List of British Commonwealth Air Training Plan facilities in Southern Rhodesia

This article contains a list of the Southern Rhodesian facilities forming part of Joint Air Training Scheme which was a major programme for training South African Air Force, Royal Air Force and Allied air crews during World War II. However, RAF Training units would still be based in this country until a decade after the war had finished

A war-time Elementary Flying Training School (EFTS) gave a recruit 50 hours of basic aviation instruction on a simple trainer like the Tiger Moth. Pilots who showed promise went on to training at a Service Flying Training School (SFTS). The Service Flying Training School provided advanced training for pilots, including fighter and multi-engined aircraft. Other trainees went on to different specialties, such as wireless, navigation or bombing and air gunnery.

During WW II
These are the units that formed the Rhodesia Air Training Group.

Training aircraft

 * Airspeed Oxford
 * North American Harvard
 * Tiger Moth
 * Avro Anson
 * Fairey Battle
 * Fairchild Cornell

Glossary

 * ANS &mdash; Air Navigation School
 * ARU &mdash; Aircraft Repair Unit
 * BGTS &mdash; Bombing and Gunnery Training School
 * CFS &mdash; Central Flying School
 * EFTS &mdash; Elementary Flying Training School
 * FIS &mdash; Flying Instructors School
 * SFTS &mdash; Service Flying Training School
 * SRAF &mdash; Southern Rhodesia Air Force

After World War II
For clarification; No.4 FTS & No.5 FTS initially functioned as complete Flying Training Schools with all three/four types at two different bases. After a short period, No.5 FTS was disbanded / redesignated as No.3 ANS specialising in Navigation training, sending all Tiger Moths & Harvards across to join No.4 FTS, and in return receiving No.4 FTS Ansons to add to its own. Three years later in 1951 the situation was reversed with the dissolution of No.3 ANS.

Training aircraft

 * North American Harvard
 * Tiger Moth
 * Avro Anson
 * de Havilland Canada DHC-1 Chipmunk

Glossary

 * ANS &mdash; Air Navigation School
 * FTS &mdash; Flying Training School
 * MU &mdash; Maintenance Unit
 * RATG &mdash; Rhodesian Air Training Group