AIR TRAINEES

Taranaki Daily News, 24 September 1940, Page 8

AIR TRAINEES

By Telegraph—Press Association

EDUCATIONAL SCHEME

WIDE SCOPE REVIEWED DOMINION EXPANSION

Wellington, Last Night. 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. He also referred to the adoption by Australia of the New Zealand scheme and to the use made there of the New Zealand education programme, thus enabling the scheme to be applied immediately to the preliminary educational training of reservists in Australia. No. 3 course men commenced 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 various Air Foiye classes throughout the Dominion or on correspondence courses. Of these 1817 were provisionally classified as pilots or observers and 1285 as air_ gunners. « Kapid Growth Shown.

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 for air crews were receiving this educational training. Almost all of these had completed their educational training, had passed necessary educational ,tests and were now either at the ground training school at Levin or at one of ihe flying training schools, or were waiting to be posted to a ground training school. , Of the present total of * over 3000 a^ total of 1718, was receiving instruction in 61 classes which had been organised throughout the Dominion. Of these 61 groups 15 were located at Auckland and 14 at Wellington and Hutt "Valley. Last week 374 men had attended Air Force classes in various Wellington schools (Wellington College, Wellington Technical College,* Hutt Valley High School, and Hutt Valley Memorial Technical College). The number on air force correspondence courses was at present 1384. ' All men on Air Force educational courses were, of course, carrying on with ordinary jobs until such time as it was necessary to draft them to ground training school at Levin. Signal Training Progress. Signal training to which he had referred in previous statements was now in full swing. The Director of Educational Serviees, Mr. E. Caradus, had made arrangements with the Post and Telegraph Department to establish some 75 signalling classes in various towns of the Dominion. Some 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 small centres who could not be grouped into classes suitable arrangements had been made with the Nat^onal Broadcasting Service and signalliif; instruction was being broadcast from stations 2YC, 1ZM and 3YL every evening of the week except Sunday. It was quite evident already, Mr. Jones stated, that, as a result . of work done in classes and over the air no difficulty would be experienced in getting every m'an going on to the ground training school 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 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 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. Ground Personnel Included. 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 and during their technical training but also when, on completion of that training, they had been posted to stations.