JET FIGHTERS IN CYPRUS

Press, Volume LXXXIX, Issue 26985, 10 March 1953, Page 6

JET FIGHTERS IN CYPRUS

AUSTRALIAN AND NX UNITS ARMAMENT PRACTICE CAMP (By Flight Lieutenant Jack Cannon, public relations officer, No. 78 Fighter Wing, R.A.A.F.) NICOSIA. February 25. Beneath the shadow of Turkey, and within two hours’ jet flying time of Gallipoli, units of the Royal Australian and Royal New Zealand Air Forces have been working together throughout January and early February. The airmen are from No. 78 (Fighter) Wing of the R.A.A.F.. and No. 14 Squadron of the R.N.Z.A.F.— two jet fighter units that represent the Dominions in the strategically important Royal Air Force Middle East Command. Although only 1000 miles separate Malta and Cyprus, the main bodies of No. 78 Wing and. No. 14 Squadron did not come together until December 31 last year. They met on New Year’s Eve. when 120 Australian airmen.and officers flew to Cyprus to carry out a flve-week armament practice camp. This camp, which is used fbr armament training by all fighter squadrons in the R.A.F.’s Middle East Command,i is at Nicosia. It also is the home base of the New Zealanders. No. 14 Squadron’s present link with the R.A.A.F. is not the first in the unit’s history. It started its war-time operations at Espiritu Santo in the South Pacific, and later moved to Guadalcanal. Rabaul, Bougainville and Emirair where it operated with R.A.A.F.- Kittyhawk squadrons. The squadron also came into contact with the R.A.A.F. when it represented New Zealand in the British occupation force which moved into Japan at the end of hostilities in the Pacific. N.Z. Unit’s Commander

The job of moulding the young New Zealand pilots into a flying team has been given to a former Army man— Squadron Leader M. Hope, M.8.E., A.F.C., of Wellington. He was an instructor after he graduated as a pilot, and later flew a tour of operations against the Japanese in the Pacific. After the war he went to Japan with No. 14 Squadron for the occupation. During that time, he met several of the Australians now with No. 78 Wing. The other seasoned pilots in the squadron .are the two night commanders, Flight Lieutenant T. Rabone, of Auckland, who flew three tours of operations in the Pacific, and was a member of No. 14 Squadron in Japan; and Flight Lieutenant J. Waugh, of Wellington, who served in Japan, and later as a jet conversion pilot instructor in England. In many ways the New Zealanders are envied by the R.A.A.F. men, because their station at Nicosia is far more picturesque than No. 78 Wing’s rockbound airfield at Hal Far, Malta. The Nicosia airfield, is surrounded by a chain of snow-capped mountains, and lush vegetation can be seen in all directions on the plains. Hundreds of trees grow round the camp, including many eucalyptus gums, and the sight of these is almost a luxury to the Australians, who rarely see more than one or two trees a day in Malta. Before the R.A.A.F. wing leaves Cyprus at the end of the armament course, its Vampire fighters will join the squadron of New Zealand Vampires in a ceremonial fly past over Cyprus. This will be the first of a number of joint formation flights, because both units are likely to work together in Middle East air exercises during the coming year.