ROYAL AIR FORCE

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 57, Issue 28, 12 November 1936, Page 8

ROYAL AIR FORCE

TESTING RECRUITS. THE PHYSICAL DEMANDS'. Britain is getting the pick of her young manhood for the Royal 'Air Force, says a special correspondent of the “Daily Telegraph. ’’ Alentally, every successful candidate for a short service commission in the R.A.F., for direct entry as an airman pilot, or for direct entry to the Reserve, must he thoroughly alert, and physically he must be practically perfect. I discovered this when I presented myself for examination by the No. 2 R.A.F. Medical Board at Astor House, Aldwych. Although I have recently been passed as a first-class “life” and have passed my tests for the “A” class civil pilot’s license, I was failed for a short-service commission in the R.A.F.

Years ago I received a slight gash on my left eyeball. With both eyes open my vision is excellent, but when my right eye is covered there is a slight blurring. I did not disclose this blemish, and I tried to cheat by peeping over the top -of the disc covering my perfect eye. For a time I succeeded in my subterfuge, and was able to name the letters shown on a distant chart. But my examiner bad my eyes under observation through a powerful eyeglass and was not satisfied. He asked me how I had been able to distinguish the letters with my left eye, and I had to confess my fraud. No deception is possible under that searching test. Blood Pressure Taken. Then a young doctor took me in hand. I stripped, and was weighed and measured. My blood pressure was taken, and searching tests were made for any physical defects. Then I was asked to fill my lungs and exhale through a tube so as to force a column of mercury up to a certain height. I was told to continue exhaling and to keep the column of mercury steady at that height. I have won long diving competitions by swimming up to 75 yards under water, and thought that I would pass this test easily. The young doctor was not greatly impressed, and told me to try again. Aly lung capacity and the force of my respiration was being drastically tested. At the same time my pulse reactions were being carefully observed. Without commenting on my performance, the doctor asked me to stand on one foot and shut my eyes. To pass, the R.A.F. examination one’s balance has to he very good indeed. I swayed slightly. Slow Spin Test. Then my reactions to a slow .spin were tested. I sat in a revolving chair and was spun round for about half a minute. The spin was suddenly stopped. Some candidates after this test lurch giddily from the chair. They are rejected, or tried out again after being tested as a passenger in a machine in flight. I was tested for giddiness almost immediately the chair stopped, and came through that satisfactorily. The length of my legs was measured, to make sure that I could manipulate the rudder on a service machine. Next, my hearing was tested very carefully. Among other things, my ears were subjected to tests intended to show my reactions to sudden changes in altitude. An inspection of the throat concluded an examination that had lasted nearly two hours. As I had already supplied a full medical history of myself and given some particulars of my family’s medical history, I felt there was little the. Medical Board did not know about me physically. The “bedside manners” of the various doctors who had examined me had been excellent. I had been made to feel quite at ease throughout. I expected to get a glowing report—apart from the little matter of my left eye. I was told that physically I had passed, but the president of the Board hazarded the opinion that I had not yet had my annual holiday, and, further, that though I normally did a lot of swimming, I hacl not done much for the past year. He was (perfectly right in both assumptions. The R.A.F. medical examination is the most searching I have ever undergone.