EMPIRE AIR DEFENCE

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 19994, 20 July 1939, Page 5

EMPIRE AIR DEFENCE

DOMINION CONTRIBUTION TRAINING OF PILOTS (Parliamentary Reporter.) WELLINGTON, this day. “It has been decided that New Zealand’s most useful air contribution to 'lmperial defence is the training of pilots for the Royal Air Force in times of peace and pilots, observers, and air gunners in war,” said the Minister of Defence, the Hon. F. Jones, in the House of Representatives.

By the end of the present month. 267 New Zealanders would have left home for direct entry into the Royal Air Force. In addition, 60 locally-trained pilots would have been sent to Britain and 42 more were under training at Wigram and at various aero -clubs. Altogether, 369 candidates had been accepted or were comuleting training for the Royal Air Fjr.:e. For each of the 60 New Zealandtrained pilots that had been sent to Britain, the Government had received £1550, a total of £93,J00. The British Government wanted still more New Zealand-trained pilots. The New Zealand Government had undertaken to supply Britain with 220 pilots a year when Us development plans were in .full operation. In return, the British Government had offered to increase the payment for each pilot to £1770. This would eventually amount to £374,000 a year. Trie increase of £l5O made in the payment for c-ach pilot represented the British Government's assistance to the establishment of an aircraft factory in New Zealand