Evening star., 1941-05-17
Training Of British
FLYERS in America
Starts Next Month
CWiIion Schools to Give
Preliminary Instruction,
U. S. to Provide Planes
BY the Associated Presk.

BY the Associated Press.
A high War Department official
today disclosed final approval of
plans to train several thousand
British pilots year in the United
States.
The first group will begin receiv-
ing instruction next month. he said,
in civilian flying schools under Army
contract and in advanced training
centers of the United States Army.
In addition, the program pro-
vides that the British will open
some civilian schools of their own
with the United States furnishing
planes and equipment and Britain
paying the instructors.
The student flyers will come here
as civilians rather than as men,
bers of the Royal Air Force. side
stepping possible international COM
plications which might arise from
training foreign military pilots in a
legally neutral country.
Funds for 8 Air Corps Fields.
Meanwhile, air pilot training
school construction was speeded up
today when the War Department
authorized expenditure of an addi-
tional s4,0l4,52l at nine Army Air
Corps flying fields as part of the
30000-pilot training program.
More than one-fourth. 81 .034 ,28O,
was set aside to construct housing
and administration facilities for COL
ored Air Corps troops.
Construction funds will be used at
Stockton, Calf; Taft Flying School,
Taft, Calf: Selma, Ala; Albany,
Ga; Bakersfield. Calf; Barksdale,
La: Ellington Field, Tex; Mont
gomery. Ala, and Las Vegas, New.
American training of British flyers
Is expected not only to relieve the
British of this work. but to clear
their air fields for purely military
operations.
Some Pilots Already Trained.
Some Britons selected to ferry
big bombers across the Atlantic
already have been sent here to re-
ceive special instruction in handling
those ships. Such training, however,
has been given only to a compare
lively small number of men.
An official said the actual num-
ber to be given flying instructions
could not yet be fixed, and he did
not state the size of the initial
group which is scheduled to start
work in the first half of June. How
ever. he said it was certain that in
short time the rate of trained
pilots turned out would be several
thousand a year"
AS outlined by this official the
program falls into two categories:
l. The British are arranging for
several civilian flying schools to give
primary and basic flyer training.
The Army will furnish the equip
ment for these schools under the
Lease-Lend Act and the British will
pay for personal services such as the
time of instructors.
2. The Army will make available a
portion of its expanding facilities,
including private flying schools un-
der Army contract and also Army
| advanced training schools.
Six Schools Proposed.
Advanced training will be given
the Britons at Maxwell Field, Ala
bama; Moffett Field, California, and
Randolph Field, Texas.
While Army authorities did not
say where the British schools would
be established, it was understood in
other quarters that a total of six
schools would be organized in the
following States: California, Flor
ida, Texas, Oklahoma and Georgia.
Exact locations were not known.
British flyers, like Americans now
in training, will require about %
weeks to finish the three grades of
fight schooling. Then they will go
back to England for several months
OF operational training before join
ing the r. A. r. combat units.