During World War II, the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) established numerous airfields in Florida for antisubmarine defense in the western Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico and for training pilots and aircrews of USAAF fighters, attack planes, and light and medium bombers.After early 1944, heavy bomber crews also trained in the State. However two major operations in Florida were the School of Applied Tactics and the air Proving Grounds which tested and developed new capabilities.