AIR FORCE TRAINEES.

Manawatu Standard, Volume LX, Issue 254, 24 September 1940, Page 8

AIR FORCE TRAINEES.

EDUCATIONAL SCHEME

RAPID DEVELOPMENT

Per Press Association

WELLINGTON, Sept. 23. The expansion of the educational training scheme for airmen pilots, air observers and air gunners was discussed by the Minister of Defence (Hon. F. Jones) in an interview this evening. He lalso referred to the adoption by Australia of the New Zealand scheme and to the use made there of the New Zealand educational programme, thus enabling the scheme to be applied immediately to the preliminary educational training of reservists in Australia.

No. 3 course men commenced t'heir preliminary educational training on September 9, and with the addition of this group to those already under training a total of 3102 men .were undergoing educational training in mathematics and science either in the various Air Force classes throughout the Dominion or correspondence courses. Of these 1817 were provisionally classified as pilots or observers and 1285 as air gunners.

As indicating the rapid growth of this preliminary educational training, the Minister compared these figures with those he had given to the Press at the end of June. At that time only, some 700 or 800 of those men selected tor the air crew were receiving this educational training. Almost all of these had completed their educational training, had passed the necessary educational tests, and were either at the ground training school at Levin or at one of the flying training schools, or were waiting to be posted to the ground training school.

OVER 60 CLASSES

Of the present total of over 3000 a total of 1718 were receiving instruction in 61 classes which had been organised throughout the Dominion. Of these 61 groups 15 were located in Auckland and 14 in Wellington and Hutt Valley. Last week 374 men had attended the Air Force classes in the various Wellington schools (Wellington College, Wellington Technical College, Hutt Valley High School and Hutt Valley Memorial Technical College). The number on the Air Force correspondence courses was at present 1384. All the men on the Air Force educational courses were, of course, carrying on with their ordinary jobs until such time as it was necessary to draft them to the ground training school at Levin.

Signal training to which he had referred in previous statements was now in full swing The Director of Educational Services (Mr E. Caradus) had made arrangements with the Post and Telegraph Department to establish some 75 signalling classes in the various towns of the Dominion. Some 2214 men were receiving instruction in these classes under nearlv 200 instructors, all officers of the Post and Telegraph Department. In order to provide the necessary training for those- men in small centres who could not be grouped into classes signalling instruction was beifig broadcast every evening of -the week excent Sunday. DEGREE OF COMPETENCE.

It was quite evident already, Mr Jones stated, that as a result of the work done in the classes and over the air no difficulty would be experienced in gutting every man going on to the ground training sonool at Levin tip to at least eight words per minute in Morse signalling, both sending and receiving. It was evident, too, that the broadcast signalling instruction was arousing a great deal of general interest. Many requests had been made both to the Director of Broadcasting and to the Director of Educational Services by ’ others than Air Force trainees for the marking of the various tests put over the air. There was so much work to be done in other directions that it was quite impossible to accede to these requests. The Minister stated that, although most of his prel.vious statements in regard to educational training had had reference to I the air crew', the interests, of the 1 ground personnel were not hv any means being neglected. Education officers were attached to >all the Air Force stat’of’s and were available for the instruction of members of the ground personnel not onlv during their recruit and during their technical training, but also when, on the completion of that training, they had been posted to stations.