EMPIRE AIR SCHEME

Otago Daily Times, Issue 25660, 7 October 1944, Page 8

EMPIRE AIR SCHEME

DETAILS OF TRAINING TOTAL OF 114,253 MEN GRADUATE ’ OTTAWA, Oct. 5. Disclosing for the first time the full details of the Commonwealth air training plan, the Air Minister (Mr C. G. Power) said 114,253 air-crew members had graduated to August,2s out of a total 158,221 entrants. He added that so long as trained airmen were needed to accomplish the enemies’ defeat .so long would trainees graduate from this aerodrome of democracy. Of the total graduates 60,503 were R.C.A.F., 39,657 R.A.F., 8067 R.A.A.F., and 602 b R.N.Z.A.F. Both Australia and New Zealand had discontinued sending men to Canada, but there were a consider-, able number of Australians and- New Zealanders still training here. Giving the expenditure statistics, Mr Power said- the scheme had cost 2 304,000,000 dollars. Canada had spent 1,631,000,000 dollars, of which 442,000,000 were recoverable from Britain. Australia and New Zealand had made a cash contribution of 207,000,000 dollars. . Mr Power stated that Canadian airmen to fight the Japanese will be recruited on a voluntary basis from existing R.CA.F. squadrons. Such volunteers would fight in the Pacific as a Canadian squadron.