Washout Rates
Danny my reference books for the following figures are:
(1) 'RAF Wings over Florida' by Will Largent, Purdue University Press.
(2) 'The Royal Air Force over Florida' by A.M. de Quesada, Arcadia Publishing.
"Of the 6BFTS in the USA, No. 5BFTS Clewiston Florida, received the highest performance rating".
"16 of the 125 US cadets failed to get their wings, a 12.8% washout factor. Among the 582 British cadets on the seven blended courses, there were 121 who washed out (20.8%)."
The low washout rate for the 125 Americans simply confirmed that they were carefully selected for the RAF training on the basis of test scores and personality profiles, college or university credits, they were "the best of the best" among the Army Air Corps cadets.
"But when it came to an even playing field, without preselection of natural talents and experience, the average Army Air Corps washout rate and British BFTS washout rate were almost identical - from 20% to 25%."
The washout rate for RAF cadets in the Arnold plan (40% or more) is probably more to do with demerits for not obeying rules that did not make sense to them and had nothing to do with flying performance.
A former civilian American flight instructor noted: "The British kids had just come from a place where there was real war. They liked the flying and had no problem taking orders. But when it came to chicken-sh*t stuff, they wouldn't keep quiet."
Ian BB