Flying Hours

[Martti Kujansuu]

Hello!

Could someone point me a study where one could find the average flying hours for a pilot who has just arrived to the Front (in range of 1939-1945). I'm interested data for all kind of Air Forces fought during the War.

Martti

[timothy]

Not much help, but I had 75 hours on Tiger Moths & 100 on Hawker Harts & Hinds. Great preparation for the Battle!!

No OTU - that was a later luxury.

= Tim

[Martti Kujansuu]

Hmm.. I see this isn't a very well-known subject that might need a little bit of research?

[PeterVerney]

I think you will find that there was a wide variation, dependant upon the state of the war at the time. During BoB pilots were rushed into squadrons as soon as possible. By late 1943 early 1944 there were so many in training that a lot never reached an operational squadron.

[Kutscha]

Is this of any help?

[Franek Grabowski]

What is the source of the chart? Average newbie FC pilot trained since 1941 accumulated about 600 hrs before operational posting, so this data seems untrue.

[mhuxt]

Appears in the report of the British Bombing Survey Unit, though the sources used to put it together are not given. Might be lifted from the USSBS, but that's me speculating.

[Csaba B. Stenge]

You can find some comparison of the training system and flying hours in this book also:
http://forum.12oclockhigh.net/showthread.php?t=15154

In the first phase of the war, RHAF managed to send pretty well trained pilots to the front. At the end (end of 1944 and early 1945), there were some badly trained freshmen also to fill the gaps.

[CJE]

Originally Posted by mhuxt

Appears in the report of the British Bombing Survey Unit, though the sources used to put it together are not given. Might be lifted from the USSBS, but that's me speculating.

Right. It appears in some "numbered USAF historical study" (don't remember which one) that can be downloaded on the AFHRA (Maxwell AFB) site.