Country United Kingdom Base RAF Linton-on-Ouse | Branch Royal Air Force | |
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Active 23 Dec 1919 - 1 Feb 1931
1 Apr 1935 - 7 Mar 1942
18 Jun 1947 - 25 Feb 1948
1 Dec 1950 - 20 Apr 1955
1 May 1955 - present Role Basic fast-jet pilot training Part of No. 22 (Training) Group RAF | ||
No. 1 Flying Training School (1 FTS) is the oldest military pilot training school in the world.
Contents
First formation
On 23 December 1919, 1 FTS was officially formed by renaming the Netheravon Flying School, which had been formed on 29 July 1919 at Netheravon in Wiltshire, England, out of the 2nd incarnation of No. 8 Training Squadron, which in its turn had been formed on 15 May 1919 out of No. 8 Training Depot Station, all at Netheravon. During this part of its service life, 1 FTS and its predecessors flew aircraft such as the Airco DH.9A, the Avro 504, the Bristol F.2 Fighter, and the Sopwith Snipe.
1 FTS was disbanded on 1 February 1931. Part of its mission, the training of Fleet Air Arm (FAA) officers, had already been taken over by RAF Leuchars since 15 February 1928.
Second formation
The second incarnation of 1 FTS occurred at RAF Leuchars on 1 April 1935, tasked with training Royal Navy officers for the Fleet Air Arm. On 26 August 1938, the unit returned to its birthplace at RAF Netheravon, and on 1 September 1939 it was renamed No. 1 Service Flying Training School. It disbanded on 7 March 1942, when Netheravon was required for Army Cooperation Command use. Aircraft flown in this period included the Fairey IIIF, Hawker Hart, Westland Wapiti, Hawker Hind, Hawker Audax, de Havilland DH.82A Tiger Moth, North American Harvard, Fairey Battle and Miles Master.
Third formation
After the Second World War, 1 FTS was briefly reconstituted by the renaming of No. 17 Service Flying Training School RAF (17 SFTS) on 18 June 1947 at RAF Spitalgate. The school had RLGs (Relief Landing Ground) at RAF Folkingham between 28 July 1947 and August 1947, and at RAF Bottesford after that; it was disbanded again on 25 February 1948. Aircraft flown in this period were the de Havilland Tiger Moth and the North American Harvard.
Fourth formation
RAF Oakington saw the fifth incarnation of 1 FTS, when it was reformed once again on 1 December 1950 with the North American Harvard T.2B. On 31 October 1951 the school had completely moved to RAF Moreton-in-Marsh and had been given Percival Prentice T.1s, but disbanded again on 20 April 1955.
Fifth formation
On 1 May 1955 No. 22 Flying Training School RAF (22 FTS) at RAF Syerston was renamed to 1 FTS. It flew the Percival Provost T.1, de Havilland Canada DHC-1 Chipmunk T.10 and de Havilland Vampire T.11, moving to RAF Linton-on-Ouse on 18 November 1957. Initially equipped with Vampire T.11 and Provost trainers, 1 FTS re-equipped with the BAC Jet Provost T.3 from 1961. The unit's tie to the Jet Provost continued with the Jet Provost T.4 and the pressurised Jet Provost T.5, until 1989 with the introduction of the Shorts Tucano T.1.
From 1 April 1995, 1 FTS absorbed the Central Flying School (CFS) and No. 6 Flying Training School RAF (6 FTS) Tucano elements, including No. 72 (Reserve) Squadron RAF (72 Sqn) and No. 207 (Reserve) Squadron RAF (207 Sqn).
The school marked its 90th anniversary in July 2009 with a flypast of Tucano aircraft over York Minster and other events at RAF Linton-on-Ouse.
1 FTS is currently stationed at RAF Linton-on-Ouse with the role of basic training of pilots and navigators for the Royal Air Force and the Royal Navy, flying 78 Tucano aircraft.
Current Units
RAF Linton-on-Ouse