NO MORE AIRMEN FOR CANADA

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 88, Issue 202, 24 August 1944, Page 4

NO MORE AIRMEN FOR CANADA

R.N.Z.A.F. TO BE REDUCED AIR CREW TRAINING IN N.Z, RESPONSIBILITIES IN PACIFIC TO BE MAINTAINED Important decisions concerning the future of the Royal New Zealand Air Force were announced by the Prime Minister, Mr. Fraser, in the House of Representatives yesterday. Some 2000 men will be released from the Air Force in the next few weeks. Airmen will no longer be sent to Canada for training. Air crew personnel, of whom 1200 will be required each year, will be trained to full operational standard in the Dominion. “While the striking power of the R.N.Z.A.F. in the Pacific has been... developed according to a plan previously adopted in consultation with the British and United States authorities and the chiefs of staff, it will no longer be necessary to send airmen to Canada for training under the Empire air training scheme,” said Mr. Fraser. "As a result of the reorganisation it is possible to make reductions in the home establishment of the Air Force, but 1200 fully trained air crew personnel will be required annually and will be trained in New Zealand. The decisions will result in a substantial reduction in air crew enlistments in. New Zealand. CUT IN HOME STRENGTH “The Royal New Zealand Air Force,” adds Mr. Fraser, “has gradually been allocated increased general responsibility in the Pacific. The revised programme will necessarily require a considerable reorganisation throughout the Air Force in the Dominion, the cumulative effect of which Will be a progressive reduction in the home establishment of the service. As a result of this plan some 2000 men will be released during the next few weeks and further releases will occur as the progress of the new plan permits. "These far-reaching decisions were arrived at as a result of a series of conferences recently by the Chief of the Air Staff and by myself with Ministers and chiefs of staff in the United Kingdom and the United States. DEPLOYMENT IN PACIFIC “The actual deployment of the Royal New Zealand Air Force in the Pacific has also been the subject of close examination by the joint chiefs of staff, both in London and Washington. It is a cardinal principle of Allied policy that in the amphibious war against Japan the protection of bases and supply lines has high priority in the allocation of air units. Many of the islands through which the

Allies are progressing to-day are British territory, the defence of which must obviously be shared by British forces. These bases which we are already helping to protect will always remain of vital importance to the Dominion, and the Government has therefore accepted the responsibility of providing for New Zealand's participation in their defence under the Allied plan. A proportion of the New Zealand Air Force will thus be maintained in the South Pacific area foe these vital protective duties. These squadrons will also constitute a composite tactical force for such other tasks as may be allotted *o them by the United States theatre commander. “In addition,” concluded Mr. Fraser, “some of our squadrons will he employed in combat areas for operations against the enemy.” “Up to the preesnt time the Royal New Zealand Air Force has sent overseas no less than 25,000 men, including! some who have gone to the Pacific on two or more tours of duty. This has been a weighty contribution to Allied air superiority, but it is enhanced by the splendid individual qualities of the men themselves. “The highest tributes have been paid to the work of the men of the Royal New Zealand Air Force by the Air Force commanders under whom they have served, and by all those responsible- for air activities in both Great Britain and the United States.

Not only are they unstinted in their admiration for the fighting qualities of our aircrews,” Mr. Fraser concluded. “but they have also expressed their profound admiration for the skitl and technical ability of our ground staffs, whose standards are placed by these authorities as among the best In the world. This is attributed to the thoroughness and soundness of the Air Force training system in New Zealand.”