Preparation for war
In 1936, whilst based at the Air Ministry, Arthur Harris (later to be known as ‘Bomber’ Harris) successfully argued that Bomber Command would need larger heavier bombers rather than the existing medium-size aircraft. He foresaw that to have real offensive power the RAF needed aeroplanes that could carry significant bomb loads over great distances.
To cope with the larger aircraft, bigger airfields with longer runways were built and training programmes were organised to produce increasing numbers of skilled aircrews. Many potential aircrew travelled overseas during wartime to complete basic flying training in the USA, Canada and Southern Africa, or remained in their native countries to train (e.g. Australia and New Zealand) where plentiful fuel supplies, relatively good weather and lack of enemy aircraft meant pilots could quickly hone their flying skills before coming to Britain to finalise their training and then join an operational squadron.
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A
Canadian Training |
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"Don't you guys get it?" he would say and he would bang the board until chalk came out of the cracks." |
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On
the brink |
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"We were good actors. We all pretended that everything was well." |
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Swinging a transfer |
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"I thought it was the most charismatic and glamorous thing I'd ever seen." |
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A
tough training |
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"There was little laughter on that occasion and a tendency to stare into our beer." |
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Life
as a regular |
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"Ever since I was a boy I wanted to fly, just to get my feet off the ground." |
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