No. 1 Flying Training School (No. 1 FTS) is a school of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). It is one of the Air Force's original units, dating back to the service's formation in 1921, when it was established at RAAF Point Cook, Victoria. By the early 1930s, the school comprised training, fighter, and seaplane components. It was re-formed several times in the ensuing years, initially as No. 1 Service Flying Training School (No. 1 SFTS) in 1940, under the wartime Empire Air Training Scheme. After graduating nearly 3,000 pilots, No. 1 SFTS was disbanded in late 1944, when there was no further requirement to train Australian aircrew for service in Europe.

The school was re-established in 1946 as No. 1 FTS at RAAF Station Uranquinty, New South Wales, and transferred to Point Cook the following year. Under a restructure of flying training to cope with the demands of the Korean War and Malayan Emergency, No. 1 FTS was re-formed in 1952 as No. 1 Applied Flying Training School (No. 1 AFTS); it moved to RAAF Base Pearce, Western Australia, in 1958. For much of this period the school was also responsible for training the RAAF's air traffic controllers. Its pilot trainees included Army, Navy, and foreign students as well as RAAF personnel. The RAAF's reorganisation of aircrew training in the early 1950s had led to the formation at Uranquinty of No. 1 Basic Flying Training School (No. 1 BFTS), which transferred to Point Cook in 1958. In 1969, No. 1 AFTS was re-formed as No. 2 Flying Training School and No. 1 BFTS was re-formed as No. 1 FTS. Rationalisation of RAAF flying training resulted in the disbandment of No. 1 FTS in 1993.

A re-formed No. 1 FTS began conducting ab initio flight training on the Pilatus PC-21 at RAAF Base East Sale in 2019.

History

Early years

No. 1 Flying Training School (No. 1 FTS) was the first unit to be formally established as part of the new Australian Air Force on 31 March 1921 (the term "Royal" was added in August that year). No. 1 FTS was formed from the remnants of Australia's original military flying unit, Central Flying School, at RAAF Point Cook, Victoria.Coulthard-Clark, The Third Brother, p. 41Stephens, The Royal Australian Air Force, p. 29 Squadron Leader William Anderson, who was also in charge of the Point Cook base, was No. 1 FTS's first commanding officer. The school's initial complement of staff was twelve officers and 67 airmen.

In December 1921, the Australian Air Board prepared to form its first five squadrons and allocate aircraft to each, as well as to the nascent flying school. The plan was for No. 1 FTS to receive twelve Avro 504Ks and four Sopwith Pups, and the squadrons a total of eight Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5s, eight Airco DH.9s, and three Fairey IIIs.Coulthard-Clark, The Third Brother, p. 42 Funding problems forced the Air Force to disband the newly raised squadrons on 1 July 1922 and re-form them as flights in a composite squadron under No. 1 FTS.Coulthard-Clark, The Third Brother, p. 43 The same month, Flight Lieutenant Frank McNamara, VC, took command of the school.

The inaugural flying course commenced in January 1923. Basic instruction took place on the Avro 504Ks, and more advanced or specialised training on the school's other aircraft. Fourteen students commenced the year-long course, and twelve graduated.Stephens, The Royal Australian Air Force, pp. 34–35 As well as flying, they studied aeronautics, communications, navigation, armament and general military subjects.Coulthard-Clark, The Third Brother, p. 199 Squadron Leader Anderson resumed command of No. 1 FTS in 1925; the following year he handed over to Wing Commander Adrian Cole, who led the unit until 1929. The first Citizen Air Force (active reserve) pilots' course ran from December 1925 to March 1926, 26 of 30 students completing the training. Although 24 accidents occurred, there were no fatalities, leading Cole to remark at the graduation ceremony that the students were either made of India rubber or had learned how to crash "moderately safely".Stephens, The Royal Australian Air Force, p. 37Coulthard-Clark, The Third Brother, pp. 234–238 The 1926 Permanent Air Force (PAF) cadet course was marred by three fatal accidents.Coulthard-Clark, The Third Brother, p. 207 The following year, 29 students graduated—thirteen PAF, nine reserve, and seven destined for exchange with the Royal Air Force (RAF).Gillison, Royal Australian Air Force, p. 28 In June 1928, the school's Avro 504Ks were replaced by de Havilland DH.60 Cirrus Moths; these were augmented by Gipsy Moths commencing in 1930.Coulthard-Clark, The Third Brother, p. 173

Squadron Leader McNamara resumed command of No. 1 FTS in October 1930. By then, two sub-units had been raised at Point Cook under the school's auspices: "Fighter Squadron", operating Bristol Bulldogs; and "Seaplane Squadron", operating Supermarine Southamptons, among other types.Coulthard-Clark, The Third Brother, pp. 186–187 As of February 1934, No. 1 FTS was organised into Training Squadron, operating Moths and Westland Wapitis, Fighter Squadron and Seaplane Squadron. Fighter and Seaplane Squadrons were formally established as units that month,RAAF Historical Section, Fighter Units, pp. 146–147RAAF Historical Section, Maritime and Transport Units, pp. 187–190 but remained under the control of the flying school and were "really little more than flights", according to the official history of the pre-war RAAF.Coulthard-Clark, The Third Brother, pp. 127–128 As well as participating in training exercises, Fighter Squadron was often employed for aerobatic displays and flag-waving duties.Coulthard-Clark, The Third Brother, pp. 104, 405 One of No. 1 FTS's leading instructors during the early 1930s, Flight Lieutenant Frederick Scherger, was also a flight commander in Fighter Squadron.Coulthard-Clark, The Third Brother, pp. 188–189, 202–203 Seaplane Squadron undertook naval co-operation and survey tasks, as well as seaplane training.Coulthard-Clark, The Third Brother, pp. 186–187, 380–381 Fighter Squadron was dissolved in December 1935 when its Bulldogs were transferred to No. 1 Squadron at RAAF Laverton; Seaplane Squadron continued to function until June 1939, when it was separated to form the nucleus of No. 10 Squadron.

