R.N.Z.A.F. NOW USING FLYING-BOATS

Press, Volume LXXIX, Issue 23976, 17 June 1943, Page 3

R.N.Z.A.F. NOW USING FLYING-BOATS

OPERATION FROM PACIFIC BASE The Royal New Zealand Air Force is now operating a number of flyingboats from a central base in the Pacific, These aircraft are used for convoy escort and reconnaissance duties, and their operations provide useful training for crews who have been selected for this class of flying. This information is given in "Contact,” national magazine of the Royal New Zealand Air Force, by an officer who accompanied the New Zealand Government Film Unit party when it visited islands in the Pacific where Royal New Zealand Air Force squadrons are located. The article refers to the activities of the Royal New Zealand Air Force in the New Hebrides, New Caledonia, and Fiji, and adds that it has found its way to other islands which cannot be described in detail.

Referring to the work of the marine section in the Pacific, “Contact” says it is perhaps not generally known that the Royal New Zealand Air Force includes in its personnel a number of sea-going officers and airmen. They man the boats and launches of the marine section, which is responsible for maintaining several essential services. High speed launches carry mails and passengers between flyingbo.at and shore, act as crash tenders in an emergency or as sea rescue boats. Other launches tow petrol barges, bomb barges, and landing pontoons. Most of the crews were formerly amateur yachtsmen or fishermen, with a fair representation from marine and motor engineers.