AIR TRAINING CADETS

Dominion, Volume 37, Issue 192, 12 May 1944, Page 6

AIR TRAINING CADETS

Eastbourne Unit’s Realistic Course

A realistic “commando” , course was recently undertaken at Baring Head by the Eastbourne Detached Flight of the Air Training Corps. During intensive training the cadets in four days covereu 40 miles in very hilly country and gained no small amount of knowledge related to the complicated intricacies that are a part of modern warfare. ; One small section proceeded to the top of Mount Mathews, overlooking the "VYairarapa, and established a signal station. Lamp communication was not made because of misty conditions, but till they rejoined the flight, on the third day, the section kept a log of their activities. Other cadets established a telegraph lain! telephone system between two bivouacs which were three miles apart; one was (100 feet above sea level and the Other was 1000 feet. Once the line was established the cadets became enthusiastic about learning Morse. Many peculiar points about navigation were practically demonstrated when the flight worked from a “trig” station on top of a knoll along Baring Ridge, 1000 feet above the sea. The position commanded an excellent view of the coastline and the sea right across to the South Island. Bearings of main headlands and lighthouses were taken to true and laid off there and then on a chart. The height of the knoll gave the impression of being up in an aircraft doing a real job, and such an impression naturally raised a considerable amount of enthusiasm among air training cadets. With the high knoll as their vantage point, the cadets constructed a ehart of the whole district by using triangulation. Each cadet contributed something. The finished chart was described as a surprisingly accurate piece of work. Apart from, taking land bearings, astronomical position lines were taken from shots with a sextant. Altogether, the result of the work done on the knoll wag that many of the navigational pre-entry assignments were covered in a very thorough and practical way. Quite apart from the pratcical demonstration of essential warfare theories, the boys successfully carried out a toughening-up programme. They covered long distances at night through swamps, more often than not sinking over the knees in mud; and like real “commandos” they had no torches to guide them. A great spiirt of co-operation ana enthusiasm existed right , through the course, and the general opinion was that they were far too interested in what they were doing ever to notice that the going was really tough. Coloured cotton is being grown in the Uzbek Republic, one of the Asiatic States of the Soviet Union, reports the journal “Soviet War News,” published in London. It says that the colour does noi. wash off or fade in the sun. Several shades of green have been produced, also brown, which was the first colour to be grown. Scientists are experimenting at present with other colours.