In 1932, No. 1 FTS started running two courses each year, the first commencing in January and the second in July; it also ceased graduating non-commissioned officers as pilots, and thus took on a character resembling the other armed services' cadet colleges, the Royal Australian Naval College and the Royal Military College, Duntroon.Coulthard-Clark, The Third Brother, pp. 200–201 The roughly 1,200 applications for each flying course competed for around twelve places.Coulthard-Clark, The Third Brother, p. 205 Wing Commander Hippolyte De La Rue became commanding officer in early 1933.Coulthard-Clark, The Third Brother, p. 271 The following year, No. 1 FTS commenced regular courses in signals, photography, air observation, and aircraft maintenance.Coulthard-Clark, The Third Brother, p. 198 In April 1936, the school took delivery of its first Avro Cadets, procured as an intermediate trainer to bridge the gap between the Gipsy Moth employed for elementary flying instruction and the Wapiti used for advanced training.Wilson, Military Aircraft of Australia, p. 22 De La Rue was succeeded by Wing Commander Frank Lukis in January 1938. By this time the school was training up to 96 new pilots per year, a small percentage of whom were slated for secondment to the RAF on short-service commissions.Gillison, Royal Australian Air Force, p. 44 Link Trainer simulators were introduced in March 1939.

World War II

RAAF flying training was heavily reorganised soon after the outbreak of World War II, in response to Australia's participation in the Empire Air Training Scheme (EATS). Several elementary flying training schools were formed, to provide basic flight instruction to cadets; more advanced pilot instruction was to take place at service flying training schools.Gillison, Royal Australian Air Force, pp. 72–73Gillison, Royal Australian Air Force, p. 97 On 1 May 1940, No. 1 FTS was re-formed at Point Cook as No. 1 Service Flying Training School (No. 1 SFTS). Its inaugural commanding officer was Group Captain John Summers, who led Fighter Squadron in the early 1930s and had taken over No. 1 FTS in December 1939.RAAF Historical Section, Training Units, pp. 100–101Coulthard-Clark, The Third Brother, p. 104 The school's Instructors' Training Squadron was detached to become the nucleus of a re-formed Central Flying School, which relocated to Camden, New South Wales, in June. Courses at the service flying training schools consisted of two streams, intermediate and advanced; the total duration varied during the war as demand for aircrew fluctuated. Initially running for sixteen weeks, the course was cut to ten weeks (which included 75 hours flying time) in October 1940. A year later it was raised to twelve weeks (including 100 hours flying time), and again to sixteen weeks two months later. It continued to increase after this, peaking at 28 weeks in June 1944.Gillison, Royal Australian Air Force, p. 109

No. 1 SFTS came under the control of Southern Area Command, headquartered in Melbourne.Ashworth, How Not to Run an Air Force!, p. 34 The school's complement of 52 aircraft included Wapitis, Cadets, Avro Ansons, Hawker Demons, and a de Havilland Tiger Moth. Group Captain John McCauley served as commanding officer from October 1940 until July 1941, when he handed over to Wing Commander Roy King, who went on to take charge of Station Headquarters Point Cook in October. As of July, No. 1 SFTS was operating more than 100 aircraft, including Gipsy Moths, de Havilland DH.89 Dragon Rapides, Douglas C-47 Dakotas, CAC Wirraways and Airspeed Oxfords, the last two being the mainstays. In August 1941, control of all training units in Victoria passed from Southern Area Command to the newly formed No. 1 Training Group.Ashworth, How Not to Run an Air Force!, p. 46 By September, the school had an establishment of 100 officers and over 2,000 airmen, including 300 cadets. It was organised into Intermediate Training Squadron, Advanced Training Squadron, Maintenance Wing, Armament School, and Signal School. Wing Commander Charles Read held command of No. 1 SFTS from October 1943 until its disbandment on 15 September 1944, by which time almost 3,000 pilots had graduated. Among these were Nicky Barr, who became one of Australia's leading fighter aces in North Africa, and Bill Newton, awarded the Victoria Cross for bombing raids in New Guinea.Weate, Bill Newton VC, pp. 19–22 The RAAF had ordered the school's closure in August 1944 as part of a general reduction in aircrew training, after being informed by the British Air Ministry that it no longer required EATS graduates for the war in Europe. Significant reserves of trained Commonwealth aircrew had been built up in the UK early in 1944 before the invasion of Normandy, but lower-than-anticipated casualties had resulted in an over-supply that by 30 June numbered 3,000 Australians.Herington, Air Power Over Europe, pp. 283–285

Cold War