WALKING THE GAUNTLET

New Zealand Listener, Volume 37, Issue 936, 19 July 1957, Page 7

WALKING THE GAUNTLET

T takes great technical skill to fly an aircraft at 500 miles an hour, but should a mishap occur and the, pilot find himself stranded in hostile territory, he may lack the more primitive knowhow necessary-to stay alive. This point is made by Flight Lieutenant Peter Robinson in Come Back Alive, a documentary programme about the first R.N.Z.A.F. survival course, staged recently in Canterbury. Station 3YA sent along a team headed by Allan Sleeman to cover the operation on the spot, and their report will be heard by YA and 4YZ listeners at 9.30 a.m. on Sunday, July 28. For two weeks at the school at Wigram, Flight Lieutenant Robinson, who flew flying-boats during World War II, and Sergeant Len Restall, ex-R.A.F., trained the 14 jet pilots who were to take part in the course. They learned how to kill a rabbit on the run, to Set a snare, light a fire without matches, and make rations for a single meal last as long as seven days. After lectures came a 48-hour daylight trial, then finally the pilots were dropped into unfamiliar "hostile" territory. Actually this territory was 40 miles west of Christchurch in ‘the Hororata farming district,

and at 4.0 a.m., in pouring rain three venicies threaded their way along a gravel road, stopping every mile to drop a group of airmen. In pairs, with one group of three, the airmen shouldered their packs and tramped off into the country north of the Rakaia River. For the next 48 hours they were on their own, and

counting only on their parachutes for shelter, they had to cover the 24 miles to the safety zone at West Melton. The route was north-west between the Rakaia and Waimakariri Rivers, over flat land broken only by hedges and pine. trees. Warmly dressed beneath green overalls, the airmen had to live off the land and avoid capture, but were permitted to lie up in farm buildings if they dared risk detection by doing so. However,

there were two houses fun by the "underground movement," and anyone who managed to locate them could snatch something to eat and a few hours’ sleep in safety. Leaving the Hororata Road, the remaining hour or two of darkness was used to find a suitable place to lie up during the day, secure from detection by ground patrols or searching. aircraft. Then they had to find out’ where they were. Most of the aircrew were strangers to Canterbury, and they were delibérately not informed where they had been dropped, On a map of scale eight miles to the inch they had to Jocate their position, then travelling only by’ night, head towards West Melton. ‘ Men taking part in the course were instructed in parachute handling, water survival and swimming in oil» making identification signals, and dinghy drilis (in Lyttelton Harbour). On their\crosscountry hike they were wearing overalls instead of flying kit, but carried a parachute, rubber sheet, and a 4 Ib. survival kit-no more than they would have had if their plane had actually made a forced landing.