Editing Williams Air Force Base (section)

===World War II===
[[File:Army Air Forces - Postcard - Williams Field Arizona.jpg|thumb|World War II postcard]]
[[File:Williams Army Airfield - Main Gate 1942.jpg|thumb|Williams Army Airfield - Main Gate 1942]]

During [[World War II]], Williams Field was under the command of the 89th Army Air Force Base Unit, [[West Coast Air Corps Training Center|AAF West Coast Training Center]]. The flying organization was the [[38th Flying Training Wing (World War II)|38th (Bombardier and Specialized Twin- and 4-Engine) Flying Training Wing]]. Thousands of future [[P-38 Lightning]] pilots learnt their twin-engine flying skills flying the Beech [[AT-10 Wichita]] at Williams.   By July 1942, there were 79 AT-10s assigned to the field, however the hot, dry climate of Arizona tended to dry out the wood and glue of the wooden AT-10s, causing at least 10 flying cadets to lose their lives in crashes. Training with the AT-10 was stopped and the aircraft were flown to more humid locations. They were replaced by the Cessna [[AT-17 Bobcat]] twin engine trainers, however the AT-17 was seen as "too easy to fly" and were replaced by the more demanding [[Curtiss-Wright AT-9]].   By January 1943, almost 200 AT-9s were at the airfield.

The RP-322 training version of the P-38 began to arrive also in early 1944, and by May, the flying school was involved in four courses of instruction. By far, the largest course was a single-engine advanced course where cadets received instruction on the [[AT-6 Texan]]. Graduates advanced to the twin-engine AT-9, then on to the RP-322. This training was intended to prepare pilots for photo-reconnaissance missions. Another course was given to experienced pilots who were transitioning to twin-engine aircraft, also in the RP-322. Later, a night fighter training program was established for pilots on the RP-322 for later transition to the [[P-61 Black Widow]] at [[Hammer Field]], California.

By late 1944, there was an ample supply of twin-engine pilots in training and by late 1944, the single-engine T-6 training was discontinued. Williams then began to offer four-engine training with [[Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress]] bombers in December. Its students would be experienced pilots who were transitioning to the large four-engine bomber. The B-17 pilot training ended in April 1945, graduating 608 officers for the Flying Fortress program.

The training mission of the base also conducted flexible gunnery training, and radar observer training.

After the United States [[Military history of the United States during World War II|entered the war]], the Army Air Forces also developed a pilot training program for the [[Republic of China Air Force|Chinese Air Force]]. The Air Corps conducted most of the training for the Chinese at [[Luke AFB]], Williams, and [[Thunderbird Field No. 1|Thunderbird Field]] in Arizona. Training the Chinese presented some special challenges because, due to their small stature, some students could not reach all the controls. That problem was usually solved through the use of extra cushions and occasionally by switching them to another type of airplane. A bigger problem was the language barrier. It took all the interpreters the Air Force could muster to support the training programs for the Chinese. In the end, 3,553 Chinese received flying and technical training, including 866 pilots.