HIGH REPUTATION EARNED

Timaru Herald, Volume CLV, Issue 22789, 13 January 1944, Page 3

HIGH REPUTATION EARNED

New Zealand Catalina

Squadron

Operations Off West African Coast • N.Z.P.A. —Special Correspondent (Rec. 5.5 p.m.) LONDON, Jan. 11. A reputation for reliability and “being able to do the job,” together with the high serviceability of their aircraft, has been won by the New Zealand Catalina squadron which is operating from the West African coast. This news was brought to London by Wing Com-

mander D. W. Baird, A.F.C., who, after six months as the squadron's commanding officer, has been succeeded by Wing Commander Barry Nicholl, of Masterton.

Those six months included the worst season of the year in that part of the world. The New Zealanders have flown many hours in pouring rain, sometimes in thunderstorms, on convoy protection and anti-submarine patrols. They have also done many night anti-submarine patrols. So far they lifive had only the luck to sight one submarine, which later was reported definitely sunk. “Tl.e squadrons’ aircrews were almost equally divided between New Zealanders and men from the British Isle;, with a few Australians and Canadians,” said Wing Commander Baird. “The squadron’s spirit is first class. Everyone gets on well together. In spite of the trying weather their health is good, which is owing in no small measure to our medical officer, Flight Lieutenant I. D. Gebbie, of Christchurch. Flight Lieutenant Gebbie holds the Diploma of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. He also spent some time in Malaya studying tropical diseases. He has done a very good job. We are also fortunate in our adjutant, an Englishman, Flight Lieutenant Barrett, who kept the ground crew together well while they were awaiting an . ircrew who arrived some time later. Soccer Champions “Soccer is a great game out there, and our squadron, assisted by two Internationals—a Scot and an Irishman—won the station Soccer cup. We also had five men in the colony’s representative team. We are much indebted to our New Zealand Patriotic Fund Board which sent us boots and jerseys, also a baseball outfit, in addition to a library. That was for the lighter side of life, a pleasant relaxation after flying long hours in bad and indifferent weather when patrols lasted anything between 13 and 16 hours. One thing on which we were keen was to train the squadron and become mobile so that if we had to go at short notice the change-over could be carried out with the minimum of delay.” One of the squadrons flight commanders is Squadron Leader P. R. Godby, of Christchurch. It was expected that Flight Lieutenant A. Frame, D.F.C., of Oamaru. would fly with the squadron, but after arriving in West Africa, he was transferred to Sunderlands, on which he had previously flown 1600 hours. Several n.c.o.'s were commissioned recently, including the well-known footballer, A. G. Sutherland, of Invercargill. Some crews before going to West Africa were engaged in ferrying aircraft across the Atlantic.