In 1942 Boeing committed half a million dollars to construct and equip a B-17 Flying Fortress training school on the north end of Boeing Field. It included barracks, three hangars, classrooms, a dispensary and a theater. B-29 training began in February 1943. The school also had its own fleet of 14 flying B-17s and B-29s to assist with hands-on training. The school ran day and night until the war ended and closed in October 1945. By then Boeing had trained 30,000 mechanics and flight engineers as well as pilots and navigators on how to maintain Boeing B-17 and B-29 bombers.