My late father, Bob “Doc” Price 446 SQN RAAF records reflects a long period of training (Some 2 Years) and so I’m interested in the period of time usually allocated in training Halifax pilots.
I think on recalling talks with him that on arriving in the U.K after EATS in 1944, he said there was too many sprog pilots and NOT enough aircraft so they continue to train, he recalled and on reaching his squadron at Driffield on March 1945, he was commissioned as he was told that was required to be in command as aircraft captain during ops at that stage.
He got in 4 Ops before war’s end and post war till demob he recalled was flying flying erks (Groundstaff) over to Germany on joyrides to view to damage!
Flying and training continued as the squadron was tasked to converted to Liberators to which he said were thought as “widow-makers” according to some of the crews, which is interesting because shortly after starting this, it was discontinued and unit disbanded.
As I understand it, i was not atypical and in fact became pretty much the norm for it to take the better part of two years to train a four-engined Heavy Bomber Pilot.
Like all enlisted airforce personnel there was Recruitment then Manning Depot. They then attended Initial Training School where aircrew selection was determined. Pilot candidates then attended Elementary Flight Training School (single engine training aircraft like the Tiger Moth or Fleet Finch, etc.) then progressed onto Service Flying Training School for multi-engined aircraft like the Anson or Crane or Oxford.
Once overseas Pilots attended Advanced Flying Units then on to Operational Training Units where they learned to master the much larger twin-engined bombers with a crew such as the Wellington or Whitley. Ops was still one step away with learning four-engined Heavy Bombers such as the Halifax or Lancaster and sometimes there was the need to attend a finishing School depending upon which aircraft they were destined.
Factor in time spent at various Holding Units along the way and it was certainly not out of the ordinary for it to take upwards of two-years to produce an operational Pilot. By this time most had amassed something in the neighbourhood of 450 - 500 Flying hours in every variable of weather both day and night and endured countless circuits and bumps.
It's certainly possible to account for the time passage when provided with the periods of average attendance at each of these stages. Quite the process when all considered.
If your father was 429005 Robert Harold Price RAAF then his service was typical of RAAF pilots. Having trained in Australia, he then trained in Canada followed by further time in the UK.
If you remove the time he was in transit, time spend awaiting transit/posting and allow for the fact that after he arrived in the UK he spent some time at an EFTS his 'training' period is pretty typical. He still 'did his bit' though and for that we are all appreciative