So Far From Home

Royal Air Force and Free French Air Force Flight Training at Maxwell and Gunter Fields during World War II

Nonfiction, History, Military, Aviation
Cover of the book So Far From Home by Robert Kane, NewSouth Books
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Robert Kane ISBN: 9781603063708
Publisher: NewSouth Books Publication: September 1, 2016
Imprint: NewSouth Books Language: English
Author: Robert Kane
ISBN: 9781603063708
Publisher: NewSouth Books
Publication: September 1, 2016
Imprint: NewSouth Books
Language: English

During World War II, the US Army Air Forces (AAF) trained over 21,000 aircrew members from 29 Allied countries. The two largest programs, 79 percent of those trained, were for Britain and France. The Royal Air Force (RAF), fully engaged against the German Air Force by December 1940, was not able to train new aircrews. The British government asked the United States to train new pilots until it could get its own flight training program underway. Lieutenant General Henry "Hap" Arnold, chief of the Army Air Corps, authorized the training of RAF pilots at select airfields in the southeast United States, including at Maxwell and Gunter fields near Montgomery, Alabama. Between June 1941 and February 1943, when the RAF terminated what became known as the Arnold Plan, 4,300 of more than 7,800 RAF cadets sent to the United States completed the three-phase AAF flight training program. Within three months, some of the same schools, including the phase 2 school at Gunter Field, began training Free French Air Force flight cadets. By November 1945, when the US government terminated the French training program, 2,100 French flight cadets out of the 4,100 who came to the United States had received their wings. This book tells for the first time the story of the RAF and Free French flight training programs in central Alabama, covering the origins, the issues, and the problems that occurred during the training programs, and the results and lessons learned.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

During World War II, the US Army Air Forces (AAF) trained over 21,000 aircrew members from 29 Allied countries. The two largest programs, 79 percent of those trained, were for Britain and France. The Royal Air Force (RAF), fully engaged against the German Air Force by December 1940, was not able to train new aircrews. The British government asked the United States to train new pilots until it could get its own flight training program underway. Lieutenant General Henry "Hap" Arnold, chief of the Army Air Corps, authorized the training of RAF pilots at select airfields in the southeast United States, including at Maxwell and Gunter fields near Montgomery, Alabama. Between June 1941 and February 1943, when the RAF terminated what became known as the Arnold Plan, 4,300 of more than 7,800 RAF cadets sent to the United States completed the three-phase AAF flight training program. Within three months, some of the same schools, including the phase 2 school at Gunter Field, began training Free French Air Force flight cadets. By November 1945, when the US government terminated the French training program, 2,100 French flight cadets out of the 4,100 who came to the United States had received their wings. This book tells for the first time the story of the RAF and Free French flight training programs in central Alabama, covering the origins, the issues, and the problems that occurred during the training programs, and the results and lessons learned.

More books from NewSouth Books

Cover of the book Nicaraguan Gringa by Robert Kane
Cover of the book Attacking Myasthenia Gravis by Robert Kane
Cover of the book On the Hills of God by Robert Kane
Cover of the book What Hollywood Got Right and Wrong about the Tuskegee Airmen in the Great New Movie, Red Tails by Robert Kane
Cover of the book Bitter Harvest by Robert Kane
Cover of the book Hairy, Scary, but Mostly Merry Fairies! by Robert Kane
Cover of the book The Transformative Years of the University of Alabama Law School, 1966–1970 by Robert Kane
Cover of the book An Interview with Abraham Lincoln by Robert Kane
Cover of the book Enchanted Evening Barbie and the Second Coming by Robert Kane
Cover of the book Storming the State House by Robert Kane
Cover of the book The Yazoo Blues by Robert Kane
Cover of the book Mr. Brandon's School Bus by Robert Kane
Cover of the book In Love with Defeat by Robert Kane
Cover of the book Watermelon Wine by Robert Kane
Cover of the book Poor Man's Provence by Robert Kane
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy