Army Air Forces Bombardier Schools The Army Air Forces
Bombardier Schools ("Bombardier College" colloq.) were World War
II facilities that used bombing ranges for training aircrew
members of the United States Army Air Forces. After ground
simulator training with the Norden bombsight, the 12-18 week
course recorded each student's scores for approximately 160
practice bomb drops of "Bomb Dummy Units" (BDU), both in daytime
and at night. The elimination rate was 12%, and graduates
transferred to a Second or Third Air Force training unit to join
a crew being trained for overseas duty. The bombardier trainer
used was the Beech AT-11 Kansan. With the Bradley Plan increase
in Eighth Air Force aircrews needed for the Combined Bomber
Offensive, the 17 Army Air Forces Bombardier Schools graduated
47,236. A July 1941 attempt at establishing a bombardier school
at Lowry Field, Colorado (3 instructor classes with the last
graduating 14 March 1941), was replaced by schools at Barksdale
Field, Louisiana (moved to Albuquerqu