Danny, your last:
"the US insisted that 20% of the BFTS intakes should be Air Corps cadets.
Clearly this was for the purpose of comparison (of the finished article). So what were the findings ? To this question I have never been able to find an answer".
Back to Will Largent's "RAF Wings over Florida". After considering the various theories that have been voiced on the subject he concludes thus:
"The sole reason for the new approach (Blending the cadets)
contained no elements of high drama. It was done merely to balance the Lend-Lease Act account between Great Britain and the United States".
"Show me the way to go home"
Re the Far East Routes; I offer this contribution.
My father returned from India in Nov. 1945, working his passage as 2nd Pilot on Avro York No. 185 as follows:
Nov 10 Palam-Mauripur (India 3:15
Nov 11 Mauripur-Shaibah (Iraq) 6:00
Nov 11 Shaibah-Almaza (Eygpt) 5:10
Nov 12 Almaza-Luqa (Malta) 5:40
Nov 13 Luqa-Holmsley South (UK) 7:00
IanBB