No. 3 Service Flying Training School RAAF

No. 3 Service Flying Training School RAAF
Trainees of No. 3 Service Flying Training School in front of an Avro Anson
Active	1940–1942
Allegiance	Australia
Branch	Royal Australian Air Force
Role	Intermediate/advanced flying training
Garrison/HQ	RAAF Station Amberley
Commanders
Notable commanders	Leon Lachal (1941–42)

No. 3 Service Flying Training School (No. 3 SFTS) was a flying training school of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) during World War II. It was formed in September 1940, and commenced flying two months later. Responsible for intermediate and advanced instruction of pilots under the Empire Air Training Scheme (EATS), the school was based at RAAF Station Amberley, Queensland, and operated CAC Wirraway and Avro Anson aircraft. Two reserve squadrons were formed at the school in response to the outbreak of war in the Pacific, and the base fortified against air attack. In March 1942 the RAAF divided the staff and equipment of No. 3 SFTS between Nos. 1 and 6 Service Flying Training Schools at Point Cook, Victoria, and Mallala, South Australia, respectively. No. 3 SFTS was disbanded the following month.

RAAF aircrew training expanded dramatically following the outbreak of World War II, in response to Australia's participation in the Empire Air Training Scheme (EATS). The Air Force's pre-war flight training facility, No. 1 Flying Training School at RAAF Station Point Cook, Victoria, was supplanted in 1940–41 by twelve Elementary Flying Training Schools (EFTS), eight Service Flying Training Schools (SFTS), and Central Flying School (CFS). While CFS turned out new flight instructors, the EFTS provided basic training to prospective pilots who, if successful, would go on to an SFTS for further instruction that focussed on operational (or "service") flying. The course at SFTS typically consisted of two streams, intermediate and advanced, and included such techniques as instrument flying, night flying, advanced aerobatics, formation flying, dive bombing, and aerial gunnery. The total duration of training varied during the war as demand for aircrew rose and fell. Initially running for 16 weeks, the course was cut to 10 weeks (which included 75 hours flying time) in October 1940. A year later it was raised to 12 weeks (including 100 hours flying time), and again to 16 weeks two months later. It continued to increase after this, peaking at 28 weeks in June 1944.