Texas R.A.F.

Just an odd story....

Saw notice of new book Girls of Flight City concerning R.A.F. pilots that were trained in the U.S.A. during WWII. Quite the opposite of the usual yank soldiers in England story that's been told too much, e.g. in film.

Turns out this started as part of the Lend Lease program, and included many cities – Terrell and Sweetwater, Texas; Lancaster, California;  Mesa, Arizona; Clewiston, Florida; and Miami and Ponca City, Oklahoma.

The Terrell, Texas airfield boasts the "No.1 British Flying Training School Museum".

As in all wars, often forgotten are the troops who died in training accidents; there are apparently some 20 British cadets buried in Texas soil (and presumably near the other airfields).

And here's a short description of this non-fiction account of the Texas R.A.F. training, The Royal Air Force in Texas