Three U.S. Army Air Forces servicemen pause beside a North American AT-6 Texan advanced trainer, tail number 505, on a stateside flight line during World War II. The AT-6 was the standard advanced trainer used to prepare cadets for fighter aircraft before they moved on to combat types. Photographs like this one, often taken for base newspapers or public relations releases, documented the routine of flight training that produced thousands of American pilots during the war. Project: 218522