This article contains a list of the Southern Rhodesian facilities forming part of Joint Air Training Scheme which was a major programme for training South African Air Force, Royal Air Force and Allied air crews during World War II. However, RAF Training units would still be based in this country until a decade after the war had finished
A war-time Elementary Flying Training School (EFTS) gave a recruit 50 hours of basic aviation instruction on a simple trainer like the Tiger Moth. Pilots who showed promise went on to training at a Service Flying Training School (SFTS). The Service Flying Training School provided advanced training for pilots, including fighter and multi-engined aircraft. Other trainees went on to different specialties, such as wireless, navigation or bombing and air gunnery. Trainees in Southern Rhodesia came from Rhodesia, Britain, South Africa, Australia, Greece, and Yugoslavia.
From 1940 thousands of black men were conscripted by the colonial government to build airfields across Southern Rhodesia. They were paid at less than the rates available to farm workers. This led to widespread attempts to avoid this form of forced labour.
These are the units that formed the Rhodesia Air Training Group.
For clarification; No.4 FTS & No.5 FTS initially functioned as complete Flying Training Schools with all three/four types at two different bases. After a short period, No.5 FTS was disbanded / redesignated as No.3 ANS specialising in Navigation training, sending all Tiger Moths & Harvards across to join No.4 FTS, and in return receiving No.4 FTS Ansons to add to its own. Three years later in 1951 the situation was reversed with the dissolution of No.3 ANS.