TRAINING FOR AIR FORCE

Southland Times, Issue 24239, 24 September 1940, Page 6

TRAINING FOR AIR FORCE

Educational Scheme Expanded TOTAL OF 3102 MEN AT WORK (United Press Association) WELLINGTON, September 23. The expansion of the educational training scheme for airmen pilots, air observers and air gunners was discussed by the Minister of Defence (the Hon. F. Jones) in an interview this evening. Mr Jones also 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.

The No. 3 course men began preliminary educational training on September 9, said the Minister, and with the addition of this group to those already under training a total ot 3193 men was undergoing educational training in mathematics and science either in the various Air Force classes throughout the Dominion or on the 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 about 700 or 800 of those men selected for air crews 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. Of the present total of more than 3000, a total of 1718 was receiving instruction in 61 classes'Which had been organized throughout the Dominion. Of these 61 groups, 15 were located in Auckland and 14 in Wellington and the Hutt Valley. Last week 374 men had attended Air Force classes in the various Wellington schools (Wellington College, Wellington Technical College, Hutt Vrjlley Hif' School and Hutt Valley Memorial Technical College). The number f Air Force correspondence courses was at present 1384. All men on 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 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 about 75 signalling classes in the various towns of the Dominion. About 2214 men were receiving instruction in these classes under nearly 200 instructors, all officers of the Post and Telegraph Department. In order to provide the necessary signal training for those men in the small centres who could not be grouped into classes, suitable arrangements had been made with the National Broadcasting Service and signalling instruction was being broadcast from stations 2YC, IZM and 3YL every evening of the week except Sunday. It was quite evident already, Mr Jones stated, that as the result of the work done in the classes and over the air, no difficulty would be experienced in getting every man going on to the ground training schools at Levin up to at least eight words a 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. Arrangements had, however, been made for the tests to be published in The New Zealand Listener after they had been given, and those interested would thus be able to mark their own. INTERESTS OF GROUND STAFF

In conclusion, the Minister stated that although most of his previous statements in regard to educational training had had reference to air crews, the interests of the ground personnel were not by any means being neglected. Education officers were attached to all Air Force stations and were available for the instruction of members of the ground personnel, not only during their recruit stage and during their technical training, but also when, on the completion of that training, they had been posted to stations.