A Sergeant Pilot was a non-commissioned officer who had undergone flight training and was a qualified pilot in the air forces of several Commonwealth countries and in the United States Army Air Forces before, during and after World War II where they were called Flying Sergeants. After World War II, non-commissioned pilots began to be phased out and today all air force pilots are commissioned officers. In the United States, the Flight Officer Act ended enlisted men's chances of undergoing flight training.
In Commonwealth air forces, a Sergeant Pilot (Pilot IV, III or II from 1946 to 1950) could be promoted to Flight Sergeant Pilot (Pilot I from 1946 to 1950) and Warrant Officer Pilot (renamed Master Pilot in 1946). Many went on to be commissioned. There were still Master Pilots flying helicopters with the Royal Air Force at least into the early 1970s.
Famous quotes containing the words sergeant and/or pilot:
“So, my sweetheart back home writes to me and wants to know what this gal in Bombay’s got that she hasn’t got. So I just write back to her and says, “Nothin’, honey. Only she’s got it here.””
—Alvah Bessie, Ranald MacDougall, and Lester Cole. Raoul Walsh. Sergeant Tracey, Objective Burma, to a buddy (1945)
“Whenever the weather licks the pilot instead of him lickin’ the weather, he’s finished. The first time makes the second time easier. And the first thing he knows, he’s in trouble when the weather is perfect.”
—Frank W. Wead (1895?–1947)