloemspruit/Bloemfontein Airport
41 Air SchoolCollondale, East London Hart variants, Battle, Northrop Nomad, Oxford, AnsonService flying, Bombing & gunneryNow East London Airport
42 Air School Port Elizabeth Battle, Northrop Nomad, Oxford, Anson, HarvardService flyingLocated on the south side of Port Elizabeth Airport. Part preserved as SAAF museum branch, remainder used by Army
43 Air School Port Alfred Oxford, Anson, HarvardService flyingStill in use for civil flying training as 43 Air School
44 Air School Grahamstown Oxford, Anson, Battle Navigation & bombing11 Nov 194012 Jan 1942"All for the Same Cause"Taken over by SA Army, now 6 SA Inf Bn
45 Air School Oudtshoorn Oxford, Anson, BattleAir Observer (Type B)11 Nov 194020 Aug 1945"Primus Inter Pares""Sprog"Civil airfield & SA Army
47 Air School Queenstown Anson, OxfordAir Observer (Type B)11 Nov 1940
(ex 7 AONS)
30 Apr 19417 Apr 1945"The Signal"Civil airfield & SA Army
48 Air SchoolWoodbrook, East London Tiger Moth, Tutor Elementary navigation14 July 19421 Sep 19421 May 1945"Sic itur ad astra" and "Bobaas""B.O.N."Now industrial area and Army base
61 Air School George AnsonGeneral Reconnaissance11 Nov 1940
(ex 1 S of GR)
30 Apr 194114 Jun 1945"Duff Gen"Civil airfield until replaced by George Airport
62 Air SchoolTempe, Bloemfontein All typesFlying Instructor Training11 Nov 1940
(ex CFS)
19/24 Feb 1945"Facta Nostra Vivent"
63 Air SchoolTempe, Bloemfontein Ground Instruction11 Nov 1940Jan 1941Absorbed into 75 Air School Lyttelton
64 Air SchoolTempe, Bloemfontein Dominie, AnsonElectrical & Wireless Operator5 Feb 194120 Dec 1945"Ut Servient Discimus""Sparks"
65 Air SchoolYoungsfield, Cape Town Oxford, Anson, Wapiti Air Armament11 Nov 194030 Apr 194113 Apr 1944Resurrected 1 Jun 1944 – 10 Sep 1945
66 Air SchoolYoungsfield, Cape Town Anson, Valentia, Harvard OxfordNavigation & bombing11 Nov 194030 Apr 19411 Apr 1945Became SA Army base. Latterly used to house refugees from xenophobic violence.
67 Air SchoolZwartkop Air StationDH Dragon, Envoy Photography & Photographic Training11 Nov 1940Currently SAAF AFB Swartkop
68 Air School Voortrekkerhoogte Technical Training11 Nov 1940
(1 STT)
1 Oct 1962Currently an SAAF base
69 Air School Germiston Technical Training
(Airframes & Engines)
11 Nov 1940
(ex 2 STT)
Dec 1944Absorbed into 68 Air School
70 Air SchoolAlexanderfontein, Kimberley Technical Training11 Nov 1940
(ex 3 STT)
Sep 1943
71 Air SchoolMilner Park, Johannesburg Basic Workshop Training11 Nov 1940
(ex 1 Basic Training Centre)
1 Feb 1945"The Fledgling"Now part of University of Witwatersrand campus
72 Air School St George's Park
Port Elizabeth
WAAF Basic Training11 Nov 1940
(ex 2 Basic Training Centre)
Situated at Park Lane junction with Park Drive, the last remaining bungalow from camp, which was home to Sea Scouts Group, has now been demolished. [2]
73 Air School Wonderboom, Pretoria WAAF Technical Training11 Nov 1940
(ex 3 Basic Training Centre)
75 Air SchoolLyttelton, Pretoria
77 Air School Pretoria WAAF Basic Training15 Jul 1942
(ex WAAF Basic Training Centre)
30 Jan 1943
100 Air School Voortrekkerhoogte Regimental training
11 Operational Training UnitSt Albans, Port Elizabeth Kittyhawk, Hurricane Fighter Operational Training1 July 1943September 1945"Learn and Live""Tale-Spin" (ex 23 Air School)
29 Operational Training Unit Nigel Ventura, Lodestar, Oxford, AnsonTwin engine ConversionJuly 1943June 1944
4 WingQuaggaspoort Grunau Baby, Slingsby Kirby Cadet, Minimoa Gliding Training19401943Gliding field after the war. Later became SA Police Dog School
Air School 27 Squadron SAAF Fisantekraal Lockheed Ventura Advanced flying19431951 relocated AFB Ysterplaat airfield sold in 1960 to Durbanville municipality, since 1993 in private hands with two flight schools

Training aircraft

The JATS used the following types of aircraft for training: [1]

Minor aircraft types used in any significant numbers included the Curtiss H-75A-4 Mohawk IV, Hawker Hartbees, Hawker Fury, Martin167F Maryland and Westland Wapiti. [1]

Glossary

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Becker, Dave (1989). Yellow Wings: The Story of the Joint Air Training Scheme in World War 2. Pretoria: The SAAF Museum. p. 102.
  2. Markman, Ivor (2006). "St George's Park - Women's Auxiliary Air Force Camp". stgeorgespark.nmmu.ac.za. Retrieved 13 February 2016.