EMPIRE AIR DEFENCE

Wairarapa Times-Age, 19 January 1939, Page 8

EMPIRE AIR DEFENCE

MISSION TO AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND

IMPORTANT & SIGNIFICANT DEVELOPMENT.

OBSERVATIONS BY BRITISH MINISTER.

By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright.

(Received This Day, 9.20 d.m.) LONDON. January 18

The Secretary of State for Air, Sir Kingsley Wood, commenting on the air mission that is going to New Zealand, said: “The immediate despatch of a strong aii- mission to Australia and New Zealand is important and significant as the visit, at the direct request of their Governments, is an additional sign of the unity of the British Commonwealth of Nations and of our firm co-operation in Empire defence. The new source of supply of aircraft which is available by orders placed in Canada for bombers, with the Australian and New Zealand projects, marks far reaching and vital‘developments in the history of Imperial air defence.”

MEMBERS OF MISSION

MANUFACTURE OF AIRCRAFT TO BE CONSIDERED.

NEW ZEALAND POSSIBILITIES.

LONDON, January 18.

The Air Ministry announces that in accordance with the wishes of the New Zealand Government, the Air Mission which is going to Australia next month will proceed to New Zealand on the conclusion of its Australian visit to discuss with the Government the possibility of- the manufacture of aircraft in New Zealand. The members of the mission will be Sir Hardman Lever, who headed the recent mission to Canada, Colonel Sir Donald Banks, Permanent Under-Sec-retary of Air. and Air Marshal Sir Arthur Longmore, lately commandant of the Imperial Defence College. The Air Ministry adds that the mission will have expert assistance comprising Mr A. C. Boddis, Assistant Director of Contracts, who accompanied the aircraft mission to Canada, and Mr C. Howarth, Senior Technical Officer of the Air Ministry’s Directorate of Production, who is going to Australia by air next week to confer with: the Australian authorities in a prelim-1 inary industrial survey. The secretary of the mission will be Mr E. G. Jackson, of the Air Ministry. He will accompany the principal members of the mission on the Orcntes.

The Minister in Charge of Aviation, Mr Jones, in an interview last night, confirmed the report from London that the British air mission which is going to Australia to investigate the possibility of establishing aircraft factories in the Commonwealth will also, at the invitation of the New Zealand Government, extend its visit to the Dominion.

Mr Jones said he did not know when the mission would arrive in New Zealand. but he understood it would be after its visit to the Commonwealth. Il would get information as to the resources in New Zealand and consider whether it would be practicable to manufacture aircraft here now or in the future.