In the years immediately preceding World War II, several European countries, particularly Italy and Germany, began training thousands of young people to become pilots. Purportedly civilian in nature, these government-sponsored programs were, in fact, nothing more than military flight training academies.

The United States was initially slow to respond but the Civil Aeronautics Act of 1938 contained language authorizing and funding a trial program for what would evolve into the Civilian Pilot Training Program (CPTP). President Franklin D. Roosevelt unveiled the program on December 27, 1938, announcing that he had signed off on a proposal to provide a needed boost to general aviation by providing pilot training to 20,000 college students a year.    >> Read more about WWII flight school

During basic flight training, a cadet received approximately 70 hours in the air during a nine week period. The advance training made military pilots of those who had learned only the fundamentals of flight in primary school.

In addition to operating an airplane of greater weight, horsepower, and speed such as the BT-9 or BT-13, the cadet was taught how to fly at night, by instruments, in formation, and on cross-country from one point to another. Also, for the first time, he was operating a plane equipped with a two-way radio and a two-pitch propeller. This was the point in his career where it was decided whether he would go to single-engine or twin-engine advanced flying school.    >> Read more about fighter training and flying school

Five more weeks of transition training in the respective aircraft and receive assignment to a combat unit aerial gunnery and formation flying and aircraft familiarity was stressed at this stage of training. Often times this was completed in a extremely short amount of time.

Air Combat
A top World War II ace once said that fighter pilots fall into two broad categories: those who go out to kill and those who, secretly, desperately, know they are going to get killed-the hunters and the hunted.
- General Nathan F. Twinning, USAF     >> Read more about transition training

In the summer of 1939, at the start of World War II, the Luftwaffe had become the most powerful air force in the world. By ignoring the Treaty of Versailles, which banned Germany from building a military The Luftwaffe covertly trained and organized using Lufthansa, the national airline, as a cover and its existence was officially announced 1 April 1935.

Basing its strategy on rapidly securing air superiority, The luftwaffe based its stratagy on a brief, highly mobile, fast-paced theater level offensive. Better known as the Blitzkrieg.

Spearheaded by the use of the Stuka Junkers Ju 87 dive bomber. Germany swept through Poland, Norway, Denmark, Luxembourg, Belgium, The Netherlands and France in a matter of months between September 1939 and June 1940 due in no small part to the Luftwaffe, which now appeared invincible. It is an understated understanding that many of the experienced Luftwaffe pilots were adheirents to the Natioalist Solisolist    >> Read more about Germany's WWII involvement

The photos in this section are of Bob Baranskas's uncle M/Sgt. M.L. Hohenstein. These photos provide a glimpse into the daily life of A-36A Invader/Apache maintenance crews stationed in the Mediterranean theater of operations. The A-36A equipped the 27th and 86th Fighter Bomber Groups based in Sicily and in Italy. Both of these groups arrived in North Africa in April of 1943 just after the end of the Tunisian campaign. They saw their first action during aerial attacks on the Island of Pantelleria, with the first sortie being flown on June 6, 1943. >> Click to visit Historical Account section