Help understanding US Army Air Force pilot training

[cwebster4]

I'm researching a pilot who joined the Army AF from the Miami area. Went on to Flight School for B-24s at Chatham Airfield in Savannah, Ga.
Was there a typical route for training?
Was there a basic Training, Advanced training, Flight school, Bomber school?
Where there typical routes for pilots that ended in Chatham?

I can't figure it out
Charlie

 

[mjfur]

Pilot Training Requirements – AAF Collection

https://artilleryocshistory.org/uploads/1/4/5/9/145902858/aaf_cadet_pilot_training_-cptp_3-16-24.pdf

AAF

 

[cwebster4]

Pilot Training Requirements – AAF Collection

https://artilleryocshistory.org/uploads/1/4/5/9/145902858/aaf_cadet_pilot_training_-cptp_3-16-24.pdf

AAF

Thank you. So can I surmise from this that pilots did not undergo any "traditional" army basic training?
I just finished reading The Wild Blue and didn't see any mention of traditional basic training

Thank you

 

[Reegor]

Thank you. So can I surmise from this that pilots did not undergo any "traditional" army basic training?
I just finished reading The Wild Blue and didn't see any mention of traditional basic training

Thank you

Yes, for most. But keep in mind that training changed a lot over the war, especially 1938 through 1943. The training system was scaling up about 100 fold (from500 pilots per 6 months to, at peak, 50,000) so not surprisingly there was a lot of scrambling. For example some early enlisted were sent home for several months to wait for an open slot. Others were sent to training in being an officer, which included close order drill and other traditional training.

Also, there were a zillion temporary sites for training.

 

[Reegor]

For a thorough description check out Rebecca Cameron's book. It was also published as a government report, in full, and is therefore available as a free PDF if you look around. Note that it is only Army and AAF — Navy training is not mentioned anywhere!

Training to Fly: Military Flight Training, 1907 - 1945

By Rebecca Cameron
692 pages
"Training to Fly: Military Flight Training, 1907-1945," is an institutional history of flight training by the predecessor organizations of the United States Air Force. The U.S. Army purchased its first airplane, built and successfully flown by Orville and Wilbur Wright, in 1909, and placed both lighter- and heavier-than-air aeronautics in the

 

[special ed]

In 1937, as I was told, my father tested for USAAC, The Forest Service, and the Justice Dept. He was rejected by USAAC because the knuckle of his little finger, left hand was stiff because of a pocket knife cut while younger. Forest Service was full, so he was accepted to the FBI to become a fingerprint specialist. The rejection may have allowed my existence, as just a few years later, the stiff knuckle was not a rejection. The time line, if he had made it to USAAC, may well have put him to P.I. or H.I. by 1940-41.

 

[cwebster4]

For a thorough description check out Rebecca Cameron's book. It was also published as a government report, in full, and is therefore available as a free PDF if you look around. Note that it is only Army and AAF — Navy training is not mentioned anywhere!

Training to Fly: Military Flight Training, 1907 - 1945

View attachment 828748
By Rebecca Cameron
692 pages
"Training to Fly: Military Flight Training, 1907-1945," is an institutional history of flight training by the predecessor organizations of the United States Air Force. The U.S. Army purchased its first airplane, built and successfully flown by Orville and Wilbur Wright, in 1909, and placed both lighter- and heavier-than-air aeronautics in the

Thank you for this information. I was happy to locate a copy of the book and will await its arrival. I'm sure this book will provide answers to all my questions.

Charlie