Gunter Basic Flying Training School - Montgomery, Alabama
Posted by: 
xptwo
N 32° 24.632 W 086° 14.651
16S E 571071 N 3586192
Marker giving the history of the World War II flying training school where over 12,000 pilots from several countries graduated.
Waymark Code: WME6N9
Location: Alabama, United States
Date Posted: 04/10/2012
Views: 7
When the United States realized how many pilots it needed to train for its own forces and those of its allies, it began looking for places where facilities could be build quickly. The Air Corps took over the Montgomery Municipal Airport and began the training program. The students were American, British, and French during most of the war.
Marker Name: Gunter Basic Flying Training School
Marker Type: Urban
Addtional Information::
The text of the marker reads:
Gunter Basic Flying Training School
Activated on Aug. 27, 1940, the school was among the first established under WWII Air Corps expansion program. BT-13s were the principal planes used in the 10-week training course until 1944 when they were replaced by AT-6s. Once, nearly 400 airplanes were involved in the training program and the skies over the field were hailed as the "densest air traffic in the world." The school closed September 1945, with over 12,000 cadets-American, British, and French-earning their "wings" and with British cadets dominating early classes. At the war's end, 600 Chinese students received preflight training here.
Montgomery Area Chamber of Commerce
Historical Preservation and Promotion oundation
Alabama Historical Association
1996
Date Dedicated / Placed: 1996
Marker Number: Not Listed
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