AIR TRAINING

Evening Star, Issue 23527, 16 March 1940, Page 7

AIR TRAINING

nmm SCHEME CENTRED IN CANADA KfilMNti FACTOR OF THE WAR £P** tr»iTKn Pmsss Association.] WELLINGTON, March 16. Th« importance of the British Commonwealth Air Training &cl ' el "? mentioned by the Minister f (Mr Nash) and by the Comnmsioner for Canada m New Zealand (Dr W. A. Riddell) at a luncheon to-day given by the Government in honour ot Riddell. Mr Nash said thc idea was that there should he a forte and power sustained by a will that was unconquerable. Details of the schem were given by Dr Riddell, who saidl it 'Was. another illustration of the solidarity of the British Commonwealth, and showed its ability to co-operate in great undertakings. The scheme aimed to achieve a co-operative effort of tho Air Forces, .whose co-ordinated strength would be overwhelming. Mr Nash said Canada was the place where there was to be built up a scheme that would probably bo the deciding factor in the Conflict taking place. Someone with vision above the ■ ordinary had come to the conclusion that there should be built up in Canada a vast Air Force for which men from New Zealand, Australia, the United Kingdom, and Canada would be trained so that, when the moment came for the issue to be determined there would be at the back of the Commonwealth a force and power sustained by an nnquerable will. Whatever way the present trouble might go, bringing with it worries and hardships, he had no doubt that,, as the days passed,_ Canada would be an inspiring connecting point from which the young men who manned the forces-would determine the issue. In spite of these preparations now being made, there was no one who thought .things out who would hot shout with jpy if the necessity to use this force were not to come into being. One major contribution Canada eould bring to the future of the world was by its link with the United States. This, he believed, would be a major factor, linking up tho peoples in the south of the Pacific with the Englishspeaking peoples of tho North Pacific so that as the years went by those of the Southern Pacific would come closer to the United States of America and Canada to maintain peace between tho nation* of the Pacific, and carry forward the jdeals that they in the British Commonwealth were, fighting for. 40,000 MEN. Nearly 40,000 officers and men will be required to man-all the various schools, depots, and other parts of the organisation when it is in full operation. This will; include 2,700 officers, 6.000 civilians, and'! 'the remaining 30.000 will be members of the Air Force other than officers. These numbers do not include pupils undergoing training, who Will also be numbered in thousands. Many airmen will he required for training, and among the pupils will be mechanics and other skilled artisans who will constitute the ground crews and maintenance, staffs. The existing facilities of the Royal Canadian Air ’ Force will he used-to the full, as well

