In 1944 the training of replacement fighter-bomber pilots continued. In April, the 841st Anti-Aircraft Artillery Battalion from Fort Stewart trained at the base. On May 1, 1944 the 501st was re-designated as the Waycross Replacement Training Unit (RTU). During the year, the P-40 Warhawk replaced the P-39 as the primary training aircraft. Aerial gunnery took place off the coast 60 miles distant. For air-to¬ground training, the Army established a 32,000-acre range 27 miles SSW at Homerville, Georgia that included skip-bombing, strafing, and rocket targets. The instructors were much more proficient than the students in aerial gunnery, obtaining an average score of 43.0 versus a 21.6 average for the students. It was much closer on air-to-ground with the instructors edging out the students with an average score of 31.4 to 29.89.