TRANSPORT COMMAND

Auckland Star, Volume LXXVI, Issue 11, 13 January 1945, Page 2 (Supplement)

TRANSPORT COMMAND

Impressive Achievements Throughout 1944

MEDITERRANEAN. GROUP R.A.F,

British Official Wireless Rec. 4.30 p.m. LONDON, Jan. 12. The figures for the 1944 achievements by the Mediterranean group of the R.A.F. Transport Command greatly exceed those for 1943. Nearly 100,000,0001bs if war freight, including 247,000 passengers and 12,000,0001b of mail were carried last year against 20,000,0001b of freight, 100,000 passengers and 340,0001b of mail for 1943.

Transport aircraft flew 15,000,000 miles in 1944 as against 10,000,000 in 1943, and a total figure of 25,000,-000-ton miles was achieved. In addition ferry pilots handled thousands of aircraft on the way to war fronts in Italy and India at staging posts which have established along every air route.

The number of aircraft refuelled ran into thousands. One million and a half meals were served to passengers and crews at specially equipped buffets. The average transit time for air mail to the whole Middle East theatre was reduced by between five and six days through combined effort on the part of the British Post Office and the Army Post Office and R.A.F. Transport Command. Similar improvements have also been made in the transit time to other theatres.

During the year the air letter service had been extended to civilian addresses in riiany countries with a consequent increase in weight of mail carried in the last quarter of the year.