NAVAL EXERCISES

Hokitika Guardian, 28 April 1939, Page 8

NAVAL EXERCISES

OFF AUSTRALIAN COAST. TRADE. DEFENCE PRACTICE. ' ' SYDNEY, April 14. Australian and" New Zealand warships and about 90 fighting aircraft will take part in elaborate, trade defence exercises oft the Australian coast between- next Sunday and- Wednesday. Important navaL gunnery exercises will follow until April 27. : The, Australian cruisers Canberra, Hobart and' Sydney and the destroyer Voyager left-Melbourne to-day to begin the; exercises, and:, for several; days they will."be theoretically but of radio communication. . The New Zealand cruiser Leander arid the , newly-ctoriditioned J Australian cruiser. Adelaide are at Jervis Bay,, and.wilY join the main squadron on Monday. Eight squadrons of the Royal Australian Air Force will: co-operate with the Navy for exercises. Four, of. the. squadrons. will be from Richmond,.New South Wales, and dour from Laver ton; Victoria. In addition to the warships and aircraft; merchant vessels off •the^coast.wilb co-operate. - THq; exerciseis will.be controlled from Lavertpn, . The participating aircraft will indulge in . reconnaissance, photographic, signalling, air-to-air gunnery, bombing and Navy co-operation, work.. The exercises, it is thought, may be related do the growing * opinion that - Australia should extend its' aircraft defence units to Pacific islands, such as Lord-Howe, Norfolk,-Fiji, the Phoenix: Group;-: and: other centres within . striking distance of ships, which might be serit ‘by ah enemy to harass merchantmen^

There-will be,-a? dummy close-range attack 5 by aircraft on all' cruisers oh Wfednesday: On the succeeding days there will 'be full-calibre firing by. al’ ships, including four-inch gun highangle : firing arid close-range anti-air-craft gunnery by the cruisers. Fu calibre firing will he-carried out practically throughout; the exercises, instead of being confined, as it usually is, toj one or two days. Four New; ■ Zealand ; officers are a+ , tending a course of, instruction which is designed to familiarise officers with the latest developments in. artillery, work and in connection with which the new 9.2 in. guns at North Head

were fired for the first time in a practise shoot. Targets were towed off the

coast by the naval boom defence vessel Kookaburra, Officers from all the Australian States as well as the New Zealanders are attending the course.