EMPIRE AIR TRAINING

Wairarapa Times-Age, 3 September 1940, Page 3

EMPIRE AIR TRAINING

DOMINION’S CONTRIBUTION. NEARLY 3000 MEN EACH YEAR. (By Telegraph—Press Association.) DUNEDIN, September 2. V/hen New Zealand * reaches its maximum contribution under the Empire air scheme it will be sending a total of nearly 3000 pilots, gunners and observers to Canada and direct to the United Kingdom each year. This announcement was made in an interview today by the Minister of Defence, Mr Jones, who said the first observers and air gunners to go to Canada from here to complete their training would leave next month.

“About the beginning of next year we will begin to send pilots to Canada for advanced training,” the Minister said, “but in the meantime we will continue to send pilots direct to England under the war training scheme which was in operation before the Empire scheme was announced. “When the Empire scheme is in full operation, however, our annual commitment will be 880 pilots trained in New Zealand to an advanced stage and sent direct to England, 520 pilots sent to Canada for further training and 546 air observers and 936 air gunners sent to Canada. Thus we will be sending abroad each year nearly 3000 men, exclusive of certain technical personnel of whom a number will be sent next year.” The Minister added that it,was difficult to say exactly how soon it would be possible to reach those figures, ‘since that was determined by a number of factors, one of which was equipment, which had to be obtained from abroad: That was the aim, however, and when it was reached, New Zealand, in common with other Empire countries, would be making a great contribution to the winning of the war in the air, which was such a vital element of modern combat.

Dealing with the present rate of progress, Mr Jones said that between now and the end of this year New Zealand would send to the United Kingdom 167 pilots, 117 observers and 40 gunners and to Canada 126 observers and 288 air gunners. The total number of men sent to the United Kingdom and to Canada during this year, including those who had already gone forward, would be 1465.

"When we are sending so many men abroad, it naturally means that we have to increase the establishment of the Royal New Zealand Air jforce itself,” the Minister said. "Thus, while 12 months ago the strength of the force was 100 officers and 608 airmen, including trainees, we now have 382 officers and 4748 airmen, including trainees, which represents a very large increase for a year. When we have our total establishment it will amount to 480 officers, 4200 airmen and 1800 trainees, so that at any one time we should have at the Air Force stations in New Zealand some 6450 officers and men.