AIR GUNNERS FOR WAR SERVICE

Southland Times, Issue 23978, 20 November 1939, Page 3

AIR GUNNERS FOR WAR SERVICE

MORE RECRUITS WANTED Applications are being invited from single men between the ages of 18 and 32 years for enlistment as air gunners for war service with the Royal New Zealand Air Force. . The scope for enlistment has been widened, due to the Air Ministry’s decision to accept applicants for training as air gunners who have obtained proficiency standard and are otherwise suitable for selection. This decision will enable /nany New Zealanders who previously were unable to qualify because of the educational requirements laid down, to enter the Air Force on the flying side. This will mean that many men who made application in September and whose services could not then be utilized because of their inability to comply with the educational requirements laid down at the time can now reapply for appointment. It is stated that a knowledge of wireless telegraphy will be an additional recommendation, but this knowledge is by no means essential, as successful applicants will probably be required to undergo a course of wireless telegraphy in addition to gunnery instruction. It takes approximately two months to train an air gunner thoroughly and successful recruits will be posted to the Ground Training School at Weraroa for one month, and will then pass to Ohakea for final training and flying experience. An ingenious device is used by the Air Force to train gunners, who receive their initial training without firing a shot. A camera gun, which is identical in operation to the Lewis gun, with the exception that it takes photographs of the target without firing bullets, is used for this purpose. When the trigger is pressed, the gun takes a photograph of the target and shows the instructor the accuracy of the aim. The gun is also fitted with a stop watch, which registers the length of time the operator holds the trigger. The camera gun, one of which is on display at the Air Force stand at the Centennial Exhibition, considerably reduces the cost of training air gunners, as well as enabling a higher standard of efficiency to be reached in a shorter time.