"No.19 BFTS" at Cranwell in 1978
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"No.19 BFTS" at Cranwell in 1978
I have just found a copy of an old magazine which states that the Flying Wing of the RAFC Cranwell was named "No.19 BFTS" between August and October 1978. The article goes on to say that either later in the year or the beginning of 1979, 21 Jet Provosts (probably T Mk.5As) were taken out of store at Kemble and transferred to either Cranwell or Barkston Heath because of an "increased training commitment"
Can anyone please recall why it was called "No.19 BFTS" or what the increased training commitment involved?
DW
Can anyone please recall why it was called "No.19 BFTS" or what the increased training commitment involved?
DW
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A joker with a long memory? There had been a unit called 19 FTS at Cranwell from mid-1945 until the reopening of the RAFC, and its first post-war cadets came from the FTS -some of them must be still out there to confirm.
The Air-Britain book "RAF Flying Training and Support Units" says......
19 FTS reported reformed 8.79 but disbanded a few months later, having been an attempt to separate the Cranwell flying element from the College.
Perhaps not the definitive answer but it might be a clue.
19 FTS reported reformed 8.79 but disbanded a few months later, having been an attempt to separate the Cranwell flying element from the College.
Perhaps not the definitive answer but it might be a clue.
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Interesting? I know that the CFS echelon moved from Cranwell to Leeming in September 1977 and that a later attempt to rename the flying element of RAF College came about on 1 February 1989 when it became 3FTS. I think that the latter was part of the command's re-organization of current flying training units but doesn't clarify why it was decided to temporarily adopt the "BFTS" title in 1978 - or was the "B" an administrative 'slip of the pen'?
