RFC Training: Where & How Long?

Although I was able to find some references to what type of training flyers were given, I couldn't find out how long observor or pilot training was (in 1917/18). I'm sure it varied from plane to plane. Where in England were the major training facilities for the RFC? Didn't some RFC students train in France?

Chris

Hi,Chris.I have photocopies of some records relating to 'Laddie'Roy and what happened to him must have been fairly typical.The only problem is,some of the squiggles in his personal record are almost illegible(and I thought clerks those days were supposed to have good handwriting!).4.4.17,place that SEEMS to read S.Flors.16.4.17,66CB(dont know what CB stands for) Oxford.14.5.17,26CB Winchester.18.5.17,SMA(?) Oxford.10.7.17,SF Inst(school of flg instr?)Vendome(France?).2.8.17,SF Inst TB(Turnberry?).2.8.17,CFS Upavon.26.10.17,A.Gen Turnberry.27.10.17,EF(Exp.Force)56 Sqn.He had flown,by the time he joined 56 Sqn.,(Again,I quote)Caudron,Curtiss,Avro,BE2b,Morane Biplane,Sopw Scout,FE8d.He seems to have done most of his flying at CFS Upavon.Grateful if any of you guys there could help me decipher some of the squiggles I have quoted.I hope this is of some use to you,Chris.Cheers.Mukund.

I have materials in my files covering this information (I was working on a book about the day-to-day activities of Great War pilots until my editor got fired), so let me look for them and get back to you.

In the meantime, with reference to Mukund's response, I can tell you that Oxford was the main ground school at which RFC trainees did their book-learning before joining a training squadron. (RFC ground school was mostly rote learning, and of little practical value.) RFC trainees automatically reverted to cadet status upon arrival at Oxford (marked by a white cap band), so CB might just stand for Cadet Branch, though that's a wild guess. CFS Upavon is Central Flying School, which is where a student would have gone for advanced training (or, if I remember correctly, to learn to be an instructor). I'm not sure what's meant by the French place names, since to my knowledge all RFC training was done in the UK (or Canada or Egypt).

The other thing you have to consider is when in 1917 your character is doing his training. The RFC substantially overhauled its training regime in mid-1917 in an attempt to lower the alarming casualty figures training was producing.

(I'm impressed with Mr. Roy's list of aircraft. I had no idea the RFC was using Morane BBs and FE-8s for training.)

Thanks for the input on what CB possibly means,Michael.Regards.Mukund.

[Barrett]

Interesting subject. Anybody have reliable info on how many hours RFC/RAF pilots flew before getting their wings and/or reaching their squadrons? Undoubtedly the figure improved from 1915-1918.

Hi,Barret.The 56 Sqn Particulars of Officers list says that David Jordan Reason had 43h52min.,Hugh Stanley Heley Read had 53h30min.,and Laddie Roy had 63h10min.I don't know the date of these entries,but it is alphabetical,so I'm ASSUMING that these pilots had these number of hours when they joined the sqn(40-60 hours seems to be the drill...PPL standard!!).Thereafter,they seem to have spent at least a month doing local flying before being sent out over the lines(another 30-40 hours?)Regards.Mukund.

Mukund's figures suggest to me pilots who trained in later 1917. Earlier in the war, RFC/RNAS cadets soloed after as few as three hours' dual instruction, and went to the front with from 10-20 hours solo time. I'm aware of at least one Canadian whose first dual trip had to be done virtually at gunpoint -- he'd signed up for a Florida "flying school" run by a con man, whose "chief instructor" had never flown before. It was only when the assembled pupils threatened the man with violence that he agreed to take the first of them up. And since the "instructor" didn't in fact know the first thing about flying, he wrecked the machine (probably deliberately) while taxiing.

Yes,Michael,we're talking about October'17.Earlier,pilots went over the lines with even less experience.However,on balance,we must also remember that conditions over the lines were far more challenging in end-'17/early-'18 than they had been in '15 or '16.Be that as it may,greater experience ensured that you survived longer,other things being equal(flying instructors with no previous combat experience,for example)Regards.Mukund.