37th Flying Training Wing (World War II)

The 37th Flying Training Wing is an inactive United States Army Air Forces unit. It was last assigned to the Western Flying Training Command, and was disbanded on 16 June 1946 at Luke Field, Arizona.

There is no lineage between the United States Air Force 37th Training Wing, established on 22 December 1939 as the 37th Pursuit Group (Interceptor) at Albrook Army Airfield, Panama Canal Zone, and this organization.

The wing directed Training Command Flight Schools in Arizona. Most of the assigned schools provided phase II basic and phase II advanced flying training for Air Cadets, although the wing also commanded both contract basic (phase I) and Army schools. Graduates of the advanced schools were commissioned as Second Lieutenants, received their "wings" and were reassigned to Operational or Replacement Training Units operated by one of the four numbered air fores in the zone of interior.

As training requirements changed during the war, schools were activated and inactivated or transferred to meet those requirements.

• Established as 37th Flying Training Wing on 17 December 1942

Activated on 8 January 1943 Disbanded 16 June 1946.

• AAF West Coast (later, AAF Western Flying) Training Center, 8 January 1943 – 16 June 1946

A Stearman PT-17, a historic World War II plane of the type used to train pilots in Scottsdale in World War II

The schools of the wing used a wide variety of planes to support its numerous training needs:

• Primary training aircraft were the Boeing-Stearman PT-17 and Ryan PT-22. PT-13 and PT-27 aircraft were also used which were basic Stearmans with varying horsepower ratings.
• The Vultee BT-13 was the basic training aircraft, along with its cousin the Vultee BT-15
• The North American AT-6 was used as the single-engine advanced trainer
• The Cessna AT-17 Bobcat was the standard two-engine advanced trainer, along with the Cessna UC-78 variant of the AT-17

Curtiss-Wright AT-9s were used for high performance two-engine training in perpetration for Lockheed P-38 Lightning training Beechcraft AT-10s were used for pilots in training for two engine bombers (B-25s and B-26s) Beechcraft AT-11s were used for pilots in training for C-47 transports

• Luke Field, Arizona, 8 January 1943 – 16 June 1946.

• Army Air Forces Training Command

• Other Western Flying Training Command Flight Training Wings:

35th Flying Training Wing (World War II) Basic/Advanced Flight Training (California) 36th Flying Training Wing (World War II) Primary Flight Training 38th Flying Training Wing (World War II) Bombardier and Specialized 2/4-Engine Training 81st Flying Training Wing (World War II) Classification/Preflight Unit

This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency