A fascinating insight into how the RAF was training its new fighter pilots for the Spitfire and Hurricane.
With the Battle of Britain still fresh in the mind from the previous year, The Aeroplane was granted access to see how the RAF was training it future fighter pilots. The RAF’s strive for excellence shines through with it looking to pass on the lessons learned from encounters with the Luftwaffe, while still allowing new pilots the freedom to develop tactics. With World War Two still raging and Germany controlling most of mainland Europe this is a detailed account from the June 13, 1941 issue of the training to prepare pilots for going up against what was still a formidable foe…
Fighter Pilots in the Making
IN A MORE leisurely era, fighter squadrons of the Royal Air Force trained their own pupils to be fighter pilots. That has now changed. Squadrons have no time for tutorial diversions, and pilots come to them fully trained and not as fledglings to be watched over with solicitous concern when the squadron goes into battle.
