On 1st July 1940, the Secretary of State for Air, Sir Archibald Sinclair, Bt, issued a War Cabinet memorandum, titled, Royal Air Force Training, and aside from the aforementioned changes in the existing training establishment, he went on to
set down the future requirements,
“The increases in aircraft deliveries which we may expect, make it essential that steps should be taken immediately to expand the training organisation. But training in this country will become increasingly difficult and flying space increasingly congested owing to operational requirements and to enemy action. Several aerodromes previously used for training have already had to be surrendered for operational purposes. Others will be taken in the near future or will be rendered unsuitable for training purposes. We have lost the aerodromes which were under preparation for five Service training schools in the Vendôme area in France, and we have had to give up our plans for establishing a similar number of schools in French North Africa. It is clear, therefore, that full use must be made of aerodromes in the Dominions and the Colonies (and if possible also in the United States) which are free from the risk of operational interference and where, as a result of the better weather conditions, a larger number of flying hours can be put in.”
The Air Ministry immediately set about forming new Elementary Flying Schools (EFTS), using existing airfields where possible. These new Schools included No.25 (Polish) EFTS at Peterborough, No.26 EFTS at Theale, No.27 EFTS at Baginton and No.28 EFTS at Wolverhampton. All of these, except for No.27 EFTS, began training in the summer of 1941. Further to this, the ‘Dominion’ aspect was addressed by the creation of six new schools (No.31 to No.36 EFTS) in Canada, and again these began training during 1941.
Preface
By mid-1940, a typical man entering the RAF to train as a pilot could expect to pass through as many as five courses before he joined an operational unit. These included:
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Initial Training Wing. This course involved 10 weeks of ground instruction.
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Elementary Flying Training School (EFTS). At an EFTS, the student would make his first flights, training on either Tiger Moth or Magister. The course lasted 8 weeks in summer or 10 weeks during the winter, when flying weather was less easy to guarantee.
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Service Flying Training School (SFTS). The SFTS undertook two types of courses: for fighter pilots, there was an Intermediate Course, on Master or Harvard aircraft, with a duration of either 8 or 10 weeks, depending on the season. The Advanced Course was for pilots intended for bomber, army co-operation or Coastal Command, and was flown on Anson, Battle or Oxford aircraft. The latter course was again for 8 to 10 weeks, depending on season.
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School of General Reconnaissance. This course was only applicable for Coastal Command pilots.
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Operational Training Unit (OTU). At the OTU, the trainee pilot would finally get to fly the operational type that he would be using at his front-line squadron. The course would generally last between 4 and 6 weeks.
With operational aircrew losses already being felt, in order to increase the output of the training system a number of new Schools were formed. But these would take time to establish, and so in mid-1940, EFTS courses were reduced in duration from 8 to 7 weeks, and a 25% increase in intake made, to safeguard against wastage during training (but retaining existing numbers of instructors and the same flying commitment for each pupil). Further down the training line, all SFTS courses were cut by a similar amount. In addition, specialist schools were set up, with a number of SFTS units now specialising in the training of fighter pilots. Fighter OTU’s in turn reduced course length to just two weeks. By August 1940, with the Battle of Britain raging, the EFTS courses were further reduced to 5 weeks to enable a steady flow of trainees to the SFTS.
(Left) - Location of Clyffe Pypard (red asterisk), in England's West Country, just south of the Cotswolds.