TRAINING OF AIR GUNNERS

Southland Times, Issue 25350, 29 April 1944, Page 8

TRAINING OF AIR GUNNERS

NEED FOR SKILL AND ACCURACY With the dual responsibility of defending his aircraft and destroying the enemy, the air gunner’ has one of the’ biggest jobs handled by the team of highly trained specialists who form the crew of a modern bomber. Behind his battery of vicious machine-guns he must keep an ever watchful eye, for on his snap judgment and skill depend the safety of his aircraft and the lives of the remainder of the crew. For this reason the need for thorough training in all aspects of air gunnery cannot be over-emphasized’ and to this end the Royal New Zealand Air Force Educational Services are now devoting particular attention to the training of air gunners for the Pacific. A recent development has been the concentration on the elementary principles of air gunnery as a preliminary to their operational training. ' Thousands of men in the fighting forces in the Dominion have learned—or are learning—to fire modern weapons, but from the ground. For the air gunner it is not so easy. His platform ismoving, his target is moving, pinner and target frequently move in' different planes, the estimation of range is difficult, and the gunner must act in a split second. These are but a few. of the problems that confront the trainee. USE OF RING SIGHT To enable action to be taken promptly and accurately, therefore, the Air Force education officer giving the necessary instruction in the’ principles of gunnery is driving these home until the solution of gunnery problems is both instinctive and automatic. A training mmiual is being specially prepared for this work by R.N.Z.A.F. Educational Services. The air gunner uses a ring sight through which he views the approaching enemy aircraft. He must recognize the aircraft immediately, remember its wing span if it is approaching head-on, or make the necessary correction if it is approaching at an angle. The extent to which the enemy aircraft fills, or partially fills, the ring sight enables the range to be estimated instantaneously and the gunner to decide when to open fire. He must not do this too soon as his supply of ammunition is limited, nor can he act too late, as hesitation may spell disaster. The ring sight and his knowledge of gunnery enable correction to be made for the motion of the gunner’s own aircraft and for that of his opponent The successes of Allied aircraft in the Pacific and in the European theatre, in which New Zealand airmen wield the deadly guns, have shown clearly the value of careful and intensive training. The war has still to be won . and a sound educational basis for air gunnery, which the R.N.Z.A.F. is now implementing to even better advantage, will enable the end to be brought still closer.