Stearman Kaydet PT 17 Biplane

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This mural is dedicated to the No. 1 British Flying Training School (BFTS) located here in Terrell.  The flight training school was established in 1941 to train British flyers who due to the Nazi blitz, could not train in England.  The school operated until the end of WWII in 1945. 

The biplane pictured would have been the first aircraft a cadet would train in during his course at No.1 BFTS.  The designation PT stood for “Primary Trainer”.  During World War II thousands of British pilots learned to fly at six civilian training schools located in the United States, the first of these being located in Terrell, Texas.  During the middle years of the war some US Army Air Corps cadets also trained at No. 1 along with their Royal Air Force (RAF) comrades.   British graduates, a total of around 1,470 receiving their wings in Terrell, went on to fly in every theatre in which the RAF fought.  Many never lived to see the end of the war, twenty died during flight training here and are buried in Oakland Memorial Cemetery in Terrell.  Terrell citizens welcomed the student pilots to their community and many life-long bonds were forged.  This mural was painted by local artists who were members of the North East Texas Fine Art Alliance, who donated their time and efforts to complete the mural and was a community effort sponsorship.   NETFAA dedicated the mural to the citizens of Terrell upon its completion.

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To left of the Stearman biplane mural is the map of England superimposed over a map of Texas representing the unity of purpose in the war effort.  This painting is actually based on a flight training map with Terrell and London occupying the same spot on the map so that pilots could judge distances.  The original map is currently on display at Terrell’s No.1 British Flying Training School Museum.  The mural of the map was painted by Sunny Delipsey.