[ansel12]

USAAF did operate with a large degree of de facto autonomy. It was always staffed by volunteers, so the problems that came with draftees were largely absent.

I don't think so since the Army was 93% draftees, I believe you mean that the Army pilots were volunteers, not everyone in the Army air forces.

[schurmann]

” ‘USAAF did operate with a large degree of de facto autonomy. It was always staffed by volunteers, so the problems that came with draftees were largely absent.’

I don’t think so since the Army was 93% draftees, I believe you mean that the Army pilots were volunteers, not everyone in the Army air forces.”

I defer to ansel12. Memory is not what it once was.

To the best of my knowledge, all USAAF aircrew were volunteers. Lots more involved than mere pilots, in every other aircraft type, especially bombers: in B-17s, B-24s etc the enlisted technicians outnumbered the commissioned officers almost two to one. A majority were aerial gunners.

_Training to Fly_ by Rebecca Hancock Cameron (CreateSpace Independent Publishing, 2012; ISBN-10: 1477547762; ISBN-13: 978-1477547762) provides an in-depth treatment. She has written the only study ever published on the topic.