ENGINEERS IN CAMP

Press, Volume LXXI, Issue 21391, 6 February 1935, Page 8

ENGINEERS IN CAMP

* OPERATIONS AT KOWAI BUSH At the Kowai Bush military camp, a detachment of the 3rd Field Company, New Zealand Engineers under Lieutenant B. S. Smyth, is performing instructional duties with the Ist Canterbury Regiment. A new feature in the field firing instruction of the infantry has been disappearing and moving targets, which were laid out and constructed by the engineers, and which have proved thoroughly satisfactory in operation. A demonstration of infantry assault bridging on Saturday afternoon proved very instructive. The function of this bridge, which enables infantry parties to cross a stream or canal rapidly, and thus afford protection to the major bridging operations which would follow, was explained, and then the method of assembling the kapok floats and connecting them up with narrow wcoden "duck-walks" was gone through. The bridge, which was assembled under cover in rear of the bridge site, was then carried forward, and launched across the swimming pool by pushing it out from the near bank, and guiding it across to the correct point on the far bank by means of guy ropes. Two men travel across on the head of the bridge, to leap ashore when the far bank is reached and make fast at that end. An infantry assault party then doubled across in single file, with rifles at the trail. The whole demonstration was well staged and proved very realistic. A double apron fence of barb wire, consisting of three horizontal wires between long pickets forming the fence proper, and with diagonal and trip wires in front and rear forming the double apron, was illustrated as a drill, to show how quickly men with training can erect barbed wire protection m front of their position, and to prove also how quietly the work can be carried out. Demolitions are a further feature of the engineer programme, and two land mines, with the attendant concussions and clouds of dust and earth shot high into the air, were quite a feature provided for the entertainment of visitors cn Sunday afternoon. Altogether the principle of co-oper-ation between the engineers and infantry has proved very helpful to both units in their annual training in camp.