31st Flying Training Wing (World War II)

The 31st Flying Training Wing is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the Central Flying Training Command, and was disbanded on 30 December 1945 at Fort Worth Army Airfield, Texas.

The squadron was a World War II Command and Control unit, its mission to flying training units of the Army Air Forces Training Command. Headquartered at Enid Army Airfield, Oklahoma for most of its operational service, it controlled contract pilot schools primarily in the Central United States.

There is no lineage between the current United States Air Force 31st Fighter Wing, established on 6 November 1947 at Turner Army Airfield, Georgia, and this organization.

History
Until 1939, the Army Air Corps provided all flying training with military instructor pilots. Beginning in 1939, it contracted with nine civilian flying schools to provide primary flight training. Primary training consisted of a three-month course of 65 hours of flying instruction. As the United States prepared to enter World War II by expanding its number of flying squadrons, the number of contract primary schools increased.

According to the contract, the government supplied students with training aircraft, flying clothes, textbooks, and equipment. The Air Corps also put a detachment at each school to supervise training. The schools furnished instructors, training sites and facilities, aircraft maintenance, quarters, and mess halls. From the Air Corps, schools received a flat fee of $1,170 for each graduate and $18 per flying hour for students eliminated from training. The Primary Pilot Training used Boeing PT-17 or Fairchild PT-19 two-seater single-engine training aircraft. Also, the wing controlled specialized schools for Liaison Pilots using the Stinson L-5 Grasshopper, and Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) primary training was conducted exclusively at Avenger Field, Sweetwater, Texas.

Following the fall of France in 1940, the Air Corps upped its pilot production goal to 7,000 per year. To meet that goal, the Air Corps increased the capacity of its schools and added more contract primary schools.

The contract primary pilot schools ended their operations in October, 1945.

Lineage

 * Established as 31st Flying Training Wing on 17 December 1942
 * Activated on 16 January 1943
 * Disbanded on 30 December 1945

Assignments

 * Army Air Forces Gulf Coast Training (later, AAF Central Flying Training) Command, 16 January 1943-30 December 1945

Stations

 * Enid Army Airfield, Oklahoma, 16 Jan 1943
 * Fort Worth Army Airfield, Texas, 31 May-30 December 1945

Training aircraft
The primary aircraft used were Boeing-Stearman PT-17 and Fairchild PT-19 twin-seat, single engine trainers. However other aircraft were used at several schools. Those were:.
 * Boeing-Stearman PT-13
 * Boeing-Stearman PT-18

The PT-13 and PT-18s were the basic Boeing-Stearman with different engines than the PT-17, with varying horsepower ratings. The PT-19 also could have the student pilot covered with a hood for "Blind" instrument flying training.

Along with the primary pilot training, the command offered several specialized contract schools for glider and liaison pilot training. These schools operated the following aircraft:


 * Schweizer TG-1A (Glider)
 * Taylorcraft L-2
 * Aeronca L-3
 * Piper L-4
 * Stinson L-5

Assigned Contract Pilot Schools

 * Arledge Field, Stamford, Texas
 * AAF Contract Pilot School (Primary)
 * Opened: August 1941, Closed: August 1944 (PT-17, PT-19)
 * Operated by: Stamford Flying School and Lou Foote Flying Service and Coleman Flying School


 * Avenger Field, Sweetwater, Texas
 * AAF Contract Pilot School (Women)
 * 318th Flying Training Detachment
 * Opened: May 1942, Closed: September 1944 (PT-17, PT-19)
 * WASP pilot training; Operated by: Plosser-Prentz Air Academy and Aviation Enterprises, Incorporated.  Primary training ended September 1944.  Field also conducted Phase II Basic (BT-13) and Phase III Advanced flying training (USAAF Instruction) until closed December 1945.  Fuselage Code was "U"


 * Bruce Field, Ballinger, Texas
 * AAF Contract Pilot School (Primary)
 * Opened: October 1941, Closed: October 1944 (PT-19)
 * Operated by: Fred Harmon Flying School; five auxiliary landing fields


 * Jones Field, Bonham, Texas
 * AAF Contract Pilot School (Primary)
 * 302d Flying Training Detachment
 * Opened: September 1941, Closed: November 1944 (PT-19)
 * Operated by: Bonham Aviation School


 * Chickasha Municipal Airport, Chickasha, Oklahoma
 * AAF Contract Pilot School (Primary)
 * 316th Flying Training Detachment
 * Opened: October 1941, Closed: August 1945 (PT-17, PT-19)
 * Operated by: Wilson-Bonfils Flying School (Closed 1944)


 * Cimarron Field, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
 * AAF Contract Pilot School (Primary)
 * Opened: October 1941, Closed: May 1944 (PT-19)
 * Operated by: Oklahoma Air College


 * Coleman Municipal Airport, Coleman, Texas
 * AAF Contract Pilot School (Primary)
 * 304th Flying Training Detachment
 * Opened: July 1941, Closed: November 1944 (PT-19)
 * Operated by: Coleman FLying School, Limited


 * Corsicana Field, Corsicana, Texas
 * AAF Contract Pilot School (Primary)
 * 301st Flying Training Detachment
 * Opened: April 1941, Closed: November 1944 (PT-19)
 * Operated by: Air Activities of Texas


 * Cuero Municipal Airport, Cuero, Texas
 * AAF Contract Pilot School (Primary)
 * Opened: May 1941, Closed: August 1944 (PT-17, PT-19)
 * Operated by: Brayton Flying Services, Inc.


