Question about British pilots' wages during WWII

kwanzaabot · Jan 28, 2019

Just a quick question for a character in my novel.
During WWII, were British pilots paid well? And what's the highest rank a pilot could reasonably be awarded and still be considered working-class?

neandermagnon · Jan 28, 2019

You are working class for life if you are born British and working class. So if he was born to a working class family, he can be field marshal of the whole entire army and still be considered working class. You can be a billionaire and still be considered working class.

The amount of barriers for working class people would've faced in order to rise to high ranks in the army means it's not that realistic to have any working class character too high ranking. Field marshals are usually royal or aristocrats. No idea how many have even come from an upper-middle class background, never mind working class. Probably best to do some research into the lives of any actual British pilots or any high ranking officers who come from a working class background. I couldn't say for sure how rare it was for working class soldiers to rise to high ranks (it may well have been more common than I think), or how high they could've risen around WW2 time, you'd have to look at cases of actual soldiers.

kwanzaabot · Jan 28, 2019

Interesting to know! I've found some stuff on middle-class pilots being looked down upon, and plenty of stuff about WWII basically decimating the upper-class officers and there being a general need to full those shoes by pulling from the middle class. I suppose it's not too much of a stretch for a single working class pilot to become, say, a Pilot Officer (5 quid a week seemed to be their wage), but I'll just need to emphasise that the other officers aren't keen on the idea.

Not like my story is exactly historical fiction, it's just using the war as a backdrop.

angeliz2k · Jan 29, 2019

kwanzaabot said:
Interesting to know! I've found some stuff on middle-class pilots being looked down upon, and plenty of stuff about WWII basically decimating the upper-class officers and there being a general need to full those shoes by pulling from the middle class. I suppose it's not too much of a stretch for a single working class pilot to become, say, a Pilot Officer (5 quid a week seemed to be their wage), but I'll just need to emphasise that the other officers aren't keen on the idea.

Not like my story is exactly historical fiction, it's just using the war as a backdrop.

You've boggled my mind there. Is it or is it not set during WWII? If it is, then WWII really had better be more than a backdrop. It's, uh, a pretty big thing to just have as window-dressing. Or is this just a bit of information for someone's backstory?

In any case, I don't see why a talented, committed, working-class pilot can't attainsome rank, even if he isn't at the tippy-top. What you suggest sounds reasonable to me, though WWII is totally not my bag.

tallus83 · Feb 2, 2019

The attitude of Upper-Crust pilots, meaning those who went to university, and thought themselves to be socially better pretty much was killed during the Battle of Britain. Yes, the large number of Sergeant Pilots was the result of non-university personnel earning their wings. The RAF had a tremendous pilot shortage during the Battle. Of course there were still pockets of those who clung to the old ways. Yes, a pilot could go from Sergeant Pilot to Flight Lieutenant in a reasonable amount of time. Pilots themselves didn't concern themselves with working-class roots, for the most part.

lonestarlibrarian · Feb 2, 2019

From an old article-- I included some names, in case you wanted to research the biographies of some of the most successful aces and squadrons from the Battle of Britain (July 10-Oct 31, 1940).

The 188 "ace" pilots claimed approximately half of all the victories. The most successful were Sgt Josef Frantisek (from Czechoslovakia) 17; Pilot Officer Eric Lock (England) 16; Flying Officer Brian Carbury (New Zealand) and Sgt James 'Ginger' Lacey (England) 15 and 1 shared each; Pilot Officer Bob Doe (England) 15; Flt Lt Pat Hughes (Australia) 14 and 3 shared; Pilot Officer Colin Gray (New Zealand) 14 and 2 shared; Flt Lt Archie McKellar(Scotland) 14 and 1 shared; Flying Officer Witold Urbanowicz (Poland) 14. Eight others claimed 10 or 11 individual victories, with varying numbers of shares.

The findings complement research published in Aeroplane magazine that examined which were the most effective RAF squadrons during the Battle of Britain. The most prolific were: 603 (City of Edinburgh) Squadron - a Spitfire squadron based at Hornchurch, Essex - which shot down 57.5 enemy aircraft; 609 Squadron, another Spitfire squadron, based at Middle Wallop, Hampshire, with 51.5 kills; and the Polish-manned 303 Squadron and 41 Squadron, which were nearly equal with 45 and 44.75 credits. Douglas Bader's 242 Hurricane Squadron achieved 22 kills.

A recent television programme debunked the widely held belief that nearly all the fighter pilots in the Battle of Britain were ex-public school boys from an upper-class background. Of the 3,080 airmen awarded the Battle of Britain Clasp, only 141 (6 per cent) were educated at the top 13 public schools.

waylander · Feb 2, 2019

This may be of some use to you https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00TZ89X4W/?tag=absowrit-21

Norman Mjadwesch · Feb 16, 2019

I have done a lot of research on this kind of thing for a book I have been writing for a while (decades).

About a quarter of all British pilots were non-commissioned ranks, though there was little restriction regarding promotion. The criterion for advancement was based upon success / survival, e.g. George Gilroy (a sheep farmer) attained the rank of group captain before he was done. Also, many Commonwealth countries (Australia, Canada, South Africa, etc.) had their own training programs that were not rooted in rank-by-education and many of these airmen were funnelled into the RAF.

After the war, it was not unusual for the best of these men to be retained in the armed services, but with a reduced rank. Perhaps this is a reflection of the class system only being relevant once the crisis had been averted?

Question about British pilots' wages during WWII

kwanzaabot

neandermagnon

Nolite timere, consilium callidum habeo!

kwanzaabot

angeliz2k

never mind the shorty

tallus83

lonestarlibrarian

senior bean supervisor

waylander

Who's going for a beer?

Norman Mjadwesch

vacuous eyes, will bark at shadows