Western Flying Training Command

Western Flying Training Command
Locations of airfields controlled by the Western Flying Training Command
Active	1940-1946
Country	United States
Branch	United States Army Air Forces
Type	Command and Control
Role	Training
Part of	Army Air Forces Training Command
Engagements	World War II World War II American Theater
Commanders
Notable commanders	Major General Ralph P. Cousins
Insignia
Western Flying Training Comman emblem

World War II

The Western Flying Training Command (WFTC) was a command of the United States Army Air Forces. It was assigned to the Army Air Forces Training Command, stationed at Santa Ana Army Air Base, California. It was inactivated on 1 November 1945.

The West Coast Air Corps Training Center was established on 8 July 1940 by the Office of the Chief of Air Corps as part of the expansion of the training department of the Air Corps. After the Fall of France in May 1940, the United States began rapidly expanding its military forces, and with the large numbers of men entering the military, the training requirements of the Air Corps were drastically expanded.

As a result, the centralized training of aircrew was divided into three Training Centers, the Eastern, Gulf Coast (later Central) and Western. Training schools were assigned to the Centers based on the geography of the United States. In July 1943, these Centers were re-designated as Eastern, Central and Western Training Commands.

By 1944, WFTC controlled a large number of training schools in the Southwestern United States, and established several Wings to provide organizational command and control over them, based on both training types and geography. The schools operated by WFTC part of the Aviation Cadet Training Program. These were:

In addition to the American Air Cadets, Cadets from the British Royal Air Force and Free French Air Force were trained in flying skills. WFTC also operated aircrew schools for Navigators, Bombardiers and flexible aerial gunners. Radio operators were centrally trained at Scott Field, Illinois. Other aircrew positions, such as B-29 flight engineers and RADAR operators were also trained later in the war as training requirements presented themselves. This included the first jet pilots in 1945.