The 36th Flying Training Wing was a wing of the

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

. It was last assigned to the

Western Flying Training Command Flying Division, Air Training Command, was a training formation of the United States Air Force. The unit was established in 1926 as the Air Corps Training Center to be the primary pilot training center for the Air Corps. It was reorganized int ...

, and was disbanded on 1 November 1945 at

Santa Ana Army Air Base 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, alth ...

, California. The wing directed flying training units of the

Army Air Forces Training Command The United States Army Air Forces during World War II 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 Corp ...

. Headquartered at

Victorville Army Airfield Victorville is a city in Victor Valley in San Bernardino County, California. Its population as of the 2020 census was 134,810. History In 1858, Aaron G. Lane came to what is now known as Victorville and founded a waystation called "Lane's Cr ...

, California for most of its operational service, it controlled contract pilot schools primarily in California and other western states. There is no lineage between the current United States Air Force

36th Wing The United States Air Force's 36th Wing is the host wing for Andersen Air Force Base, Guam. It is part of Pacific Air Forces' Eleventh Air Force. The 36th Wing provides day-to-day mission support to more than 9,000 military, civilian, depe ...

, established on 17 June 1948 at

Howard Field Howard is an English-language given name originating from Old French Huard (or Houard) from a Germanic source similar to Old High German ''*Hugihard'' "heart-brave", or ''*Hoh-ward'', literally "high defender; chief guardian". It is also probabl ...

, Canal Zone, and this organization.

History

Until 1939, the Army Air Corps provided all flying training with military instructor pilots. Beginning in 1939, it contracted with nine civilian flying schools to provide primary flight training. Primary training consisted of a three-month course of 65 hours of flying instruction. As the United States prepared to enter World War II by expanding its number of flying squadrons, the number of contract primary schools increased.Manning, Thomas A. (2005), ''History of Air Education and Training Command, 1942–2002''. Office of History and Research, Headquarters, AETC, Randolph AFB, Texas According to the contract, the government supplied students with training aircraft, flying clothes, textbooks, and equipment. The Air Corps also put a detachment at each school to supervise training. The 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. The Primary Pilot Training used Boeing PT-17 or

Fairchild PT-19 The Fairchild PT-19 (company designation Fairchild M62) is an American monoplane primary trainer aircraft that served with the United States Army Air Forces, RAF and RCAF during World War II. Designed by Fairchild Aircraft, it was a contemp ...

two-seater single-engine training aircraft. Also, the wing controlled specialized schools for Liaison Pilots using the Stinson

L-5 Grasshopper The Stinson L-5 Sentinel is a World War II-era liaison aircraft used by the United States Army Air Forces, U.S. Army Ground Forces, U.S. Marine Corps and the British Royal Air Force. It was produced by the Stinson Aircraft Company, Stinson Divi ...

, and

Women Airforce Service Pilots The Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) (also Women's Army Service Pilots or Women's Auxiliary Service Pilots) was a civilian women pilots' organization, whose members were United States federal civil service employees. Members of WASP became t ...

(WASP) primary training was conducted exclusively at

Avenger Field 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. Facilities Avenger Field covers 896 acres (363 ...

, Sweetwater, Texas. Following the

fall of France The Battle of France (french: bataille de France) (10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Western Campaign ('), the French Campaign (german: Frankreichfeldzug, ) and the Fall of France, was the German invasion of France during the Second World ...

in 1940, the Air Corps upped its pilot production goal to 7,000 per year. To meet that goal, the Air Corps increased the capacity of its schools and added more contract primary schools. The contract primary pilot schools ended their operations in October 1945.

Lineage

* Established as 36th Flying Training Wing on 17 December 1942. : Activated on 8 January 1943 : Disbanded on 1 November 194536th Flying Training Wing, lineage and history document Air Force Historical Agency, Maxwell AFB, Alabama

Assignments

* Army Air Forces West Coast Training (later, AAF Western Flying Training) Command, 8 January 1943 – 1 November 1945.

Stations

, California, 8 January 1945 *

, California, 21 December 1943 – 1 November 1945.

Training aircraft

The primary aircraft used were

Boeing-Stearman PT-17 The Stearman (Boeing) Model 75 is a biplane formerly used as a military trainer aircraft, of which at least 10,626 were built in the United States during the 1930s and 1940s. Stearman Aircraft became a subsidiary of Boeing in 1934. Widely known ...

and

twin-seat, single engine trainers. However other aircraft were used at several schools. Those were:. * Boeing-Stearman PT-13 * Boeing-Stearman PT-18 *

Ryan PT-22 The Ryan PT-22 Recruit, the main military version of the Ryan ST, is a military trainer aircraft used by the United States Army Air Corps during WWII for primary pilot training. Design and development The PT-22's fuselage is a simple monoco ...

Boeing-Stearman PT-27 The Stearman (Boeing) Model 75 is a biplane formerly used as a military trainer aircraft, of which at least 10,626 were built in the United States during the 1930s and 1940s. Stearman Aircraft became a subsidiary of Boeing in 1934. Widely known ...

