£20,000,000 Aircraft Mark In Australia

Northern Advocate, 14 August 1941, Page 6

£20,000,000 Aircraft Mark In Australia

(Rec. noon.) SYDNEY, This Day. The Minister for Aircraft Production (Senator Leckie) said yesterday that Australia this year would produce aircraft worth £7,000,000 and next year £20,000,000. When the second Beaufort bomber is tested scon, new Beauforts will be expected off the production line at a steadily l ' increasing rate. The steadily-mounting strength of the Dominions is reflected in recent news of Australian and South African air programmes, says the British Official Wireless. Australia’s export of aeroplanes in 1942 will exceed £12,000,000 in value, with a total production value of £20,000,000, according to the Commisi sioner for Aircraft Production (Mr. John Storey). A large percentage of the aircraft produced will be Beaufort medium torpedo bombers, the fastest of their type in the world. The opening of additional schools is enabling a constantly increasing number of Australian airmen to be trained in their own country. Ground crews are now trained entirely in Australia. South African Progress One-fifth of the pilots and a quarter of the air gunners, observers and wireless operators still finish their training in Canada under the air training scheme, and some are sent to Rhodesia, but these proportions arc growing less. Sneaking at the coming of age of the South African Air Force on Monday, Field-Marshal Smuts said South Africa, which started the war with an air force of only one squadron and a total of 1500 pilots and mechanics, today has over 2000 pilots and additional personnel of at least 25,000. of which about 3000 are women. In cooperation with the British Government, South Africa is building up a far more powerful air force, which will involve a total of 50,000 men and women.