AUSTRALIAN AIR FORCE

Greymouth Evening Star, 13 July 1935, Page 2

AUSTRALIAN AIR FORCE

PLANS FOR STRENGTHENING SYDNEY, July 4. Spectacular plans to develop tbb Royal Australian Air Force into a formidable fighting force within two years have been completed by the Air Board, and will receive early consideration by the Council of Defence. When the programme is completed the Air Force will have more than a hundred new machines. The main features of the scheme follow closely the recommendations in the first part of Air Marshal Sir John Solmand’s report, some of which have already been adopted. The report was mode seven years ago. The complete scheme envisages four new squadrons of land fighting aeroplanes, two new squadrons of seaplanes, and six Citizen Force squadrons. An additional 100 permanent officers, a large increase in other permanent personnel, approximately 70 more Citizen Force ranks will be enlisted. In addition, the Air Board will consider a proposal for the purchase of a flight of twin-engined fighters of high performance. This has not yet been incorporated in the general expansion plan which was inaugurated last year. The expansion plan covered revelopment over three years, but the Council of Defence is considering an extension of the scheme to five years, so that it will be necessary to implement a section of the second part of Sir John Salmond’s report.

Orders have already been placed for the twenty-four seaplanes which will form the two new squadrons of these machines. One squadron will be located at Point Cook (Melbourne) and the other at Richmond, New South Wales. An order for two new squadrons of Hawker-Demon fighting machines has also been placed, and another for two squadrons of the same typo is being considered by the Federal Cabinet. Two Citizen Force squadrons are already established —one in Melbourne and one in Sydney. It is proposed to establish one more in Melbourne, two in Sydney, and one in Perth. In each squadron there will bo 17 officers and 120 aircraftmen. Tho Commonwealth is enabled to undertake these largo purchases of aircraft because the orders are included with tho British Air Ministry’s huge contracts with the manufacturers, and Australia shares in the great reductions made for bulk orders, it is paying less than £2OOO for each of tho Hawker-Demons, compared with £5OOO paid for each of the Wapitis bought eight years ago.