The situation of the Piloting
Schools in September 1939 is worrying. The schools are not enough
and are not able to train the pilots and crews necessary for the
Air Force in full restructuring. There is not really any suitable
equipment, and the appliances used are often old appliances repaid
by the active units.
The organization of piloting
schools was profoundly modified at the outset of the conflict,
with the creation of 30 EEPs (Elementary Schools of Piloting)
and 8 EAPs (Auxiliary Schools of Piloting) grouped under two EPPs
(Principal Piloting School). To this were added some schools near
Istres.
The journey of an apprentice pilot is complicated : the student first enters the EEP in order to acquire the basics of piloting before joining an EAP and finally an EPP by specialty (Etampes for the Fighter aviation and Avord for Bombardment and Reconnaissance). He must then join a specialized Training Center: CIC for fighter aviation, CIB for bombing or CIR for reconnaissance. This training should not exceed four months, but in the face of the shortage of resources, the delays are much longer and the schools are unable to supply the fighting units.
The types of aircraft used
is therefore very heterogeneous. Thus, in the different schools,
civilian machines of all types can be found in old-fashioned military
Aircrafts, and the maintenance of these old machines so diverse
is a real headache for the technical teams. The future pilots
will be trained on aircraft requisitioned in aeroclubs such as
Salmson
D6 Cri-Cri , Farman moustique, Caudron
Luciole , Phalène
or Simoun
, Mauboussin 123,... or on old military machines : Dewoitine
D500 , Nieuport-Delage
Nid62 , Loiré
46 , Morane-Saulnier
MS230 MS315
for fighter aviation and Amiot
143 , LéO 20 orBloch
MB210 for the Bombardment. These machines, too far
removed from the most modern equipment in service, will imperfectly
train the personnel.
