News Letter 1941 Jul-Dec - Air Force Historical Studies Office

ENLISTED PILOTS BEGIN TRAINING
Gulf Coast Training Center Gets First Students
IN AUGUST
The first full class of enlisted flying
Itudents in the history of the Army Air
forces will begin flight training next month
under the superVision of the Gulf Coast Air
Oorps Training Center.
Two hundred students. all of whom will be
detailed from the ranks of the Army and many
of whom are expected to be enlisted men of
the Army Air Torces. will start learning to
fly August 23. The name of the school to
which they will be assigned has not been
announced.
Another 200 tentatively are scheduled to
begin training October 4 and a third class,
also of 200 men. will get underw~ about
December 8. For the time being. at least.
the enlisted students will get their elementary
training at the same schools now
training aviation cadets.
Letters Sent To Cadet Applicants
Most of the students in the first class
probably will be men who previously had erpplied
for appointments as aviation cadet ••
but who had .to be turned down because they
couldn't meet the educational (two years of
college or its equivalent) requirement for
men training to become pilot officers. Letters
went out this week to all such men,
advising them that they probably are eligible
for training as enlisted pilots.
Until the Air Corps has had time to set
up replacement centers for the preliminary
training of enlisted students--probably at
Maxwell, Kelly and Moffett Fields--applicants
from civil life will not be enlisted
for assignment to training centers. In any
event. it is believed that there are hundreds
of qualified men already in the service--enough
to fill up the first few classes.
at least.
Use of Pilots Undetermined
Exactly how the enlisted pilots will be
used after they graduate from the flying
schools has not been determined definitely.
Their ultimate duties will depend to a large
extent it is understood. on the Army Air
Forces' experiences with the graduates of
the first few classes. Since the whole idea
of large numbers of enlisted pilots is brandnew.
plans for their assignments probably
will be revised frequently as the Army learns
more about their aptitude for various types
of flying.
Similarly. the nature of the flight training
which they will undergo is subject to
change. and it is very likely that their
course will be revised from time to time--.
at least until the most satisfactory method
has been determined. Members of the first
class will undergo the same course of in-
Itruction as that given cadets. but this is
an experiment and not likely to be repeated.
of the training center. to which the first
enlisted students are assigned have been requested
to p~ particularlY close attention
to their new charges. They also have been
asked to submit their own recommendation.,
on the basis of their initial experiences,
as to the form which future flight courses
for enlisted men will take.
Ferry Duty Anticipated
It is reasonably certain that many of the
enlisted pilots will be assigned to the interesting
task of ferrying new aircraft from
the factories to the squadrons to which the
ships are assigned. Thousands of military
aircraft, from trainers to bombers. thu.s
will be delivered to their units by enlisted
pilots. It is equally likely that enlisted
pilots will be assigned to transport
squadrons, carrying government-furnished
equipment to the factories and freight from
air depot to air depot.
Since all the plans are still very muCh
in the formative stage it 18 not known definitely--or
at least has not been revealed--
to what extent the enlisted pilots will be
used for combat flying. Selected enlisted
pilots probably will be assigned to certain
combat units, it was said this week in
Washington. but whether these units will be
pursuit, bombardment or whatever type waS
not disclosed.
What Kind of Insignia?
Many other minor problems have not been
settled! although most of them probably will
be with n the next few weeks. One point, of
very little seriousness from the military
standpoint but of interest to every potential
enlisted pilot. is that of insignia. Will
enlisted pilots wear 8ilver wing8 on their
left breast. as do all pilots now. or will
they have a special insignia of their own--
possibly wearing embroidered wings on their
upper sleeve, as was done during the fir8t
World War?
All such questions remain to be decided,
or at least made public. Regtl1ation8 for
the training of enlisted pilots have been
drawn up and submitted to the Adjutant General
for approval. They will be outlined
here when approved finally. In the meantime.
applications from enlisted men seeking assignment
as flying students are being held
in abeyance.
---000---
IN A (BUMPY) RUT
Jack Johnson and Charles Evans bumped into
each other regularly and violently as rival
soccer pla,yers in Glasgow" Scotland, They
have buiimed ~ain: Pvt. '"ohn80n ana. Pvt.
Evans collided while m8klng up their bunks
at Lowry Field, Denver.
Johnson a commercial artist 1n civil life
and a resIdent of Montclair, N.J •• and Evans.
Because the results of the first few New York City elevator operator and resident
classes
procedure
will, to a large extent. determine
in 1Ihe future, commanding officers
of
in
Staten Isl~d,
the Forty-Fir8t
found thQm~:!~es together
5Chool 5q on.
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