U.S. Departments of the Army and the Air Force

P.1 of ? Captioning of composite photo: #1. - #5. "National interest in military aviation is on the increase. An air force of more than 5,000 airplanes and pilots for each of them will be an actuality by June, 1941. Numerous factories are handling the plane production phase of the Air Corps Expansion Program. Hub of the pilot training program is Randolph Field, Texas, the "West Point of the Air," and headquarters for the Air Corps Training Center."
"Classes of 400 young college men, with a military aviation career as their goal, start flight training every six weeks. Nine civilian flying schools, using Air Corps training planes, and under Air Corps supervision, give first phase of the nine month course. Then these Flying Cadets, with 65 hours of flying times written into their log books, gather at Randolph Field, Texas, for a second three month period of basic flight training. A third phase, at Kelly Field, Texas, completes the course and wings, a commission as Second Lieutenant, Air Corps Reserve, and extended active duty as full-fledged pilot in a bombardment, pursuit, attack or observation squadron is the final result."… (mais)