# List of British Commonwealth Air Training Plan facilities in South Africa

This article contains a list of the facilities of the Joint Air Training Scheme which was a major programme for training South African Air Force, Royal Air Force and Allied air crews during World War II.
An Elementary Flying Training School (EFTS) gave a recruit 50 hours of basic aviation instruction on a simple trainer like the Tiger Moth. Pilots who showed promise went on to training at a Service Flying Training School (STFS). The Service Flying Training School provided advanced training for pilots, including fighter and multi-engined aircraft. Other trainees went on to different specialties, such as wireless, navigation or bombing and gunnery. In South Africa, the Elementary Flying Training School and Service Flying Training School were renamed Air Schools.

## Training schools

| Air School | Base | Major types of aircraft | Training | Established | Opened | Disbanded | Motto | Unit publication | Comment |
| 1 Air School | Baragwanath | Tiger Moth | Elementary flying | 11 Nov 1940 (ex 1 EFTS) | 30 Apr 1944 | 29 Feb 1944 | ”Start Well, Finish Well" | | |
| 2 Air School | Randfontein | Tiger Moth | Elementary flying | 11 Nov 1940 (ex 2 EFTS) | | 2 Oct 1944 | ”Knowledge is Light" | | |
| 3 Air School | Wonderboom | Tiger Moth | Elementary flying | 11 Nov 1940 (ex 3 EFTS) | 16 Feb 1941 | 25 Sep 1944 | ”Tertius Primus Erit" | | |
| 4 Air School | Benoni | Tiger Moth | Elementary flying | 11 Nov 1940 (ex 4 EFTS) | 1 Sep 1941 | 24 Jun 1945 | ”Vier sal eerste wees" | ”Big Ben" | |
| 5 Air School | Witbank | Tiger Moth | Elementary flying | 11 Nov 1940 (ex 5 EFTS) | 13 Oct 1941 | 15 Dec 1944 | ”Wings for Victory" | ”Tiger Rag" | |
| 6 Air School | Potchefstroom | Tiger Moth | Elementary flying | 11 Nov 1940 (ex 6 EFTS) | 4 Aug 1941 | 6 Aug 1946 | ”Eendrag en Vryheid" | ”Hotchpotch" | |
| 7 Air School | Kroonstad | Tiger Moth | Elementary flying | 22 Dec 1941 | Jul 1942 | 16 Jan 1945 | ”Nil Sine Labore" | ”The Dust Sheet | Buildings taken over by SA Army |
| 21 Air School | Kimberley | Hind, Hart, Oxford | Service flying | 11 Nov 1940 | 30 Apr 1941 | 1 Feb 1945 | ”Pro Patria" | ”21" | Now Kimberley Airport |
| 22 Air School | Vereeniging | Hind, Hart | Service flying | 11 Nov 1940 (ex 2 SFTS) | | | ”Ad Unum Ad Astra" | ”Clamp" | |
| 23 Air School | Zwartkop Air Station | Hind, Hart | Service flying | 11 Nov 1940 (ex 3 SFTS) | | | ”Superna Petimus" | ”Tale-Spin" | |
| 24 Air School | Nigel (Dunnottar) | Master, Oxford, Harvard,Hart | Service flying | 11 Nov 1940 | 29 Jul 1941 | 03 Sep 1946 | ”Per Artem Ad Astra" | | Now Dunnottar Military Base. (-26.347741, 28.459463) |
| 25 Air School | Standerton | Hind, Hart, Master, Harvard | Service flying | 11 Nov 1940 (ex 5 SFTS) | | | ”Ex Unite Ad Victoria" | | |
| 26 Air School | Pietersburg | Hind, Hart | Service flying | 11 Nov 1940 | | | ”Nemo Mortalium Omnibus Hors Sarit" | | |
| 27 Air School | Bloemspruit | Hind, Hart | Service flying | 11 Nov 1940 | | | ”Finis Coronat Opus" | | Now AFB Bloemspruit/Bloemfontein Airport |
| 41 Air School | Collondale, East London | Hart variants, Battle, Northrop Nomad, Oxford, Anson | Service flying, Bombing & gunnery | | | | | | Now East London Airport |
| 42 Air School | Port Elizabeth | Battle, Northrop Nomad, Oxford, Anson, Harvard | Service flying | | | | | | Located on the south side of Port Elizabeth Airport. Part preserved as SAAF museum branch, remainder used by Army |
| 43 Air School | Port Alfred | Oxford, Anson, Harvard | Service flying | | | | | | Still in use for civil flying training as 43 Air School |
| 44 Air School | Grahamstown | Oxford, Anson, Battle | Navigation & bombing | 11 Nov 1940 | 12 Jan 1942 | | "All for the Same Cause" | | Taken over by SA Army, now 6 SA Inf Bn |
| 45 Air School | Oudtshoorn | Oxford, Anson, Battle | Air Observer (Type B) | 11 Nov 1940 | | 20 Aug 1945 | "Primus Inter Pares" | "Sprog" | Civil airfield & SA Army |
| 47 Air School | Queenstown | Anson, Oxford | Air Observer (Type B) | 11 Nov 1940 (ex 7 AONS) | 30 Apr 1941 | 7 Apr 1945 | | "The Signal" | Civil airfield & SA Army |
