SCOUT PLANES BUSY

Auckland Star, Volume LXXIV, Issue 7, 9 January 1943, Page 7

SCOUT PLANES BUSY

N.Z. PIIiOTS IN PACIFIC

(0.C.) SOUTH PACIFIC BASE, Jan. 1

As in other theatres of war, airmen from New Zealand are quickly making a name for themselves in Pacific areas. On Boxing Day I dropped in on a New Zealand reconnaissance squadron. This unit includes rescue work among its routine duties.

Only two days before Christmas a Christchurch Flying-Officer, E. H. Perry, had dropped rubber rafts and a paddle made from a mess tin and a strip of wood while his plane circled above the stranded crew of an American aircraft forced down in an isolated spot. The articles dropped ensured the rescue of a United States colonel, a captain who was suffering from a broken nose, and a sergeant.

On another occasion Flying-Officer E St. J. Spicer, of Auckland, taking part in a search that lasted two days, came on a disabled United States seaplane floating on the sea 50 miles off shore The squadron thereafter "stood by" until the pilot was rescued by a navy speedboat well after midnight. Other achievements of this squadron cannot be reported at this stage, but I learned that they had to their credit over a thousand hours' flying time last month as part of the day's work.

Their advance party had a stirring time when they arrived in this island, giving valuable assistance in defence preparations that were being pushed forward in face of the Japanese threat which followed the enemy occupation of the Solomons last May. They also manned guns during alerts.

Flying-Officer lan Burgess, passing through to New Zealand from the Solomons, told of his unit's latest feat in shooting down a Japanese float plane.