The Royal Air Force in Texas: Training British Pilots in Terrell during World War II (War and the Southwest)

World War II, British RoWith the outbreak of yal Air Force (RAF) officials sought to train aircrews outside of England, safe from enemy attack and poor weather. In the United States the first of six schools, No. 1 British Flying Training School (BFTS), was located in Terrell, Texas, east of Dallas. The cadets trained in the air on aerobatics, instrument flight, and night flying, while on the ground they studied navigation, meteorology, engines, and armaments—even spending time in early flight simulators. Not all survived their training. By the end of the war, more than two thousand RAF cadets had trained at Terrell.