PATROLLING THE SEA

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXXIII, 30 November 1940, Page 2

PATROLLING THE SEA

AUSTRALIA ORDERS FLYINGBOATS What Australia has done and is doing in the matter of coastline and sea patrols is indicated by the following article published recently in the Syd- 1 ney “Morning Herald.” To replace the Short Sunderlands ' which would now be in Australia but 1 for the war, the Federal Government 1 has ordered 18 Consolidated PBY 5 f]y_ j ing-boats, which are an improvement ! on the Cuba, which surveyed the Indian j Ocean air route last year for the Brit- i ish and Australian Governments. The Consolidated flying-boats will be used to strengthen the reconnaissance patrol of the Australian coastline and out over the Tasman Sea. The arrival of the new flying-boats will mean a great extension of the activities of the Royal Australian Air Force, and for the first time regular service flights between Sydney and Auckland and other bases on the New Zealand coast can become a routine exercise. As a result the danger of enemy raiders in the Tasman would be greatly lessened. The Consolidated flying-boats which have a still-air range of more than 4000 miles, will be capable of

reconnaissance flights to Suva and return, and non-stop flights from Darwin to Singapore. Over shorter distances they can carry huge bomb loads, capable of blasting a ship out of the water. The most effective use of the PBY s’s for Tasman Sea patrol has already been discussed by Australia and New Zealand Air Force officers. Facilities for the flying-boats will be established in New Zealand. A feature of the PBY type is its freedom from corrosion. A specially-treated metal has been evolved to withstand long operations from waterways away from central overhaul workshops. The Commonwealth Government Is considering flying the PBY’s from San Diego to Sydney by the Pacific route ■ on delivery flights because of the tre- * mendous cost of shipping them.