as the facilities, which will be made available. The Transcanada Air Lines, however, have put an extensive programme into operation, and a great deal of construction and are already under way. Great quantities of aircraft and their parts will be required. The United Kingdom, as her part of the cost of the undertaking, has agreed to and is supplying most of the aircraft, including the engines and spares. Apart from the aircraft supplied by the United l Kingdom, light aircraft, elementary training craft and a porton of the other aircraft will he made in Canada. This will be included with the other costs of the joint training programme which are to be divided between Canada, New Zealand, and Australia in proportion to the use made of the various facilities by pupils from the three countries. This means that, excluding the cost of aircraft provided! by the United Kingdom, Canada will hear the cost of the initial elementary training in Canada and about four-fifths of tho remaining costs of the programme. Tho duration of tho agreement is until March 31, 1943, though this period may bo extended or terminated by mutual agreement, and any estimate of costs made at present is subject to a margin of error. THE COST. The total cost of the entire programme in Canada for the period agreed upon will approximate 600.000,000 dollars. Canada’s share will bo around 350,000,000 dollars, or slightly less than £100,000,000 (New Zealand). Up to the beginning of September of this year, the expenditure on the joint training programme will amount to about 90,000,000 dollars. Of this 90,000,000 dollars, Canada’s share will be about' 48,000.000 _ dollars. This amount for Canada will be in addition to the 315,000,000 dollars which the Minister of Finance estimated would be the cost of the military programme undertaken before the air training plan was proposed. Canada in the first year of the war, therefore, will be spending on military effort alone about 1,009,000 dollars a day, or more than £275,000. • General supervision of the joint air training programme ie under a supervisory board upon which all parties to the agreement will be represented. This board will be under the chairmanship of the Canadian Minister of National Defence, and will include, among others, representatives of the Governments of the United Kingdom, New Zealand, and Australia, as well as the chief of the Canadian Air Staff. _ Contact with the Government will he maintained by the board through its chairman and with the Royal Canadian Air Force through the’ Chief of tho Air Staff. . _ “ The vitality of the British Commonwealth has been abundantly demonstrated,” said Dr Riddell. “In the last war, during the depression, and already in tho present war, we have known how to work together for the common ends of the British Commonwealth. The air training plan is another illustration of this solidarity. The British Commonwealth shows its ability to co-operate in great undertakings.” The plan was proposed by the Government of the United Kingdom last September to the New Zealand Government and to the Governments of Canada and Australia. After painstaking negotiations ; between the representatives of the Governments concerned, the co-operative scheme was agreed upon in the middle .of September. The plan provides for the continuance of, training in the United Kingdom or an enlargement of the training programmes _ of Canada, New Zealand, and Australia, and for a joint training programme in Canada. Great progress has already been made towards attainment of the different objectives of the plan, and rapid and extensive increases are being made in the air training programmes of eacli of the three dominions. The joint training programme in Canada is also well under way, and will be. opened according to schedule. SCHEME OF TRAINING. The programme provides for the training of many thousands of pilots in Canada each year. About threefifths of the ’ air pilots’ facilities in Canada will be used to varying degrees by all the four countries in the agreement. It is expected that most of the air recruits in the United Kingdom will be trained at Home under agreement, and it is expected * that about one-fifth of the pupils to receive advanced training in Canada will come from New Zealand and Australia. Some pupils will be received from the United Kingdom, Newfoundland, and elsewhere, but the great majority of the pupils, however, will be from Canada. The air training programme in Canada, which contemplates a ground course' to prepare, recruits for flying and tho Air Force life in general,, will be given at three large schools. At the end of four weeks of the initial training a selection will bo made of those to be pilots, observers, and gunners. They will then go to the appropriate schools. Pilots will go 'to one of the elementary schools to learn to fly the machines, and after some eight week* they will graduate to a flying school. At this stage, it is understood, the New Zealand and Australian pilots, who will have received their, initial elementary training in their own countries, will go to Canada to'continue training in the service of the flying schools of which there will be 15. In Canada, the pilots will spend 14 weeks learning intermediate - and advanced flying, including night instrument flying, and will receive instruction in bombing and fighting as well. Air observers, including those from abroad, will spend 12 weeks at the 10 air observers’ schools, where the pupils will be taught navigation, reconnaissance, and photography. They will go on from the air observers’ schools to the 10 bombing and gunnery schools and for a six weeks’ course in the theory and practice of bombing. Finally, in order to leam more advanced navigation, the observers will spend four weeks at one of the two air navigation schools. _ Air gunners, who will also serve as wireless operators after their initial training in Canada or abroad, will take a 16 weeks’ course at the four wireless training schools. In them, the air gunners will be taught not only the essential principles of radio work, but also the operating practices in the air and will then proceed to the bombing and gunnery schools for four weeks to learn that phase of the work before proceeding overseas. Schools are also being set up for the training of instructors and administrative staffs, and before the training programme is brought to full capacity ground crews and maintenance staffs will be required in large numbers to man tho various schools and establishments. Repair equipment depots, headquarters’ camps, recruiting centres, and record offices will also be established. In addition to the 58 schools for the training of pilots,_ observers’ and air gunners’ schools will be needed at the outset for the training of instructors and the administrative staffs, and several much larger schools will be established to train the personnel of the ground crews and maintenance staffs. The total number of schools

required in Canada for the joint training programme will be 67. “Canada has been chosen as the country for the training of more advanced pupils because of its geographical situation and its proximity to the main sources of aircraft and technical equipment,” concluded Dr Riddell. “ The undertaking is one of great magnitude, and will soon result in a rapid increase in tho number of air training schools. Canada will achieve speedily an increasing output of highly-trained pilots, observers, and gunners, which will enable the four countries to meet the greatly increased requirements of _ trained personnel in the respective Air Forces and for such services as the combined forces may be called upon to perform in the theatres of war.”