Description:
On June 23, 1943, Lt. John B. Knight, pilot instructor with the 823rd Basic Flying training Squadron at Coffeyville Army Air Field, Coffeyville, Kansas stood with three of his aviation cadet students alongside a 450 horsepower Vultee BT-13, the Army Air Forces' most used basic training plane. These cadets, class of 43-H, had just completed two months of flight training in the basic trainer following two months in primary trainers and would now go on to another two months in single engine or twin engine advanced flying to complete their pilot training and received their pilot's wings and commissions as 2nd Lieutenants. Lt. Knight had completed his flight training the prior December as part of the class of 42-X, an unusual class which received its entire training in three months instead of the usual six, at one field, Randolph, Texas. Flight training began in the basic trainer, bypassing the primary trainer. Of the 400 cadets which entered training in the class of 42-X, only 238 complete the course. From left to right: A/C Rudrud, A/C Rezin, Lt. Knight and A/C Rickey.
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