No. 12 Elementary Flying Training School (No. 12 EFTS) was a

Royal Australian Air Force "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = RAAF Anniversary Commemoration ...

(RAAF) pilot training unit of

World War II 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 ...

. It was established in October 1941 at

Bundaberg Airport Bundaberg Airport is a regional airport serving Bundaberg, a city in the Australian state of Queensland. It is located southwest of the city centre, on North Childers Road and Takalvan Street. The airport is owned and operated by the Bundabe ...

and provided introductory flying training for new RAAF pilots. The school relocated to Lowood Airfield on 12 January 1942. Due to arrival of the

United States Army Air Corp The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) was the aerial warfare service component of the United States Army between 1926 and 1941. After World War I, as early aviation became an increasingly important part of modern warfare, a philosophical r ...

at Lowood in March, the aircraft, staff and trainees were allocated to other units, and No. 12 EFTS was disbanded in April.

History

As part of Australia's commitment to the

Empire Air Training Scheme The British Commonwealth Air Training Plan (BCATP), or Empire Air Training Scheme (EATS) often referred to as simply "The Plan", was a massive, joint military aircrew training program created by the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New Zea ...

, the RAAF established twelve elementary flying training schools in 1940 and 1941. The role of these units was to provide a twelve-week-long introductory flying training course to new pilots who had graduated from one of the RAAF's initial training schools. The flying training was undertaken in two stages; the first involved four weeks of instruction (including ten hours of flying) which were used to determine trainees' suitability to become pilots. Those that passed this grading process then received a further eight weeks of training (including 65 hours of flying) at the elementary training school. Pilots who successfully completed this course were posted to a service flying training school in either Australia or Canada for the next stage of their instruction as military aviators.Stephens (2006), pp. 68–70 No. 12 Elementary Flying Training School (No. 12 EFTS) was established at Bundaberg Airport on 16 October 1940.RAAF Historical Section (1995), p. 35 This aerodrome pre-dated the war, and had been used as a civilian airport since 1931. No. 12 EFTS relocated to Lowood Aerodrome on 12 January 1942. Due to arrival of the United States Army Air Corp at Lowood in March, the aircraft, staff and trainees were allocated between No. 8 and No. 10 Elementary Flying Training Schools. The school was disbanded on 18 April 1942.

References

;Notes ;Bibliography * * {{coord missing, Australia 12 Military units and formations established in 1941 Military units and formations disestablished in 1942