A Look Back When the Army Air Force Intelligence School Launched Pivotal Training Courses in 1942

The U.S. Army Air Force Intelligence School officially launched its first instructional courses on April 13, 1942, in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The program marked a critical turning point in military training during World War II, focusing specifically on aerial intelligence and photo interpretation—fields previously lacking dedicated instruction within the American military education system.

Before the United States entered the war, personnel with intelligence duties in the Army Air Forces were trained through existing Army programs at Fort Leavenworth and Fort Belvoir. However, those schools concentrated on ground and infantry intelligence, offering little tailored guidance for air operations. Recognizing this gap, the AAF sought to establish its own intelligence school in late 1941. Despite resistance from the Army’s Military Intelligence Division, the proposal was approved, and initial courses were conducted at temporary locations including Bolling Army Air Field and the University of Maryland, until a permanent site was secured in Harrisburg.

The new institution opened with nine instructors—all alumni of Fort Belvoir’s photo interpretation course—and a first class of approximately seventy students. These initial trainees were selected largely from civilian life, particularly individuals with academic or professional backgrounds in law, business, or banking. Their six-week program was divided evenly between general intelligence subjects and specialized photo interpretation training. Instruction included counterintelligence, military information security, intelligence report writing, combat briefings, and aerial photo analysis.

From the outset, the school aimed to develop photo interpretation units to support combat operations during the war. Referred to informally as the “Photo Interpretation School,” the curriculum was heavily influenced by techniques from the British Royal Air Force and emphasized identifying strategic targets from aerial imagery. The program was expanded to eight weeks in October 1942 to increase focus on technical skills and intelligence integration. Over time, the school broadened its emphasis to include areas such as air base intelligence, prisoner interrogation, and more comprehensive combat intelligence instruction as American airmen gained battlefield experience.

Though other AAF intelligence courses were introduced at locations around the country between 1942 and 1944, none matched the scale or impact of the Harrisburg facility. The U.S. Army Air Force Intelligence School ceased operations on March 31, 1944, with its functions absorbed by the AAF Tactical Center in Orlando, Florida.

Article by multiple RFHC contributors, based upon information from a U.S. Army Intelligence Center of Excellence press release

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