| 48 Air School | Woodbrook, East London | Tiger Moth, Tutor | Elementary navigation | 14 July 1942 | 1 Sep 1942 | 1 May 1945 | "Sic itur ad astra" and "Bobaas" | "B.O.N." | Now industrial area and Army base |
| 61 Air School | George | Anson | General Reconnaissance | 11 Nov 1940 (ex 1 S of GR) | 30 Apr 1941 | 14 Jun 1945 | | "Duff Gen" | Civil airfield until replaced by George Airport |
| 62 Air School | Tempe, Bloemfontein | All types | Flying Instructor Training | 11 Nov 1940 (ex CFS) | | 19/24 Feb 1945 | "Facta Nostra Vivent" | | |
| 63 Air School | Tempe, Bloemfontein | | Ground Instruction | 11 Nov 1940 | | Jan 1941 | | Absorbed into 75 Air School Lyttelton |
| 64 Air School | Tempe, Bloemfontein | Dominie, Anson | Electrical & Wireless Operator | | 5 Feb 1941 | 20 Dec 1945 | "Ut Servient Discimus" | "Sparks" | |
| 65 Air School | Youngsfield, Cape Town | Oxford, Anson, Wapiti | Air Armament | 11 Nov 1940 | 30 Apr 1941 | 13 Apr 1944 | | | Resurrected 1 Jun 1944 – 10 Sep 1945 |
| 66 Air School | Youngsfield, Cape Town | Anson, Valentia, Harvard Oxford | Navigation & bombing | 11 Nov 1940 | 30 Apr 1941 | 1 Apr 1945 | | | Became SA Army base. Latterly used to house refugees from xenophobic violence. |
| 67 Air School | Zwartkop Air Station | DH Dragon, Envoy | Photography & Photographic Training | 11 Nov 1940 | | | | | Currently SAAF AFB Swartkop |
| 68 Air School | Voortrekkerhoogte | | Technical Training | 11 Nov 1940 (1 STT) | | 1 Oct 1962 | | | Currently an SAAF base |
| 69 Air School | Germiston | | Technical Training (Airframes & Engines) | 11 Nov 1940 (ex 2 STT) | | Dec 1944 | | | Absorbed into 68 Air School |
| 70 Air School | Alexanderfontein, Kimberley | | Technical Training | 11 Nov 1940 (ex 3 STT) | | Sep 1943 | | | |
| 71 Air School | Milner Park, Johannesburg | | Basic Workshop Training | 11 Nov 1940 (ex 1 Basic Training Centre) | | 1 Feb 1945 | | "The Fledgling" | Now part of University of Witwatersrand campus |
| 72 Air School | St George's Park Port Elizabeth | | WAAF Basic Training | 11 Nov 1940 (ex 2 Basic Training Centre) | | | | | Situated at Park Lane junction with Park Drive, the last remaining bungalow from camp, which was home to Sea Scouts Group, has now been demolished. |
| 73 Air School | Wonderboom, Pretoria | | WAAF Technical Training | 11 Nov 1940 (ex 3 Basic Training Centre) | | | | | |
| 75 Air School | Lyttelton, Pretoria | | | | | | | | |
| 77 Air School | Pretoria | | WAAF Basic Training | 15 Jul 1942 (ex WAAF Basic Training Centre) | | 30 Jan 1943 | | | |
| 100 Air School | Voortrekkerhoogte | Regimental training | | | | | | | |
| 11 Operational Training Unit | St Albans, Port Elizabeth | Kittyhawk, Hurricane | Fighter Operational Training | 1 July 1943 | | September 1945 | "Learn and Live" | "Tale-Spin" (ex 23 Air School) | |
| 29 Operational Training Unit | Nigel | Ventura, Lodestar, Oxford, Anson | Twin engine Conversion | | July 1943 | June 1944 | | | |
| 4 Wing | Quaggaspoort | Grunau Baby, Slingsby Kirby Cadet, Minimoa | Gliding Training | 1940 | | 1943 | | | Gliding field after the war. Later became SA Police Dog School |
| Air School 27 Squadron SAAF | Fisantekraal | Lockheed Ventura | Advanced flying | 1943 | | 1951 relocated AFB Ysterplaat | | | airfield sold in 1960 to Durbanville municipality, since 1993 in private hands with two flight schools |

## Training aircraft

The JATS used the following types of aircraft for training:
* Airspeed AS.10 Oxford I & II
* Avro 621 Tutor
* Avro 652a Anson
* Curtiss P.40E/N Kittyhawk I, III & IV
* DH 82a Tiger Moth
* DH.89a Dominie
* Fairey Battle
* Hawker Hart (variants)
* Hawker Hurricane IIb & IIc
* Lockheed L.37 Ventura I and II
* Miles M.19 Master II
* North American Harvard I, IIa and III
* Northrop 8-A5 Nomad I
Minor aircraft types used in any significant numbers included the Curtiss H-75A-4 Mohawk IV, Hawker Hartbees, Hawker Fury, Martin167F Maryland and Westland Wapiti.

## Glossary

* AFB — Air Force Base
* CFS — Central Flying School
* EFTS – Elementary Flying Training School
* SAAF — South African Air Force
* SFTS – Service Flying Training School
* WAAF —Women's Auxiliary Air Force