Coastal Command Landplane Pilots School The
Coastal Command Landplane Pilots School RAF formed at
RAF Silloth on 1 November 1939. The school was equipped with
Avro Anson I, a British twin-engine, multi-role
aircraft,
Lockheed Hudson I, a US
light bomber and
coastal reconnaissance aircraft,
Bristol Beaufort I, a British twin-engined
torpedo bomber, and
Vickers Wellington I, a British twin-engined, long-range
medium bomber aircraft. It was operational for around five months, before disbanding, at RAF Silloth, to reform as No. 1 (Coastal) Operational Training Unit.
No. 1 (Coastal) Operational Training Unit Forming on 1 April 1940, at RAF Silloth, by redesignating the Coastal Command Landplane Pilots School,
No. 1 (Coastal) Operational Training Unit initially trained
aircrews for
RAF Coastal Command landplanes and was equipped with
Avro Anson,
Lockheed Hudson,
Bristol Blenheim, a British
light bomber, and
Bristol Beaufort aircraft. However, with the creation of more OTU's the unit started to specialise in training Lockheed Hudson aircrew. On 23 March 1943 No. 1 (Coastal) Operational Training Unit moved to
RAF Thornaby and the unit also provided aircrew training for
Consolidated Liberator, an American
heavy bomber,
Boeing Fortress an American four-engined
heavy bomber, and
Handley Page Halifax a British four-engined heavy bomber. Roughly six months later, the Lockheed Hudson training moved to
No. 5 (Coastal) Operational Training Unit RAF, before No. 1 (C) OTU disbanded on 19 October 1943, and the heavy bomber courses for Handley Page Halifax and Boeing Fortress were taken over by
No. 1674 Heavy Conversion Unit RAF at RAF Aldergrove, which had not long formed, on 10 October 1943. == Aircraft operated ==