“FIND THE PLANE”

Dominion, Volume 30, Issue 45, 17 November 1936, Page 8

“FIND THE PLANE”

Another Searchlight Test Over Wellington Another anti-aircraft exercise with searchlights will probably be carried out by the Royal Now Zealand Artillery and the Royal New Zealand Air Force to-night iu Wellington. A Hawker Tomtit machine from Wigram Aerodrome, Christchurch, is now In Wellington under the charge of Flying Officer H. L. Tancred, R.N.Z.A.F. For about a week the machine will be used in army co-operation operations in conjunction with the anti-aircraft units at Fort Dorset. The night exercises are dependent upon favourable weather, but if conditions are not adverse the first will be to-nigbt. The searchlights will be operated from the harl>our-side hills and the aeroplane will land and takeoff with the aid of tlaros at Rongotai. This will be the third night exercise to lie carried out over Wellington, two others having been conducted early in October. In the exercises sound detectors are used to indicate the approach of the aeroplane, and the searchlights are then employed to reveal It to the antiaircraft gunners on the ground. For the purpose of the exercises the aeroplane is taken to represent an enemy bomber and flies rather high on a fairly level and straight course, which, however, is unknown to the' defenders below until it is. revealed by the detectors and the searchlights.