In the 1930's, you could apply to join the Royal Air Force to train to become a pilot at just 17. There were three main ways into the service if you wanted to learn to fly.

The first was to apply to the Officers Training College at Cranwell in Lincolnshire. This was established in 1920 and was the first military air academy in the world. A young hopeful would have to pass an entrance examination followed by an interview and a medical. Once at the college you were given an all round education in flight with an emphasis on history and especially on physics and maths. Trainees would strip an aircraft down and put it back together again to see exactly how it worked. Some pilots said that learning to fly almost felt secondary to the theoretical approach. They were trained in biplanes such as the Hawker Hart and later had to make the transition to single winged aircraft, usually at an Operational Training Unit (O.T.U.) during the final six weeks of training.

Another way to learn to fly was to join the Auxiliary Air Force, established in 1925, which you could do at the age of 17. This was like the Territorial Army equivalent of the R.A.F. and was seen as the reserve of the wealthy, although the Air Ministry did refund the £100 it cost to take the course once a pilot had qualified. The Auxiliaries made up 25% of Fighter Command's force by the time war broke out in 1939.

The third route in was through the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve which was started in 1937 to boost the number of pilots in training. Here a prospective pilot could learn to fly as a hobby, attending lectures once a week on the design and maintenance of the aircraft as well as navigation. Then there were flying lessons at a local airfield at the weekends. The Reserves allowed young men from all walks of life to join the service, no matter what their background. Wings were awarded after theoretical exams and a flying test. In September 1939, the Reserves were incorporated into the R.A.F. to increase pilot numbers.

Emergencies
An important part of every course was how to cope in an emergency. Flight training included how to deal with forced landings because of engine failure and how to recover from spins and engine stalls. Pilots were taught how to plot a course from A to B and how to navigate by using landmarks as well as cockpit instruments. The Met Office gave wind speed and direction information which pilots used to aid their navigation. A small plane could be blown drastically off course by a strong cross wind and it was essential to take this into account when plotting a course.

A young pilot would hope to earn the right to fly solo after about nine hours in the air. At a time when the skies were virtually empty he could enjoy the magical feeling of flying thousands of feet above the earth without constrictions.

Accidents did happen and some pilots were killed in training even before war broke out. These were mainly due to bad weather conditions, equipment failure and a lack of experience in handling aircraft.

Combat Training
There was no real training for combat, except for some lessons on the ground about firing ranges and some practice shooting in the air. Combat tactics were learned the hard way, in battle, as there had been no real experience of this type of fighting before. The Central Gunnery School wasn't set up until the middle of the war, well after the Battle of Britain. Plus, there were no practice parachute jumps. The first time a pilot bailed out was usually in combat - after his aircraft had been hit.

During the war, as increasing numbers of pilots were injured or killed, training was curtailed and some pilots were sent straight from flying school into squadrons before passing through an O.T.U.

Some trainees went straight from biplanes into Spitfires. Fortunately the Spitfire was such a superior aircraft that pilots could fly it after only a few hours of training, but it did take skill to master.

Take-offs and landings were tricky because of the light undercarriage. The landing gear was retractable and pilots had to remember to lower it before landing. Because of the long nose visibility straight-ahead on the ground was restricted so they had to zig-zag when taxiing to see where they where going. The nose also made night landings tricky when trying to line up with the runway lights. But pilots say once in the air the Spitfire was a dream to fly.

Training couldn't prepare a young pilot for the real thing and it is a testament to their skill, talent, and courage that so many of them learned how to become great fighter pilots so quickly once war broke out.