HUGE TRAINING SCHEME

Southland Times, Issue 23947, 13 October 1939, Page 7

HUGE TRAINING SCHEME

Men For Empire’s Forces STEADY FLOW OF PERSONNEL ESTABLISHING SCHOOLS IN EACH DOMINION (British Official Wireless) RUGBY, October 11. One aspect of the present achievements and future work of the Royal Air Force as recounted by the Minister of Air (Sir Kingsley Wood) to which special attention is devoted by the newspapers is the training scheme for the Empire Air Force. The Times- states that the scale of production and training in Britain, as Sir Kingsley Wood showed, is enormous and expanding and there is nothing in the new agreement which will interfere with their continuance and expansion. But both production and training, particularly training, are to be duplicated, mainly in Canada. There are great centres for advanced training schools in Australia, New Zealand and Britain and thence a large, steady flow of fully-trained personnel will go out to the Royal Air Force and to the Dominion Air Forces.

After stating that the significance of the agreement with the Dominions can hardly be exaggerated, The Times says that the agreement shows the degree of determination animating the whole Empire in the war. No action of the enemy can now prevent the air forces of the Empire from gathering and from maintaining their overwhelming strength. The trend of comment in other newspapers is well summed up in The Daily Telegraph. The most important of all developments is the new scheme of cooperation with the Dominions, it says. Thus the resources and areas of the Empire, free from any risk of. enemy attack, will be utilized to the utmost for the creation of an air force to defend the whole British Commonwealth of Nations. Such a manifold union of imperial effort has never before been devised. Each Dominion will have its own training schools but advanced courses are■, to be concentrated in Canada. There many of our own air force recruits as well as those in Australia and New Zealand will have their final preparation for service. This scheme has been inspired by a far-sighted judgment of the conditions of the world and of the potentiality of the British Empire. We may now look forward to an imperial air power of overwhelming strength. Its officers and men. will have vindicated freedom and justice in the spirit of that notable squadron motto which Sir Kingsley Wood quoted' “I spread my wings and I keep my promise.”

Sir Kingsley said that after training in Canada the personnel of the Empire Air Force would join either air force squadrons maintained in. the respective Dominions or in the theatne operations of the British Royal Air Force units. Lord Riversdale’s mission and the Australian and New Zealand missions will discuss with the Canadian authorities all further steps for the rapid execution of the Empire air plans whereby the Dominions will bring their full weight and might to bear to secure success of the common cause.

“The Government pays a tribute to the vision and imagination of the Dominion statesmen' who so promptly recognized the significance of this great conception,” said Sir Kingsley, “and is most grateful to the Dominion high commissioners for their helpful cooperation.”

AUSTRALIA’S PART IN SCHEME MELBOURNE, October 11. The Prime Minister of Australia (Mr R. G. Menzies) in a national broadcast, announced a plan for building up a vast Empire Air Force which had been adopted by the British, Australian, Canadian and New Zealand Governments after close consultation in the past few weeks. The final arrangements would be made at a conference of Dominion representatives in Canada at which Mr J. V. Fairbairn, Minister of Civil Aviation, would represent Australia.

Mr Menzies said that the plan contemplated the training on a co-opera-tive basis of thousands of air pilots, observers and gunners at schools to be established in Australia, Canada and New Zealand. This would eventually ensure that Britain would be not only the greatest naval power but alsn ‘he greatest, air power. In this war airpower might turn out to be the determining factor. Germany clearly thought so. Thus, if Germany looked to the air to defeat the Allies, it was to the air that the Allies must look to defeat her.

Mr Menzies emphasized that the vast production of military aircraft could be carried out and the training of men necessary to . fly any number of machines could be successfully developed within the Empire. Undoubtedly this would result in the death knell of Germany’s ambitions. He had assured the British Government that Australia would stand or fall with her. Australia, he pointed out, was already producing military aircraft on a large scale, and, in the course of time, would have an air force sufficient to deter any enemy thinking of invading the coast-line of Australia.

SOUTH AFRICA’S FIVE-YEAR PLAN

(British Official Wireless) RUGBY, October 11.

Although South Africa, as Sir Kingsley Wood announced yesterday, is for various reasons unable to adopt the scheme for training Empire pilots as in Canada, South African circles in London pointed out today that the Union had been by no means inactive. As far back as 1936 a five-year defence development plan was begun and had as one of its salient purposes the advanced training of pilots. The Minister of Defence (Mr O. Pirow) revealed last March that the pilot training scheme was well ahead ox schedule. Of the total of 3000 pilots required under the programme by 1941 more than 2000 had already been trained.

Preliminary training has been carried out with the help of flying clubs all over the Union and the defence authorities have for several years past worked in close consultation with Britain.