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Primary
trainers represented the first of three
stages of military flight training --
primary, basic, and advanced. Prior
to 1939, the Air Corps relied
entirely on biplanes as primary trainers,
but in 1940 it ordered a small number of
Ryan low-wing civilian trainers and
designated them as PT-16s. They
were so successful that the Air Corps then
ordered large numbers of improved
versions, among them the PT-22. By
the time production was completed in 1941,
1,023 PT-22s had been delivered.
Twenty-five additional trainers, ordered
by the Netherlands, were taken over by the
Air Corps in 1942 and designated as
PT-22s.
During World War II, Warner Robins Air
Logistics Center (then an Army Depot) was
responsible for the supply and depot
maintenance of all U. S. Army aircraft in
its geographical area. This included
Georgia, North and South Carolina, most of
Florida, and Virginia. Flight
training was extensive and the area
contained 6,500 aircraft of all types,
including the "Recruit."
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