Does anybody know what trainng after primary flight traing was like?

[indiaciki]

I haven't found any document on wwII there's plenty for wwI. Last week I started flying the Ju-87. i have 30 landinds / patterns so far. I 2h cross country, 2 deadstick landings. I was wondering what transition from a trainer to the actual aircraft looked like. I've been flying the 109F so far. Any information ?

[Dakpilot]

A long time ago there was a debate about the oft quoted Battle of Britain 10 hour training 'myth' various sources were quoted showing that this was not quite accurate with only a couple of examples of actual 10hrs 'on type'

 

U.S. British German and Russian Pilot training was actually quite extensive and similar, around 200hrs (don't quote me  ), close to basic commercial pilot today

 

A quick search found this

 

https://www.quora.com/How-many-hours-of-flight-training-were-required-of-Allied-pilots-during-World-War-II

 

I have read similar accounts from other airforces even when there were critical shortages of aircrew

 

Cheers Dakpilot

[Finkeren]

The many accounts of desperately poorly trained pilots at the beginning of the war was not so much a lack of general pilot training but mostly a question of well trained pilots who lacked experience on the specific aircraft types they were supposed to fly in combat. Almost all the major air forces in the war were in a critical transition phase at the start of the war, where many old aircraft types were being phased out in favor of more modern designs that were often a handful for pilots converting from slower types with simpler controls and equipment.

 

Nowhere was this more evident than in the Soviet Union, which was right in the middle of transitioning to new aircraft types (which themselves had a load of teething problems) across the board. The fighter regiments were phasing out their I-16s and I-153s for no less than 3 very different fighter designs. The ground attack regiments were transitioning to brand new Su-2's and IL-2s, the light bomber force was adopting the also brand new Pe-2 etc. Only the medium (or rather 'long range') bomber regiments had some continuity in the form of the DB-3 which transitioned relatively smoothly to the upgraded version known as the IL-4.

 

The result was, that a great many well trained pilots were left to fly machines they were quite unfamiliar with into combat, and this was one of the reasons for the calamity that befell the VVS in 1941/42.

[Sokol1]

This book describe well the training for German pilot - at least in first half of the war.

 

http://forum.il2sturmovik.com/topic/15584-free-pdf-luftwaffe-fighter-ace-norbert-hannig/?do=findComment&comment=248222