Published May 04, 2015
The Civilian Pilot Training Program and War Training Service produced 435,165 pilots for the war effort. During the war, all were required to enlist in military service. (U.S. Air Force photo)
First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt supported the Civilian Pilot Training Program and the War Training Service. She is pictured here in a Piper J-3 Cub trainer with C. Alfred “Chief” Anderson, a pioneer black aviator and respected instructor at Tuskegee Institute. (U.S. Air Force photo)
The Civilian Pilot Training Program created opportunities for women to fly. These Women Airforce Service Pilots, or WASPs, got their first aeronautical training through the CPTP. For example, Dr. Dora Dougherty Strother (top) flew a wide variety of missions during World War II, including reliability tests of the B-29 Superfortress bomber. She went on to a long career in flying and aircraft engineering, and set women’s records flying rotorcraft. (U.S. Air Force photo)
The National Museum of the U.S. Air Force is located at:
1100 Spaatz Street Wright-Patterson AFB OH 45433
(near Dayton, Ohio)