List of British Commonwealth Air Training Plan facilities in Southern Rhodesia

This article contains a list of the Southern Rhodesian facilities forming part of Joint Air Training Scheme which was a major programme for training South African Air Force, Royal Air Force and Allied air crews during World War II.[1] However, RAF Training units would still be based in this country until a decade after the war had finished

A war-time Elementary Flying Training School (EFTS) gave a recruit 50 hours of basic aviation instruction on a simple trainer like the Tiger Moth. Pilots who showed promise went on to training at a Service Flying Training School (SFTS). The Service Flying Training School provided advanced training for pilots, including fighter and multi-engined aircraft. Other trainees went on to different specialties, such as wireless, navigation or bombing and air gunnery.[1]

During WW II

These are the units that formed the Rhodesia Air Training Group.[2]

Unit Name/No.BaseMajor types of aircraftRoleOpenedDisbandedComments
No. 25 Belvedere, Salisbury Tiger Moth, Cornell & Harvard EFTS 24 May 1940 16 November 1945[3]
No. 20 Cranborne, Salisbury Harvard 1, 2, 2a, 3 and Oxford SFTS 10 July 1940[3] 7 September 1945[3]
No. 27 Induna, Bulawayo Tiger Moth & Cornell EFTS 28 January 1940[3] 21 September 1945[3]
No. 23 Heany, Bulawayo Oxford SFTS 8 July 1941[3] 30 September 1945[3]
No. 21 Kumalo, Bulawayo Oxford SFTS 8 October 1940[3] 18 May 1945[3]
Sauerdale, Bulawayo Tiger Moth EFTS Planned, but base found to be unsuitable
No. 26 Guinea Fowl, Gwelo Tiger Moth & Cornell EFTS August 1940 14 August 1945[3]
No. 22 Thornhill, Gwelo Harvard 1, 2, 2a, 3 SFTS 25 March 1941[3] 30 September 1945[3]
No. 24 Bombing, Gunnery and Navigation Moffat, Gwelo Battle, Oxford and Anson BGTS 12 May 1943[4] 13 April 1945 [4]
No. 24 Combined Air Observation School Moffat, Gwelo Battle, Oxford and Anson BGTS 3 August 1941 [4] 12 May 1943 [3] Split into 24 BGTS & 29 EANS
No. 29 Elementary Navigation School[4] Moffat, Gwelo Battle, Oxford and Anson ANS 12 May 1943[3] 13 April 1945[4]
No. 28 Mount Hampden Tiger Moth, Cornell & Harvard EFTS 1 April 1941 30 October 1945[3] Motto: Pana Maziñana ano Bururuka - Here Fledglings Take Wing
No. 31 Cranborne Harvard (for Comms) ARU 1 August 1941[3]
No. 32 Heany Harvard (for Comms) ARU 1 August 1941[3]
Rhodesian Central Flying School Norton All types used in Group CFS 3 Sep 1941[3] 20 May 1942[3] Renamed 33 FIS
No. 33 Norton All types used in Group FIS 20 May 1942[3] 9 May 1944[3] Renamed CFS (SR)
Central Flying School (Southern Rhodesia) Norton All types used in Group CFS 9 May 1944[3] 9 October 1945[3]
Communications Flight Belvedere Tiger Moths, Cornells & Harvards Comms Flt 14 May 1940[3] 1 January 1946[3] SRAF unit

Training aircraft

Glossary
  • ANS — Air Navigation School
  • ARU — Aircraft Repair Unit
  • BGTS — Bombing and Gunnery Training School
  • CFS — Central Flying School
  • EFTS — Elementary Flying Training School
  • FIS — Flying Instructors School
  • SFTS — Service Flying Training School
  • SRAF — Southern Rhodesia Air Force

After World War II
Unit Name/No.BaseMajor types of aircraftRoleOpenedDisbandedComments
No. 4 RAF Heany Tiger Moth, Harvard, Anson & Chipmunk FTS 1 February 1947[3] 26 January 1954[3]
No. 5 RAF Thornhill Tiger Moth, Harvard & Anson FTS 23 April 1947[3] 4 January 1948[3] Renamed 3 ANS
No. 5 RAF Thornhill Tiger Moth & Chipmunk FTS 22 January 1951[3] 30 December 1953[3] Reformed, later reabsorbing 3 ANS
No. 3 RAF Thornhill Anson ANS 5 January 1948[3] 28 September 1951[3]
No. 394 RAF Heany MU 1 September 1947[3] 31 March 1954[3]
No. 395 RAF Bulawayo MU 1 September 1947[3] 31 March 1954[3]
RATG Communications Squadron RAF Kumalo Ansons, Chipmunks & Harvards Comms 1 September 1947[3] 31 March 1954[3]

Training aircraft

Glossary
  • ANS — Air Navigation School
  • FTS — Flying Training School
  • MU — Maintenance Unit
  • RATG — Rhodesian Air Training Group

See also

References
  1. Becker, Dave (1989). Yellow Wings: The Story Of The Joint Air Training Scheme In World War 2. Pretoria: The SAAF Museum. p. 102.
  2. Bishop, C. Nepean (20 November 1953). "The Fledglings of Rhodesia: An Instructor's Recollections of a Unit in the Empire Air Training Scheme". Flight. LXIV (2339): 668–670. Retrieved 13 February 2016.
  3. "Rhodesia & The RAF". Retrieved 29 February 2016.
  4. "The Story of Royal Air Force Station, Moffat". Our Rhodesian Heritage. 29 March 2010. Retrieved 13 February 2016.
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