The Wilmington morning star., 1940-08-21
Raj School
BY PAUL

ENGLAND "a Royal Air Force
Training SCHOOL,. The 1000 pilots
gunners, navigatiors and wireless
operators now being turned VI
each month in assembly line fash
ion throughout Britain are specl-
fled by British officers today as
the real reason for the amazing
success of the Royal Air Force.
Air supremacy, they say, is be-
ing maintained because England is
now turning out well-trained air
crews at an astonishing rate. Each
month from so per cent of Eng
lands 300 airfields, a minimum
of 1000 airmen with seven months
training take their place alongside
the 300, 600 men already in r. A.
F. ranks.
At this training field I saw the
type of program responsible for
this training speedup which is now
keeping pace with the delivery OF
U. S. warplanes in England.
It's all done on a factory basis.
At this typical school 80 men are
taught bombing; 80 learn how to
handle Harvards, Wellingtons, and
Spitfires and Hurricanes; 80 study
navigation; 80 learn wireless, and
80 gunnery.
And each month, with clocklike
regularity, 40 of these 100 students
receive their wings, then move on
to front-line airdromes where they
are matched into crews and given
final reconnaissance training over
the North Sea.
ASSEMBLY LINE
INSTRUCTION
The most impressive feature OF
this assembly line type of training
program is the ability of the STU
dents and the quality of instruction.
In a arrow brick building used
by the bombing classes student
bombardiers with four weeks in.
struction score direct hits from a
theoretical height of TO- 900 feet.
Out on the field student pilots
learn combat by staging amazing
aerial duels high above the air
drome.
Splitting into sections, one group
in North American Harvards will
roar down in screaming p o W e +
dives to 1900 feet, release dummy
bombs on a theoretical North Sea
convoy, then swoop up into a steep
zimmerman turn and make ready
for another attack.
Then from a distance two squad
rons of Spitfires idling along in
reconnaissance will suddenly be.
gin to spring to life and race flat
out at 387 m. p. h., to meet the
attack.
simultaneously, Hurricanes rep.
resenting Heinkel 113's will plum
met down from their escorting lev.
ell to c, 1000 feet and suddenly the
sky is broken up by twisting, and
screaming planes.
Until the battle reaches the dog
fight stage the fighting is conduct
ed along lines mapped out by the
squadron leader. Nursing the young
pilots along by radio communica-
ton and keeping the squadron in
act to present a wide front and
well-covered flank the leader sud-
denly gives the signal to break
formation and each man is on his
own.
He singles out an opponent and
tries to come in from the rear
while pouring part of his 600 bull
lets into the other cockpit. Because
in air fights these days you aim
for the pilot. His motor is armored
too well. Shoot off half of his tail
and he may still hobble away; so
aim for the pilot.
Only in this particular fight the
bullets were camera guns, mounted
on the wings Of each plane to re-
cord direct hits.
In one corner of the sky a slow
Harvard, just pulling out of a
screaming dive, was pairing off
against a fast Spitfire. Against SUI
perior speed and power, this pilot
Topped up in a sharp 1mmelman,
suddenly flattened out and came in
on the tail of the little Spitfire to
score a direct burst.