AAF Service Pilot

Civilian-experienced pilots — older men, men with vision or medical waivers — commissioned with an "S" rating to fly Air Transport Command ferry missions, training command tow flights, and stateside utility runs.

The Story

Service Pilots ferried every type of aircraft in inventory — P-47s, B-17s, B-29s — but were prohibited from combat duty. By 1944, 40% of Ferrying Division pilots were Service Pilots. Many had flown in WWI or as airmail pilots in the 1920s.