At the beginning of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

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 The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts esta ...

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.

Locations

Seven schools were opened. These were: *1 BFTS at

Terrell Municipal Airport Terrell Municipal Airport is a public access airport located within the city limits of Terrell, Texas, 1 mile SE of central Terrell. The airport has services for commercial and private aviation. Aircraft operations, including local general avia ...

Terrell Terrell, Terell, Terrel, or Terrelle may refer to: Places United States *Terrell, Georgia, unincorporated community *Terrell, North Carolina, unincorporated community in Catawba County, North Carolina, United States *Terrell, Texas, city in Kau ...

, Texas. 9 June 1941 *2 BFTS Lancaster, California. 9 June 1941 *3 BFTS at

Miami Municipal Airport 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. History The airport opened in December 1937 wit ...

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

Oklahoma 16 June 1941 *4 BFTS at Falcon Field,

Mesa A mesa is an isolated, flat-topped elevation, ridge or hill, which is bounded from all sides by steep escarpments and stands distinctly above a surrounding plain. Mesas characteristically consist of flat-lying soft sedimentary rocks capped by ...

, Arizona. 16 June 1941 *5 BFTS at Riddle Field,

Clewiston Clewiston is a city in Hendry County, Florida, United States. Its location is northwest of Fort Lauderdale on the Atlantic coastal plain. The population was 7,327 at the 2020 census, up from 7,155 at the 2010 census. The estimated population in 2 ...

, Florida. 17 July 1941 *6 BFTS at

Ponca City Regional Airport Ponca City Regional Airport is a city-owned airport two miles northwest of Ponca City, in Kay County, Oklahoma, United States. Scheduled passenger flights on Great Lakes Airlines to Denver and Dodge City ended in August, 2006. The service was s ...

Ponca City Ponca City ( iow, Chína Uhánⁿdhe) is a city in Kay County in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The city was named after the Ponca tribe. Ponca City had a population of 25,387 at the time of the 2010 census- and a population of 24,424 in the 2020 ...

, Oklahoma. 23 August 1941 *7 BFTS 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. May 1942 but closed August 1942

References

{{commonscat, British Flying Training School Program Flight training Aviation schools in the United States