AIR TRANSPORT IN PACIFIC

Southland Times, Issue 25642, 9 April 1945, Page 5

AIR TRANSPORT IN PACIFIC

Pilots Experience Violent Storms

(N.Z.P.A.— Special Correspondent). (Rec. 9 p.m.) _ PACIFIC FLEET H.Q., Apnl 5. The Royal Air Force Transport Command is playing an increasingly important part in Britain’s active participation in the war against Japan. Manned by United Kingdom crews, twoengined Dakotas and four-engined Liberators are flying priority passengers, mail and urgent freight from Australia to advanced bases in the Pacific. The American authorities, through the naval and air transport service and Army Transport Command, are giving complete co-operation. The job of British crews is as tough as any airman’s in the world, the worst feature being the completely unpredictable weather over certain stages. Storms race up from nowhere with a violence which is to be seen to be believed, and which crew members, with long experience of operations over Europe, Africa and Burma, say is the worst they have ever met. A British war correspondent, newly come from several years in Burma, said that the worst monsoon weather he saw in that theatre did not match the fury of one recent Pacific storm. One of the pilots said: “I would rather be back bombing Germany any day than flying on this route.” Another on a recent flight was caught in a sudden storm, and for what seemed a lifetime the aircraft dropped with its tail down at 200 miles an hour, while the pilot vainly tried to make it climb. Having flown over the route with one of the crews I know how magnificent they are. EXCELLENT AIRFIELDS The best feature of the flights is the generally excellent standard of airfields, particularly those hewn out of jungle and coral by the Americans. Some have their “bugs” (special characteristics), which demand special care by pilots, but, having regard for all circumstances, they are very good. Some are bigger than any in NewZealand, and most are at least as big as Whenuspai, Ohakea or Wigram. All have played their part in past defeats of the Japanese, and some are still on operations with fighters and bombers, sharing strip and dispersal bays with an amazing variety of transport machines from the faithful Dakota 47 to huge Skymasters, or Cs4s. For the officers and men of the British Pacific Fleet, most of them farther away from home than at any other stage of the war, the R.A.F. service into the Pacific, so extending the existing R.A.F. services from Britain to Australia, is of special value in reducing the time taken for their mail to reach them. The service is not yet fully organized, nor has it reached its intended size, but already the time taken for mail to come from Britain to the final distribution centre has been reduced to an average of 12 days. Although the weather will probably interrupt the service on many occasions, this is much better than the time taken when the Fleet began to assemble.