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The first Flight Engineer training was located at RAF St Athan, the first course starting on 30 May 1942.Initially manpower came from technical ground trades remustering but later Flight Engineers were recruited from direct entry to the RAF.
The courses were of 24 weeks length but such was the volume of training imposed on training resources that later, the first 10 weeks training was conducted at RAF Locking, the rest at St Athan.A 3 week gunnery course was included in the package.
In late 1944, the RCAF decided to train their own Flight Engineers and for the final stages of the European war,RCAF Flight Engineers came to Bomber Command with their technical training completed.They then went through "finishing school units" before they joined operational squadrons.
St Athan continued to train Bomber Command Flight Engineers until the end of the piston era in the early 1950s.Post war,the Flight Engineer's course was of 12 weeks duration.Graduates then completed their training at an OCU before being posted to a Bomber Command squadron.
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