BIG EXPANSION

New Zealand Herald, Volume 80, Issue 24539, 23 March 1943, Page 2

BIG EXPANSION

THE AIR FORCE 0 SENIOR PROMOTIONS VICE-MARSHAL GODDAM) (0.C.) WELLINGTON. Monday Import a lit changes in the Air Department. including the promotion of the Chief of the Air Staff, Air-Commo-dore I?. V. Goddard, to the rank of acting air vice-marshal, were announced ; to-night !>.v the Prime Minister the Rt. Hon. P Fraser. acting as Minister of Defence. Two other service members of the Air Hoard both New Zcalanders —also received promotion. They are Group-Captain F. E. T. Hewlett, D.5.0., 0.8. E., and Gronp-Captin R. 15. Bannerman, D.F.C., who are both to be temporary air-commodores. The development ol tho Air Force was also discussed by Mr. Fraser. "Since the beginning of tho war," he said, "there has been a continuous expansion of the Royal New Zealand Air Force, so that vat the present time its embodied strength in personnel in the South Pacific, excluding altogether the thousands of New Zealand airmen in Britain, Canada, North Airica-, India and Burma, is more than 100 times the strength before tho outbreak of war. New Organisations Created "For reasons which everyone will appreciate, I am unable to publish facts and figures which would show the full extent of tho development of tho Royal New Zealand Air Force in New Zealand and in the islands during the past year. It has not been merely a matter of creating more squadrons—by no I means a .simple matter—but also of inI troducing entirely new organisations.

"These developments," the Prime Minister continued, "have required a great expansion on tlio technical side, particularly as regards repair depots, stores depots and operational training units. To control the new activities and new units and as part of the general defenco plan for New Zealand the Air Force was last year divided into three groups —Northern, Central and Southern. In addition to the three groups in New Zealand there is now a newly-constituted No. 1 (Islands) Group, R.N.Z.A.F." Responsibilities and Rank Referring to the new promotions, Mr. Fraser explained that the system of command and administration in tlio fighting services necessitated a due gradation of ranks. The law t for the control of military forces was based upon seniority in rank, although this did not imply promotion by rote. Mr. Fraser said the Government's decision to promote the ranks of the Air Force members of the Air Board followed not only upon tlio necessity for raising the status of certain directorates in the Air Department, but also in consequence of the creation of the Air Force groups commanded by Air Command. The responsibilities had been for some time disproportionate to their ranks when compared with other Allied forces. Employment lor Airmen "The future security of New Zealand must depend more and more on the development of the Air Force," Mr. Fraser"said. "It will always rest largely on the continued integrity of the islands to the north. To this end New Zealand is already playing a large part in conjunction with our Allies, as L told the House recently in the debate on manpower. The Air Force is destined for a substantial expansion as the result of which 1 expect the number and variety of our squadrons in the islands will be further increased. "This will result in absorbing for employment in the South Pacific increasing numbers of the air-crews passing through the training organisation—men who otherwise would be sent to Canada or the United Kingdom. It seems only common sense to employ all our men in the closer defence of New Zealand if by so doing wo can 'effect economies in transport and personnel." The Prime Minister paid a tribute to the achievements of New Zealand airmen, not only in Europe and North Africa, but also in the South Pacific area. He said the Air Force has a big job ahead of it. SERVICE IN TWO WARS CHIEF OF STAFF'S CAREER Air Vice-Marshal R. V. Goddard, who is 46, was appointed Chief of the Air Staff in New Zealand in September, 1911. He was on airship duties from 1915 to 1918 with the Grand Fleet and the British Expeditionary Force in France. In 1919-20 he was associated with rigid airship mooring experiments. He graduated in aeronautical engineering at Cambridge and London after studying from 1921 to 1924. In 1930 and 1931 he was chief instructor of the officers' engineering course and commanded No. 30 Squadron of the Royal Air Force in Britain. Hp passed through the Staff Colleges of Andover and Greenwich in 1929 and 1934. In 1939 ho was appointed Deputy-Director of Intelligence and was later Chief of Staff of the Air Component at British Headquarters in France. Ho was Director of Military Co-operation at the Air Ministry, before coming to New Zealand. Temporary Air Commodore F. E. 'P. Hewlett, won the D.S.O. in the last war and also received the 0.8. E., while serving in the Royal Air Force. He rose to the rank of group captain before retiring from the service. When he joined the Royal Now Zealand Air P'orce in 1940 he had to sacrifice his rank. Ho is a son of the novelist, the late Mr. Maurice Hewlett. His mother took a keen interest in the Auckland Aero Club in its early days. She was an experienced pilot and obtained the first certificate issued to a woman in England. OYSTER FLEET HELD UP (0.C.) INVERCARGILL, Monday Because of the boisterous weather and heavy seas in Foveaux Strait, the oyster fleet wa3 out on only two days last week. The result is that all larkots are in short supply, and with the demand very heavy oysters are bagged and railed as soon as the boats reach the wharf. The recent big catches are a long way behind those of a few years ago, when the Tatarua, owned by the Foveaux Strait Fish Company, brought in 1900 sacks as a result of 19 consecutive days' dredging.