The PT-13, PT-18 and PT-27s were the basic Boeing-Stearman with different engines than the PT-17, with varying horsepower ratings. The PT-19 also could have the student pilot covered with a hood for "Blind" instrument flying training. Due to the proximity of Ryan Aircraft Company in San Diego, it's PT-22 trainer was also purchased and provided to several schools in California

Assigned schools

; Falcon Field, Mesa, Arizona : AAF Contract Pilot School (Primary) : 15th Flying Training Detachment : Opened: June 1941, Closed: May 1945 (PT-17)Shaw, Frederick J. (2004), Locating Air Force Base Sites History's Legacy, Air Force History and Museums Program, United States Air Force, Washington DC, 2004. : Operated by: undetermined contractor; provided RAF Training ;

Gary Field W. R. Byron Airport is a privately owned, private use airport in Riverside County, California, United States. It is located four nautical miles (5 mi, 7 km) northwest of the central business district of Blythe, California, with ...

, Riverside, California : AAF Contract Pilot School (Primary) : 10th Flying Training Detachment : Opened: June 1942, Closed: August 1944 (PT-17, PT-19) : Operated by: Morton Mfg. Company/Morton Air Academy, Blythe, California; had two auxiliary airfields ;

Indian Springs Airport Creech Air Force Base is a United States Air Force (USAF) command and control facility in Clark County, Nevada used "to engage in daily Overseas Contingency Operations …of remotely piloted aircraft systems which fly missions across the globe." ...

, Nevada : AAF Flexible Gunnery School : Opened 14 January 1942, Closed 1945. No Aircraft assigned ;

Kingman Army Airfield Kingman may refer to one of the following: Places * Kingman Reef in the northern Pacific Ocean, United States In the United States: * Kingman, Arizona * Kingman, Indiana * Kingman, Kansas * Kingman, Maine * Kingman, Ohio * Kingman County, Kan ...

, Arizona : AAF Flexible Gunnery School : Opened: January 1942, Closed: November 1945 (AT-6, AT-11, AT-18, P-39Q) : Operated P-39Q Airacobras as air-to-air gunnery targets ;

Las Vegas Army Airfield Nellis Air Force Base ("Nellis" colloq.) is a United States Air Force installation in southern Nevada. Nellis hosts air combat exercises such as Exercise Red Flag and close air support exercises such as Green Flag-West flown in " Military Ope ...

, Nevada : AAF Flexible Gunnery School : Opened: September 1941, Closed: December 1945 (AT-6, AT-11, B-10) : Reactivated April 1950 as Nellis Air Force Base ;

Lone Pine Airport Lone Pine Airport is a public airport located one mile (1.6 km) southeast of Lone Pine (geographic coordinates N36-35.30; W118-03.12) serving Inyo County, California, United States. The airport has two runways and is mostly used for general ...

, Lone Pine, California : AAF Contract Pilot School (Primary) : Opened: April 1942, Closed: June 1944 (PT-13, PT-27) : Operated by: Lone Pine Academy ;

Ontario Army Airfield Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Cana ...

, Ontario, California : AAF Contract Pilot School (Primary) : 7th Flying Training Detachment : Opened: June 1940, Closed: November 1944 (PT-13, PT-18) : Facility shared with Fourth Air Force; Operated by: undetermined contractor. Contract flying school closed November 1944. Was also used by the USAAF for basic flying training and for P-38 combat training. P-38 training was conducted by 443rd Air Base Unit. ; Oxnard Airfield, Oxnard, California : AAF Contract Pilot School (Primary) : 14th Flying Training Detachment : Opened: September 1940, Closed: June 1944 (PT-17) : Operated by: Mira Loma Flight Academy, Oxnard, California; also used by Fourth Air Force ; Twenty Nine Palms Army Airfield, Twenty-Nine Palms, California : AAF Ground Training Detachment : 17th Flying Training Detachment/6th Glider Training Detachment : Opened: January 1942, Closed: April 1944 (PT-17, PT-27) : Operated by: Twenty-Nine Palms Air Academy; transferred to United States Navy, June 1944 ;

War Eagle Field War Eagle Field is a former airfield located in the Mojave Desert, about west of Lancaster, California. It is currently used as a detention facility. History Polaris Flight Academy, which opened on the field's grounds on July 15, 1941, train ...

, Lancaster, California : AAF Contract Pilot School (Primary) : 14th Flying Training Detachment : Opened: July 1942, Closed: July 1945 (PT-13) : Was USAAF Basic flying school from June 1942 – June 1944; Operated by: Polaris Flight Academy, July 1944 – August 1945 ; Yucca Army Airfield, Arizona : AAF Flexible Gunnery School : Opened December 1941, closed December 1945, no aircraft permanently assigned : Satellite of Kingman Army Airfield

References

{{USAAF Training Bases World War II Training wings of the United States Army Air Forces Military units and formations established in 1942 1942 establishments in the United States Military units and formations disestablished in 1946