Editing Luke Air Force Base (section)

===World War II===
[[File:Luke Field - 43F Classbook.pdf|thumb|220px|Luke Field 1943 classbook|alt=|left]]

During [[World War II]], Luke Field was the largest fighter training base in the [[U.S. Army Air Forces]], graduating more than 12,000 fighter pilots from advanced and operational courses earning the nickname "Home of the Fighter Pilot".<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=Luke Air Force Base - History |url=https://www.944fw.afrc.af.mil/About-Us/Fact-Sheets/Display/Article/189491/luke-air-force-base-history/https://www.944fw.afrc.af.mil/About-Us/Fact-Sheets/Display/Article/189491/luke-air-force-base-history/ |access-date=2023-06-30 |website=944th Fighter Wing |language=en-US}}{{dead link|date=March 2025|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref>

The base was under the control of the [[37th Flying Training Wing (World War II)|37th Flying Training Wing (Advanced Single-Engine)]], [[Western Flying Training Command]], AAF Flying Training Command. During the years of World War II, more than 17,000 pilots trained at Luke Field, making it the largest single-engine advanced flying training school in the U.S. More than a million hours of flying were logged, primarily in the AT-6 Texan, along with some transitioning to [[P-40 Warhawk]] fighters and later the [[P-51 Mustang]] and [[P-47 Thunderbolt]].

Although continually modified during the war years, the course of advanced flight training at Luke averaged about 10 weeks and included both flight training and ground school. Around 60 hours of flying instruction covered [[formation flying#Military aviation|formation flying]], [[Air navigation|navigation]], and [[Instrument flight rules|instrument flying]], as well as a bit of [[Aerobatics|aerial acrobatics]]. About 20 additional hours of flight practice concentrated on aerial and gunnery training.

Ground school, or classroom training for the advanced flying course, varied from about 100 to 130 hours and was intermingled with flight time in the aircraft. Cadets flew in the morning and attended ground school in the afternoons, or flew training missions in the afternoon after a morning of ground school. At the peak of the training program at Luke, some students were required to attend night classes. Ground school included instruction in navigation, flight planning, radio equipment, maintenance, and weather.

By 7 February 1944, pilots at Luke had achieved a million hours of flying time. By 1946, however, the number of pilots trained dropped to 299 and the base was deactivated 30 November that year.<ref name=":1" />

A World War II film, ''A Guy Named Joe'', included some footage filmed at Luke.<ref>{{Citation |title=A Guy Named Joe (1943) - Filming & production - filming locations |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0035959/locations/ |access-date=2023-06-30 |language=en-US}}</ref>