Chinese Air Force Pilot Training Photos

[Eric Queen]

Outstanding. Something you rarely (if ever) see. Congratulations.

[Pip]

Thanks Eric!

[Hsin C.]

Wow! very nice collection of photos. Rare indeed.

[Pip]

Thanks Hsin! When trying to research them I could not find much information at all about the training program or really the pilots themselves. WW2 Allied pilots get a lot of coverage but not the Chinese ones.

 

I noticed some of them wearing double wings, does anyone know if that was a common configuration?

[Story]

On 1/7/2020 at 9:01 AM, Pip said:

Thanks Hsin! When trying to research them I could not find much information at all about the training program or really the pilots themselves. WW2 Allied pilots get a lot of coverage but not the Chinese ones.

 

I noticed some of them wearing double wings, does anyone know if that was a common configuration?

 

The training of Chinese nationals, which started before Pearl Harbor, continued throughout the war and after. It had been decided in July 1941 that the AAF would undertake pilot and combat crew training for the Chinese Air Force on a small scale, with some additional instruction for mechanics and in armament. Training began in November 1941. During the next two years the AAF resisted proposals for a larger commitment to the program because of its own acute need for training facilities, but as facilities became available after December 1943, the AAF trained an increasing number of Chinese.* These included hundreds of pilots and combat crew members, reconnaissance crews, and ground technicians.66 The diversified nature of the Chinese training program required the use of numerous AAF installations, most of which were located in Arizona under jurisdiction of the Western Flying Training Command.†All primary flying instruction for Chinese students was given at Thunderbird Field, Glendale, Arizona. B-24 pilot transition instruction was given at Kirtland Field, New Mexico, followed by operational training under the Second Air Force at Pueblo, Colorado.

The Army Air Forces in WW2, Chapter 20

 

https://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/AAF/VI/AAF-VI-20.html

[RRA227]

Fantastic group.  Rich A. in Pa.