RUSSIAN FLYERS

Auckland Star, Volume LXXIII, Issue 83, 9 April 1942, Page 8

RUSSIAN FLYERS

VISIT TO N.Z. TROOPS

INTEREST IN WEAPONS (N.Z.E.F. Official News Service) CAIRO, April 8. Five Russian flyers from Moscow inspected the New Zealand base camp at Maadi at their own request yesterday. They had read of New Zealanders in books and newspapers and were anxious to meet them, said a Russian correspondent, M. Oristoff, who interpreted. The Russians are Captain Ribin, Lieutenants Desyatoff, Monachoff, Ivanofl and Michailoff, all former civilian flyers. One wears a badge for having flown 1,000,000 kilometres without accident. They are at present flying an American plane for a Polish general, taking three days from Moscow to Cairo. With grave faces the flyers handled infantry weapons, smiling broadly on feeling the bayonet edge, and bumping over rough country in a Bren carrier. They nodded approvingly on seeing American-made sub-machine-guns demonstrated. The Russians watched a New Zealand sergeant instructing a squad of Greeks in the Bren gun and exchanged salutes with men who had fought in Albania. Dressed in khaki tunics, belted outside, breeches, jackboots and cap, with hammer and sickle badge, the Russians patiently posed for many New Zealanders' cameras. They saluted enthusiastically and shook hands with all whom they met.