Gaining an RAF Pilot's Brevet in WW2
DFCP,
Your last Post (#2867) chimes with so many of my memories that I hardly know where to start.
Quoting from that Post:
........"training at the US base in Phoenix until VJ Day---but I believe training then stopped--almost in mid air".........
The last BFTS remained open to November '44, but it is not clear what my Source means. If the last Course started then they'd not finish till May '45; but there'd still be three months to VJ Day.
......."allowance for ex service people of around 200 pounds and all fees were paid by HMG".........
In '46, on release, I found myself running a Ministry of Labour "Resettlement Advice Centre". Much of the work involved these Educational Grants, and they were surprisingly generous. Any ex-serviceman who could reasonably claim that, but for the War, he would have gone on to University could, if he could now secure the offer of a place, be funded to take it up. And you wouldn't starve on £200 p.a. in those days (£5,000 now). Many a family was brought up on less.
Not surprisingly this Scheme proved very popular. For in practice it meant that any boy who had a matriculation from school and then gone straight into the Forces, could claim. I processed many such cases, well knowing that, of every ten young men in front of me, nine would, in former days, been perfectly content with an office job in a Bank or the Civil Service like mine, and never dreamt of University.
But it is hard to prove a negative. Who knows what might have happened six years ago? You had to take their word for it. Years later I had a colleague on a Squadron who'd neatly carried this one stage forward. Leaving the RAF in '46, he'd taken a degree under this scheme, then applied to the RAF for a graduate PC. He got it, retired a Wing Commander and died a few years ago.
....."by 1951......one of my fellow students, PMR Walton had just become CO of 605 at Honiley"......
Hadn't he done well ! As you started in '44, he must have gone through training, got commissioned and made Squadron Leader in seven years, and that's good going in anybody's book. Moreover a command of an Auxiliary Squadron was a "career post", as were those of the (RAF) Adjutant and Training Officer. I was at Thornaby from '51-'54 alongside 608 Squadron, their Training Officer was "Mike" Beavis, who would be destined for greater things.
Curiously, the lesser members of the Auxiliary family had R.Aux.A.F. C.O.s, our Regiment had a S/Ldr. and the Fighter Control Unit (where I was the Adj), a Wing Commander (for no discernable reason).
......."I graduated August 29th, (1951?) I now had 418 hours AND an RAF pilots brevet!"......
Now that's doing it the hard way - they should have given you two brevets !
......."interview with one of the Atcherleys"......
It would have been "Batchy".
......."No one had briefed me really and I tried a loop at 30,000 ft----I don't recall exactly what happened but it sort of fluttered down until I came to......
Tried that myself one day. Got round all right, but on the way down stick started "snatching", realised I was in first (and last!) Vampire to go supersonic, (got the brakes out in time).
......"The only other problem I had was loss of oxygen at height but my wing man took charge and guided me down"..........
You were lucky to recognise the symptons and to have enough "mind" left to be able to tell him and stick with him !
......."On a more amusing note, if we flew a Sunday am we near Daventry one got heavenly organ music on our radio--this maybe at 30,000 ft over cloud"..........
I remember a similar experience over the West Country in a Meteor 4 in '54 - I was trying to get it up to 40,000 ft, but don't think I made it. Can't remember what frequency I was on (but, now I come to think of it, it was just a matter of Stud A or Stud D, wasn't it ?)
......"While we flew week ends it was possible to fly during the week though it was more likely that only a Harvard would be available"........
When I was at Thornaby, it was the other way round (608 always seemed to have a Vampire to spare during the week - that is, the "Auxiliary Week" (Wednesday to Friday), Saturday and Sunday the Auxiliaries had them, Monday and Tuesday were our "Auxiliary Weekend" - luckily we had a Harvard and a Tiger, usually one or both were available
......"practice interceptions ,QGH ? letdowns"......
Yup: "QGH, GCA and Bar !" (and I bet you tormented poor ATC with "Speechless/No Compass/No Gyro/ Double Flame-outs!")
......"Sgt Pilot caught a wing tip on take off"......
Lucky. My instructor at Driffield in early '50, P2 Willis, did that, cartwheeled and that was that.
Last saw Takali in '91, out of the window of a 320 going into Luqa. Think it was partly built over even then (I never flew from Malta).
Moderator will have our guts for garters!,
Goodnight, Danny.
Last edited by Danny42C; 8th Aug 2012 at 13:17.
Reason: Typo.