The Royal Air Force in Texas

With the outbreak of World War II, British Royal Air Force (RAF) officialssought to train aircrews outside of England, safe from enemy attack andpoor weather. In the United States the first of six schools, No. 1 BritishFlying Training School (BFTS), was located in Terrell, Texas, east ofDallas. The cadets trained in the air on aerobatics, instrument flight, andnight 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 twothousand RAF cadets had trained at Terrell, cementing relations betweenGreat Britain and the United States and forming lasting bonds with thecitizens of Terrell."Killebrew's book adds substantially to an understanding of thehistory of RAF flight training on U.S. soil in World War II."-TodRoberts, editor of RAF Wings over Florida"This is an outstanding book for anyone interested in aviation or inthe personal side of World War II. . . . Killebrew's enthusiasm andrespect for his subject are quite obvious."-Review of Texas Books"This book should please anyone interested in military flighttraining, Lend-Lease and the RAF, or even just WWII aviation ingeneral."-Air Power HistoryTOM KILLEBREW, a native of Dallas, Texas, received a master's degree inhistory from the University of Texas at Arlington. A licensed private pilot,he served in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve and as an air intelligenceofficer in the U.S. Navy Reserve. He currently teaches American historyat Navarro College and lives with his wife, Ann, in DeSoto, Texas.