Cal Aero Flying Academy and Chino Army Air Field (1942-1945)

During World War II, the Cal Aero Flying Academy was a civilian training program the operated from this location at today's Chino Airport and trained thousands of pilots as they prepared for military service. Cal Aero Flying Academy was a relatively small training program until after the attack on Pearl Harbor and the entry of the United States in World War II. At that time, the private training academy was contracted by the U.S Army Air Forces in an effort to leverage existing resources to quickly train future soldiers through preliminary and basic flight training before being sent out for advanced training in another location. The Cal Aero Flying Academy is no longer in operation, but signage at the Chino Airport continues to serve as a reminder of Chino's role in wartime mobilization.

The Pearl Harbor attack hit close to home for Californians, and the state was the epicenter of the West Coast's rapid wartime transformation and mobilization to support the war effort. Prior to the beginning of the war, the United States government and President Roosevelt started the Protective Mobilization Plan and proclaim the PMP as a limited national emergency which enabled the United States to strengthen national defense (Morgan, 1994). Historian Thomas Morgan notes how the U.S. Armed forces prior to the war lacked soldiers, had obsolete military resources and ranked seventeenth among the armies of the world but President Roosevelt called for the strengthening in numbers of the armed forces and mass production of military resources such as aircraft. The Protective Mobilization Plan lasted until 1941 and full-scale mobilization went into effect after the Pearl Harbor attack. The aftermath of Pearl Harbor saw a massive war mobilization in the United States to support the war effort and in this effort emerged the need for locations that could aid in mass production and housing of aircraft, house military operations, and aid in the training of newly enlisted troops.

One area that emerged that took responsibility in training newly enlisted troops and housing aircraft and military operations was the Cal-Aero Flying Academy in Chino, California. Cal-Aero Flying Academy emerged in a time where flight training was highly needed and common. According to Sandi Hemmerlein the Cal-Aero Flying Academy was one of the largest flight schools in its time and was contracted by the U.S Army Air Forces from 1942 to 1944. Hemmerlein also notes how more than 12,000 fighter and bomber pilots trained at this location during the war effort which saw Army Air Cadets would go through 10 weeks of primary training and 10 weeks of basic pilot training which included flight instruction and ground school. The Cal-Aero Flying Academy was different than other military bases and academies, the academy did not include barracks but instead motel- style rooms (Hemmerlein, 2019). Hemmerlein explains the reason behind the motel-style rooms is due the origin of Cal-Aero Flying start as a private facility and the academy could accommodate up to 500 men. At the conclusion of the of training program the Army Air Cadets would be move on to more advanced training at another base farther up north (Hemmerlein,2019). Academies such as the Cal-Aero Flying Academy supported the war effort by providing areas of training and housing for newly enlisted recruits that were looking to support the war effort by fighting. The Cal-Aero Flying Academy is no longer used by the U.S Army Forces but the role the location played illustrates the mobilization effort present in Southern California.

Hemmerlein, Sandi. 2019. "Best Places To Explore The Hidden WWII History Of Socal". KCET. https://www.kcet.org/shows/socal-wanderer/best-places-to-explore-the-hidden-wwii-history-of-socal

Morgan, Thomas D. 1994. "The Industrial Mobilization of World War II: America Goes to War." Army History, no. 30: 31-35. http://www.jstor.org/stable/26304207.