No. 7 Service Flying Training School (No. 7 SFTS) was a flying training school of the

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

(RAAF) during World War II. It was formed in June 1941, and commenced flying the following month. Responsible for intermediate and advanced instruction of pilots under the Empire Air Training Scheme (EATS), the school was based at RAAF Station Deniliquin, New South Wales, and operated CAC Wirraway single-engined trainers. The Wirraways were classed as reserve aircraft for Australia's defence in response to the outbreak of the

Pacific War The Pacific War, sometimes called the Asia–Pacific War, was the theater of World War II that was fought in Asia, the Pacific Ocean, the Indian Ocean, and Oceania. It was geographically the largest theater of the war, including the vast ...

in December 1941. Having graduated over 2,000 pilots, the school was renamed the Advanced Flying and Refresher Unit (AFRU) in December 1944. AFRU was disbanded in May 1946.

History

RAAF aircrew training expanded dramatically following the outbreak of World War II, in response to Australia's participation in the Empire Air Training Scheme (EATS). The Air Force's pre-war flight training facility, No. 1 Flying Training School at RAAF Station Point Cook, Victoria, was supplanted in 1940–41 by twelve Elementary Flying Training Schools (EFTS), eight Service Flying Training Schools (SFTS), and Central Flying School (CFS).Stephens, ''The Royal Australian Air Force'', pp. 67–70 While CFS turned out new flight instructors, the EFTS provided basic training to prospective pilots who, if successful, would go on to an SFTS for further instruction that focussed on operational (or "service") flying. The course at SFTS typically consisted of two streams, intermediate and advanced, and included such techniques as instrument flying, night flying, advanced aerobatics, formation flying, dive bombing, and aerial gunnery.Gillison
''Royal Australian Air Force 1939–1942'', p. 109
/ref> The total duration of training varied during the war as demand for aircrew rose and fell. Initially running for 16 weeks, the course was cut to 10 weeks (which included 75 hours flying time) in October 1940. A year later it was raised to 12 weeks (including 100 hours flying time), and again to 16 weeks two months later. It continued to increase after this, peaking at 28 weeks in June 1944. No. 7 Service Flying Training School (No. 7 SFTS) was formed at RAAF Station Deniliquin, New South Wales, on 30 June 1941, and came under the control of

Southern Area Command Southern Area Command was one of several geographically based commands raised by the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) during . It was formed in March 1940, and initially controlled units located in Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia and so ...

.RAAF Historical Section, ''Units of the Royal Australian Air Force'', p. 111 Its inaugural commanding officer was Wing Commander S.A.C. Campbell. Deniliquin was a new air base, and its facilities were still under construction when the first course of instruction commenced with 50 students flying CAC Wirraways on 28 July. As was typical for a service flying school, No. 7 SFTS suffered several accidents, resulting from pilot error, mechanical faults, fuel exhaustion, and collisions on the ground and in the air. At least 29 instructors and students were killed during training.A different war: Australians in Bomber Command
at

Australian War Memorial The Australian War Memorial is Australia's national memorial to the members of its armed forces and supporting organisations who have died or participated in wars involving the Commonwealth of Australia and some conflicts involving pe ...

. Retrieved on 26 May 2012. Following the outbreak of the

in December 1941, the Wirraways at Deniliquin were classified as second-line (reserve) aircraft in the defence of Australia. In April 1942, the RAAF Air Board rationalised EATS facilities in southern New South Wales, disbanding No. 2 Service Flying Training School at RAAF Station Forest Hill, near Wagga Wagga, and dividing its staff and aircraft between No. 7 SFTS and No. 5 Service Flying Training School at RAAF Station Uranquinty. No. 7 SFTS's final course of instruction commenced on 29 August 1944. On 16 December, by which time it had graduated 2,206 pilots, the school was re-formed as the Advanced Flying and Refresher Unit (AFRU). AFRU itself disbanded on 1 May 1946. Deniliquin was the final destination of various RAAF units returning from the Pacific War for disbandment, including No. 80 Squadron in July 1946, and Nos. 22 and 30 Squadrons the following month.Eather, ''Flying Squadrons of the Australian Defence Force'', pp. 64–65

Notes

References

* * * * * {{Cite book, last=Stephens, first=Alan, origyear=2001, year=2006, title=The Royal Australian Air Force: A History, location=London, publisher= Oxford University Press, isbn=0-19-555541-4 7 Military units and formations established in 1941 Military units and formations disestablished in 1946 1946 disestablishments in Australia