RECRUITS FOR AIR FORCE: PLANS FOR TRAINING

Greymouth Evening Star, 12 August 1947, Page 3

RECRUITS FOR AIR FORCE: PLANS FOR TRAINING

AUCKLAND, August 11. Future technicians who will service the new Mosquito fighterbombers of the Royal New Zealand Air Force are now entering Wigram for a course of 14 weeks’ ground training. Fitters and riggers will later receive their technical training at Hobsonville, where new equipment is to be installed, and electrical and wireless personnel will be trained at Wigram. The re-eauipment of the Hobsonville school is being organised by the Director of Engineering, Air Department., Group Captain G. E. Watt, formerly of Auckland, who returned to New Zealand lor two years’ duty after distinguished service with the Royal Air Force as a jet-propulsion expert. . Apart from light training aircraft and’ Sunderland flying-boats, the Royal New Zealand Air Force used American machines almost exclusively during the war, and a change in training has become necessary with the reversion to British operational aircraft.

Deliveries of the 80 Mosquito aircraft bought from Britain last year have not been at the scheduled rate of 10 a month, largely because of the severity of the last British winter. Between 30 and 40 have already made the 12,880-mile flight from the United Kingdom to New Zealand, manned by Royal Air Force crews and others by New Zealanders. The aircraft will eventually be used to equip the new No. 75 Squadron at Ohakes. . . Following the release to civil file of some 400 airmen who earlier this year decided against continuing in the service under the new rates ol pay and allowances, the Air Force now has fewer men than the unofficial estimated requirement ol some 4500 of all ranks. Most stations are below strength on this basis, and, although most of those released some months ago were recent enlistments with little technical experience, the service is short of technicians. Recruiting is continuing and is reported to be meeting with a reasonable response.