31st Flying Training Wing (World War II)

31st Flying Training Wing
Locations of airfields controlled by the 31st Flying Training Wing
Active	1942–1945
Country	United States
Branch	United States Army Air Forces
Type	Command and Control
Role	Training
Part of	Army Air Forces Training Command
Engagements	World War II World War II American Theater
Commanders
Notable commanders	BG Warren R. Carter, 16 January 1943 BG T.W. Blackburn, 26 April 1943 Col Henry W. Door, 10 April 1944 BG Aubry Hornsby, 22 May 1944 Col James F. Powell, 15 June 1944 Col Walter S. Lee, 31 July 1944 BG Charles T. Myers, c. Nov 1944 (Additional Duty) Col Walter S. Lee, 16 December 1944 BG John F. Egan, 4 January 1945 Col Hilbert M. Wittkop, 23 Apr-31 Oct 1945 Unknown through 30 December 1945.

The 31st Flying Training Wing is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the Central Flying Training Command, and was disbanded on 30 December 1945 at Fort Worth Army Airfield, Texas.

There is no lineage between the current United States Air Force 31st Fighter Wing, established on 6 November 1947 at Turner Army Airfield, Georgia, and this organization.

The squadron was a World War II Command and Control unit, its mission to flying training units of the Army Air Forces Training Command. Headquartered at Enid Army Airfield, Oklahoma for most of its operational service, it controlled contract pilot schools primarily in the Central United States.

History[]

Until 1939, the Army Air Corps provided all flying training with military instructor pilots. Beginning in 1939, it contracted with nine civilian flying schools to provide primary flight training. Primary training consisted of a three-month course of 65 hours of flying instruction. As the United States prepared to enter World War II by expanding its number of flying squadrons, the number of contract primary schools increased.^[1]

According to the contract, the government supplied students with training aircraft, flying clothes, textbooks, and equipment. The Air Corps also put a detachment at each school to supervise training. The schools furnished instructors, training sites and facilities, aircraft maintenance, quarters, and mess halls. From the Air Corps, schools received a flat fee of $1,170 for each graduate and $18 per flying hour for students eliminated from training. The Primary Pilot Training used Boeing PT-17 or Fairchild PT-19 two-seater single-engine training aircraft. Also, the wing controlled specialized schools for Liaison Pilots using the Stinson L-5 Grasshopper, and Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) primary training was conducted exclusively at Avenger Field, Sweetwater, Texas.^[1]

Following the fall of France in 1940, the Air Corps upped its pilot production goal to 7,000 per year. To meet that goal, the Air Corps increased the capacity of its schools and added more contract primary schools.^[1]

The vast majority of contract primary pilot training ended in the spring of 1944 as part of the rundown of Army pilot training. The ones remaining open ended their operations in October 1945.^[1]

Lineage[]

• Established as 31st Flying Training Wing on 17 December 1942

Activated on 16 January 1943

Disbanded on 30 December 1945^[2]

Assignments[]

• Army Air Forces Gulf Coast Training (later, AAF Central Flying Training) Command, 16 January 1943 – 30 December 1945^[2]

Stations[]

• Chickasha, Oklahoma trained 8,000 troops at the Wilson and Bonfis Flying School that opened in October 1941, after the war it became Chickasha Municipal Airport.
• Enid Army Airfield, Oklahoma, 16 January 1943
• Fort Worth Army Airfield, Texas, 31 May-30 December 1945^[2]

Training aircraft[]

CPS Primary Trainers were primarily PT-17 Stearman biplanes and Fairchild PT-19s monoplanes, although a wide variety of other types could be found at the airfields. The Fairchild PT-19 aircraft also could have the student pilot covered with a hood for "Blind" instrument flying training.^[1]

Glider pilot schools used Aeronca TG-5As, Taylorcraft TG-6As, and Piper TG-8As unpowered glider conversions of powered light observation aircraft which had similar characteristics to the military gliders under development.^[3]

Contract Pilot Schools[]

^[2][25]

Contract Glider Pilot Schools[]

See also[]

• Army Air Forces Training Command
• Other Training Command Primary Flight Training Wings:

29th Flying Training Wing (World War II) Primary flight training wing for AAF Eastern Flying Training Command

36th Flying Training Wing (World War II) Primary flight training wing for AAF Western Flying Training Command

• Other Central Flying Training Command Flight Training Wings:

32d Flying Training Wing (World War II) Basic Flight Training

33d Flying Training Wing (World War II) Advanced Flight Training, Two Engine

34th Flying Training Wing (World War II) Bombardier and Specialized Two/Four-Engine Training

77th Flying Training Wing (World War II) Advanced Flight Training, Single Engine

78th Flying Training Wing (World War II) Classification/Preflight Unit

80th Flying Training Wing (World War II) Navigation and Glider

References[]

 This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency website http://www.afhra.af.mil/.