 * Fort Stockton Field, Fort Stockton, Texas
 * AAF Contract Pilot School (Primary)
 * 309th Flying Training Detachment
 * Opened: June 1942, Closed: April 1944 (PT-17, PT-19)
 * Operated by: Pacific Air School Limited


 * Garner Field, Uvalde, Texas
 * AAF Contract Pilot School (Primary)
 * 305th Flying Training Detachment
 * Opened: October 1941, Closed: July 1945 (PT-13, PT-19)
 * Operated by: Hangar Six, Incorporated


 * Grider Field, Pine Bluff, Arkansas
 * AAF Contract Pilot School (Primary)
 * 312th Flying Training Detachment
 * Opened: April 1941, Closed: October 1944 (PT-19)
 * Operated by: Pine Bluff School of Aviation; had five auxiliary airfields


 * Harvey Parks Airport, Sikeston, Missouri
 * AAF Contract Pilot School (Primary)
 * Opened: January 1941, Closed: November 1944 (PT-18, PT-19)
 * Operated by: Missouri Institute of Aeronautics, Incorporated; had seven auxiliary airfields


 * Hatbox Field, Muskogee, Oklahoma
 * AAF Contract Pilot School (Primary)
 * 534th Base Headquarters and Air Base Squadron
 * Opened: January 1941, Closed: June 1944 (PT-19)
 * Also known as: Muskogee Army Airfield; Operated by Spartan Aircraft Company and Spartan School of Aeronautics; also operated four auxiliary airfields;  Primary instruction ended in June 1944, facility became a Liaison Pilot training facility (USAAF Instructors), closed October 1945.


 * Hicks Field, Fort Worth, Texas
 * AAF Contract Pilot School (Primary)
 * 307th Flying Training Detachment
 * Opened: September 1941, Closed: May 1944 (PT-19)
 * Former World War I airfield; Operated by: Texas Aviation School and W. F. Long Flying School.


 * Lamesa Army Airfield, Lamesa, Texas
 * AAF Contract Pilot School (Liaison Advanced)
 * 20th Glider Training Detachment; 3d Liaison Training Detachment
 * Opened: June 1942, Closed: March 1944 (TG-1A (Glider), L-4A, L-5, PT-19)
 * Glider training offered by John H. Wilson Glider School (June-September 1942)
 * Primary flight training operated by: Clint Breedlove Aerial Service beginning October 1942


 * Miami Municipal Airport, Miami, Oklahoma
 * AAF Contract Pilot Schools (Primary-Advanced)
 * 322d Flying Training Detachment
 * Opened: June 1941, Closed: March 1944 (PT-17, PT-19)
 * Operated by: Spartan School of Aeronautics; also operated four auxiliary airfields


 * Mustang Field, El Reno, Oklahoma
 * AAF Contract Pilot School (Primary)
 * 320th Flying Training Detachment
 * Opened: February 1943, Closed: November 1944 (PT-17, PT-19)
 * Operated by: Midwest Air School; also operated four auxiliary airfields


 * Parks Metropolitan Airport, East St. Louis, Illinois
 * AAF Contract Pilot School (Primary)
 * Opened: June 1939, Closed: August 1943 (PT-13, PT-17, PT-19)
 * Operated by: Parks Air College


 * Pittsburg Airport, Pittsburg, Kansas
 * AAF Contract Pilot School (Liaison Advanced)
 * 21st Glider Training Detachment; 4th Liaison Training Detachment
 * Opened: June 1942, Closed: October 1944 (L-2, L-3, L-4)
 * Also known as: Atkinson Field; Operated by: McFarland Flying Service; had two axillary airfields


 * Ponca City Municipal Airport, Ponca City, Oklahoma
 * AAF Contract Pilot School (Primary)
 * 323d Flying Training Detachment
 * Opened: June 1941, Closed: May 1944 (PT-17, PT-19)
 * Operated Darr School of Aeronautics; RAF Pilot Training


 * Terrell Municipal Airport, Terrell, Texas
 * AAF Contract Pilot School (Primary)
 * 321st Flying Training Detachment
 * Opened: June 1941, Closed: September 1945 (PT-18, PT-19)
 * Operated by: Terell Aviation School, Limited; RAF Pilot Training


 * Tulsa Municipal Airport, Tulsa, Oklahoma
 * AAF Contract Pilot School (Primary)
 * Opened: June 1939, Closed: August 1944 (PT-3A, PT-17, PT-19)
 * Operated by: Spartan School of Aeronautics; also operated up to seven auxiliary airfields


 * Victory Field, Vernon, Texas
 * AAF Contract Pilot School (Primary)
 * Opened: December 1941, Closed: August 1944 (PT-19)
 * Operated by: Hunter Flying Service and Richey Flying Service.