The program to train World War II British pilots was launched in 1941 under the provisions of the Lend-Lease Act.
It is a well-known fact that prior to the United States of America’s official entry into World War II, American volunteer fighter pilots—the famous Eagle Squadrons—made their way over to the United Kingdom to aid Britain’s fight against Nazi Germany, taking to the skies in British-made Spitfire and Hurricane fighter planes. It’s also well-known that once the United States was an official participant in WWII, American bomber and fighter crews used British airbases to take the fight to the industrial heartland of Nazi Germany, prompting the famous British kvetch about Yank GIs being “overpaid, oversexed, and over here.”
What is not so well-known is that prior to the United States officially joining the war effort, America also hosted and trained Britain’s Royal Air Force (RAF) pilots at stateside bases. The National Interest now sheds the spotlight on this story.
How America Trained the British Pilots for War
The inspiration for this article came from an April 21, 2025, piece by guest author Kevin Wilkins for Vintage Aviation News titled “The American Airfields Where British Pilots Learned to Fly.” To wit:
“On Friday [April 18, 2025], we published a press release from the Commemorative Air Force (CAF) announcing a poignant new initiative: ‘Bringing the Boys Back Home’—a tribute to British WWII servicemen buried in the U.S. As part of the 80th anniversary commemorations of the Allied victory in World War II, the CAF is honoring the 423 British airmen who lost their lives while training in the United States. These young men, many of whom are buried in quiet cemeteries across the country, are being remembered and symbolically reunited with their homeland through this heartfelt campaign. The announcement offered us a timely opportunity to look deeper into the history behind the American airfields where these British aviators trained—and sometimes died. Their sacrifice remains etched into the fabric of the communities where they once flew.”
The official name of the training program was the British Flying Training School (BFTS) program, and it was launched in 1941 under the provisions of the Lend-Lease Act, wherein the United States would serve as the “arsenal of democracy” for Great Britain.
Training on the shores of the continental United States enabled RAF trainees to do so far out of the reach of Luftwaffe bombers, thus enabling them to concentrate on honing their aviation skills without worrying about enemy bombing raids.
Where Were the Bases Located?
Officially, a total of six civilian-operated stateside flight schools were chosen to host BFTS; the criteria for the location selection process included reliable weather, open skies, and available aviation infrastructure. The locations included:
- Terrell Municipal Airport – Terrell, Texas (No. 1 BFTS): This was the first and arguably the most notable of the BFTS bunch. It opened in June 1941 and was operated by Brayton Flying Service, ultimately training than 2,200 RAF flying cadets (at least twenty of whom tragically perished in training accidents, for a fatality rate of not quite 1 percent) in craft such as the Stearman PT-17 and North American AT-6 Texan.
- Miami Municipal Airport – Miami, Oklahoma (No. 3 BFTS): Operated by the Spartan School of Aeronautics, with roughly 1,500 British cadets training here between 1941 and 1945. 15 cadets lost their lives here.
- Riddle Field (No. 5 BFTS): This base was located near the Everglades and thus, according to Wilkins, “presented cadets with unique environmental challenges, including frequent storms and swampy terrain.” Operated by the Riddle Aeronautical Institute—now known as the prestigious Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University—the field trained over 1,400 RAF pilots, with an unspecified number of fatalities.
- Mesa, Arizona – Falcon Field (No. 4 BFTS): This one was actually purpose-built by the U.S. government for the RAF’s benefit. It posed a different set of environmental challenges from the Florida swamp, namely desert heat and dust storms, and unsurprisingly, several cadets were killed while flying and during emergency landings. Over 1,500 cadets trained here.
The other two locations were Lancaster, California (presumably what’s now Edwards AFB), and Ponca City, Oklahoma; however, Wilkins doesn’t go into detail about these two.
Unofficially, there was also Avenger Field in Sweetwater, Texas, which played a role in the training of the RAF’s Women’s Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF), as it was conveniently also the training base for the WAAF’s Yank counterparts, the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP).
All in all, over eighty British and Commonwealth military aviation aspirants lost their lives at the BFTS bases. However, as Wilkins notes, “Despite these challenges, enduring bonds were formed between the British cadets and their American hosts. Some returned after the war to marry local sweethearts and start new lives in the U.S.”
What Has Happened to Those Bases Today?
Meanwhile, there is the National WASP WWII Museum in Sweetwater; however, I couldn’t find any WAAF references on that Museum’s search engine.
About the Author: Christian D. Orr
Christian D. Orr was previously a Senior Defense Editor for National Security Journal (NSJ) and 19FortyFive. He is a former Air Force Security Forces officer, Federal law enforcement officer, and private military contractor (with assignments worked in Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, Kosovo, Japan, Germany, and the Pentagon). Chris holds a B.A. in International Relations from the University of Southern California (USC) and an M.A. in Intelligence Studies (concentration in Terrorism Studies) from American Military University (AMU). He has also been published in The Daily Torch, The Journal of Intelligence and Cyber Security, and Simple Flying. Last but not least, he is a Companion of the Order of the Naval Order of the United States (NOUS). If you’d like to pick his brain further, you can ofttimes find him at the Old Virginia Tobacco Company (OVTC) lounge in Manassas, Virginia, partaking of fine stogies and good quality human camaraderie.
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