TRADE DEFENCE

Evening Post, Volume CXXVII, Issue 90, 18 April 1939, Page 11

TRADE DEFENCE

NAVAL EXERCISES

AIR FORCE ASSISTING

ACTIVITY IN TASMAN SEA

(From "The Post's* Representative).

SYDNEY, April 14.

Australian and New Zealand warships and about 90 fighting aircraft are taking part in elaborate trade defence exercises off the Australian coast.

Important naval gunnery exercises will follow and will be continued until April 27.

The cruisers Canberra, Hobart, and Sydney, and the destroyer Voyager left Melbourne last week to begin the trade defence exercises, and for several days will theoretically be out of radio communication.

The New Zealand cruiser Leander and the newly-conditioned H.M.A.S. Adelaide left Jervis Bay to join the main squadron on Monday.

Eight squadrons of the Royal Australian Air Force will co-operate with the Navy. In addition to the warships and aircraft, merchant ships off the coast will co-operate with the services. The exercises will be controlled from Laverton Station. The participating aircraft will indulge in reconnaissance, photographic, signalling, air-to-air gunnery, bombing, and navy cooperation work.

The exercises, it is thought, may be related to the growing opinion that Australia should extend its aircraft defence units to Pacific islands such as Lord Howse, Norfolk, Fiji, the Phoenix Group, and other centres within striking distance of ships which may be sent by an enemy to harass merchantmen.

On Wednesday there will be a dummy close-range attack by aircraft on all cruisers. On the succeeding days there will be full-calibre firing by all ships, including four-inch gun highangle firing and close-range anti-air-craft gunnery by the cruisers. Fullcalibre firing will be carried out practically throughout the exercises, instead of being confined, as it usually is, to one or two days.

Four New Zealand officers haye been attending a course of instruction designed to familiarise officers with the latest developments in artillery work. Officers from all the Australian States, as well as the New Zealanders, are attending the course.