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Old 20th Apr 2014, 14:55
  #5507 (permalink)  
Ian Burgess-Barber
 
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Ireland
Age: 76
Posts: 242
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Blending of cadets in BFTS

Danny -permission to speak Sir! Re your question in post 5489
"When they graduated, did they receive their silver wings and a 2/Lieut's Commission in the same way as if they'd gone through the US system ?"

My late father graduated in May 1943 from 5BFTS Clewiston Florida on course no 12. This was the first course at Clewiston to have a blend of USAAF/RAF cadets (17 Americans with 83 RAF cadets). In total 125 USAAF cadets started at 5BFTS (16 of them washed-out) on courses 12 - 18 finishing in June 1944 when the US faced a surplus of pilots.

All the US graduates received both Army Air Corps and RAF wings and all were commissioned

Less than 25% of the RAF graduates were commissioned ex BFTS (although many of course attained this later in the war).
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