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spares surplus, some 500 separate schedules have been submitted to the War Assets Realization Board, resulting in some 5,000 private sales and 60 auctions. Auction sales realized a figure of approximately £BO,OOO. The Air Force has assisted the Rehabilitation Department in the provision of hand tools, &c., for sale to ex-servicemen under rehabilitation schemes. Major issues of aircraft spares, plant, and tools have been made to the New Zealand National Airways Corporation and Tasman Empire Airways during the year, thus providing a proportion of the plant, equipment, and spares necessary for their overhaul workshops. Works and Buildings The Air Force has now been reduced to the original number of pre-war operational stations—i.e., Whenuapai, Hobsonville, Ohakea, Woodbourne, Wigram, and Taieri. The R.N.Z.A.F. station at Lauthala Bay, Fiji, has, however, still been retained as a R.N.Z.A.F. flying-boat base. The stores depots built during the war at Te Rapa (Hamilton), Mangaroa (Upper Hutt), and Weedons (Christchurch) are still retained. The R.N.Z.A.F. station at Ardmore, also built during the war, is held on a care and maintenance basis. The Air Force has taken over from the Navy Department buildings at Shelly Bay to provide offices for the Air Department and accommodation for personnel in Wellington. The remaining stations and camps, numbering 65, and containing accommodation for approximately 21,000, have been closed and buildings declared surplus, which now' have mostly been removed or otherwise utilized for civilian purposes. In view of the acute shortage of building-materials, temporary-type accommodation erected at the above permanent stations surplus to post-war requirements has been removed. It is, however, clearly uneconomical to demolish such buildings if there is a reasonable expectation that they will be required in situ to meet post-war requirements. The only new works undertaken have been the transfer of the overseas W/T station from Waiouru to Ohakea to economize in personnel, in provision of office accommodation at Shelly Bay involving minor alterations to existing buildings, and the provision of personnel accommodation at Te Rapa to take the place of the temporary wartime hutments, which are no longer fit for accommodation. The most important works programme facing the Air Force is additional married quarters, particularly at isolated Air Force stations, the lack of which is causing the loss of experienced personnel from the Service. Organization and Post-war Planning The commitments of the New Zealand Government under the World Security Organization, or even in respect of Commonwealth security, cannot yet be reduced to specific military plans. Nevertheless, the position is sufficiently clear to warrant the retention of an adequate nucleus Air Force, without which the task of rebuilding the Air Force would become immeasurably more difficult and expensive. The experience gained in the late war and modern developments in weapons will necessarily involve many organizational changes in the post-war Air Force. These matters have been the subject of continuous study during the past year by a special post-war Planning Committee. This planning has been followed by a reorganization of the Interim Air Force as far as existing conditions and resources permit. The post-war Air Force will consist of a Regular Air Force and a Territorial Air Force. While certain Regular units are now established on a cadre basis, it has not yet been possible to re-establish the Territorial Air Force owing to lack of Regular technical personnel. In this connection it must be emphasized that the size and efficiency of the Territorial Force depends entirely upon the Regular Air Force backing. The conditions of service in the post-war Regular Air Force are basically the same as those now adopted by the Royal Air Force, and provide for both short- and long-term engagements. The complex nature of Air Force trades makes it impossible to train a competent tradesman to peacetime standards and receive from him a period of productive service in less than eight years. This is the normal initial period of engagement for technical personnel; for others it is five years. Towards the end of the initial engagement a limited number of personnel are to be selected for permanent service, which is pensionable.

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