Ian BB,
IIRC, the Arnold (US Army Air Corps) Scheme ended ca Feb '43. Their Schools returned to the training of US Cadets (I suppose that enough BFTS had been opened by then) to cover the RAF requirement.
The statistcs are appalling. We sent a total of 7885 RAF trainees out and got 4165 pilots back, so 3550 "losses" (55%). The training "washouts" were 3392 (43%). This has been a mystery to this day.
A quick answer might be "The US training was superior to the RAF's" (and indeed
regle [RIP] described it as "the finest flying training in the world". But then, why didn't that show up at the OTU stage ? No one (
AFAIK) at the time ever noticed any difference in the "finished product" from the graduates of the Arnold Schools compared with those from the BFTS and Empire Flying Training Schemes. When you break it down into Courses, the mystery deepens:
Strange figures from Arnold wastages (nothing to do with BFTS)
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Overall Losses* occurred (roughly - as a % of all Intakes): At Primary 60%; at Basic 12%; at Advanced 4%; (Retained as Instructors 13%); others (mostly killed); 2%.
Survivors By Course (% of Intake):
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42A:55;
42B:59;
42C:64; (my Course)
42D:61. (this Course would graduate about 1st April - five weeks after me - work back six months, they must've started about beginning October '41. I started flying on 2 September, I must have got there a week before - it fits perfectly).
Average survivor rate (Courses 42A-D) 60%, therefore all losses* 40%.
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Survivors By Course (% of Intake):
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42E:99.6;
42F:99.2;
42G:98.5;
42H:98.7;
42I:99.6;
(No record of 42J, seemingly ?).
42K:97.2;
43A:97.3;
43B:97.1; END. (would be about Feb, '43)
Authority:
(The Official Website of - Arnold Scheme)
www.arnold-scheme.org/The%20Arnold%20Register.htm?Cached
Stats & Facts
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Total RAF Intake 7885
RAF cadets Eliminated at:
Acclimatization Centres 9
Primary Schools 2687
Basic Schools 526
Advanced Schools 170
Cadets Killed in Training 158
(Grand Total 3550 45%) (Washout 3392 43%)
Highest Rank achieved by RAF Graduate: Marshall (sic) of the Royal Air Force.
Highest British Decoration Awarded: Victoria Cross.
Average survivor rate (Courses 42E-43B) 98.4%, therefore all losses* 1.6%. (This, I was told later, about matched the BFTS experience. Subsequent reports on this Thread quote much higher figures for BFTS, up to 30% ?????).
* "Losses" would include (mainly) "Washouts" for all reasons, plus a few (sadly) killed.
Whether the 577 "Creamed Off" Instructors were included (as we didn't get them back - at least not until much later - in UK), I do not know.
WHAT HAPPENED IN THE ARNOLD SCHOOLS AT THE BEGINNING OF OCTOBER '41 - TWO MONTHS BEFORE PEARL HARBOR ?
Danny