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Aviation History
1928
1928 - 1071.PDF
NOVEMBER 15, 1928 ROYAL AUSTRALIAN AIR FORCE Report by Air Marshal Sir J. Salmond, K.C.B. THE report by Sir John Salmond, K.C.B., C.M.G., C.V.O., D.S.O., on the organization, administration, training, and general policy of development of the Royal Australian Air Force (Part 1) has been published under the date, Melbourne, September 20, 1928. The report covers the following terms of reference :—(1) The present equipment and training policy of the R.A.A.F. ; (2) the organization, administration, and general policy of development of the R.A.A.F. ; (3) the employment of the R.A.A.F. in the defence of the Common- wealth. In his introduction, Sir John Salmond remarks that the defects which he has pointed out were largely due to the immense difficulties of building up an air force in its initial stages without any properly established organization or bases. The force, he says, is established on a firm basis and has been developed along sound lines, and he gives credit to those responsible for the great work achieved in bringing it to its present stage. Sir John inspected all the R.A.A.F. establishments, as follows :—No. 1 Flying Training School, Point Cook, Victoria ; No. 1 Aircraft Depot, Laverton, Victoria ; No. 1 Squadron, Laverton ; No. 3 Squadron, Richmond, N.S.W. ; Experimental Section, Randwick, N.S.W. ; No. 1 Fleet Co-operation Flight, Bowen, Queensland. He noticed that Nos. 1 and 3 Squadrons are composed up to two-thirds of Citizen Force personnel, whereas the remainder of the units are in the main composed of permanent air force personnel ; that No. 101 Fleet Co-operation Flight has had no experience in operating from a carrier with the fleet ; that Nos. 1 and 3 Citizen Air Force Squadrons are the only operational units designed to undertake hostilities in conjunction with the army ; and that the period of compul- sory training for C.A.F. personnel is 25 days. He then remarks " Due to the obsolete type of service machines in use throughout the air force, to the entire absence of any re- serve equipment, and to the low standard of training in these operational units, I have to report that I consider that the R.A.A.F. would be totally unfit to undertake war operation in co-operation with the navy or army, even after the permis- sible period of training for the latter had elasped." Operational Units After emphasizing the need of the highest skill in the hand- ling of aircraft, Sir John remarks that skill in air fighting, in navigating, bombing, and in co-operation with other arms can be attained only by constant training in a permanent unit. It cannot be reached by units composed chiefly of C.A.F. personnel doing 25 days' training a year. He recog- nises the policy of the Commonwealth to maintain defence units on a citizen force basis, which is economical, and therefore, has recommended the establishment of both per- manent and C.A.F. operational units. The two operational C.A.F. squadrons for work with the army are organised each in three flights, each flight with a different type of machine and each intended to fulfil a diffe- rent rdlc, namely, army co-operation, fighting, and bombing. Arising fromithis are difficulties in maintenance and training, and supply from the base is uneconomical. It is recom- mended that these and future C.A.F. squadrons should be confined to one type of service machine and one rdlc, namely, ' bombing ; and permanent units are recommended to take over the duties of fighting and army co-operation. Training Training, it is remarked, is so interlocked with equipment that it is not possible to judge the one without reference to the other. The present standard of training, Sir John considers, is too low. He then proceeds to discuss No. 1 F.T.S. at Point Cook. He says that officers who pass out from it are very well trained in flying and have reached a sufficiently high standard to profit by further practice and training with their units. This has been denied them on account of the insuffi- ciency and inadequacy of the aircraft available. Practical training in air gunnery, air pilotage, bombing, photography, and navy and army co-operation does not exist, and theore- tical training in these subjects is elementary. The training course for permanent short service commission officers and airmen pilots is eight months, and for citizen force officers four months. Sir John recommends that the school be re-organised. The course should be extended to 12 months, while C.A.F. officers should no longer be sent there. The latter will be trained at the squadron most convenient. Hitherto the C.A.F. officers have mostly been University students who trained during their vacation. The new arrangement will make it practicable to select other volunteers in the district for training. For future permanent operational units, it is recommended that the syllabus of training for similar units in the Royal Air Force should be adopted. Equipment and Supply With the exception of a few machines recently purchased' aircraft and engines were found to be old and for the most part out of date and unserviceable. The replacement of this equipment is overdue, and the efficiency of the force has suffered severely in consequence. Efforts to recondition this old equipment by commercial firms have not always proved successful, partly due to the initial inexperience of the contractors, and partly because the orders were too small and irregular to justify the outlay for jigs, tools, etc. A very- large proportion of the spares have to be obtained from Great Britain, and so it is necessary to forecast requirements much earlier than would be necessary if these supplies were available locally. The supply staff was found to have been labouring under great difficulty. Living largely on the gift equipment, it has not yet been possible to estimate accurately the normal consumption and wastage. The Stores Depot at Laverton was established only some 18 months ago, and stocktaking had not yet reached finality. There was a large quantity of out-of-date stores which should be got rid of. The vocabulary of the stores needed much revision. The Directorate of Supply should have more extensive powers of control over local purchase. No data exist on which a reliable estimate of the cost of future units can be based. Until further progress is made towards clearing the accountancy for supplies from the undoubted confusion in which it is at present, a considered policy to meet present and future requirements cannot, says Sir John, be expected. Personnel Officers of the Permanent [it would have avoided some confusion if the word Regular had been used, as Short Service and Permanent are contradictory terms.—Ed."] Air Force (General List) hold either permanent or short-service com- missions in the R.A.A.F. or are seconded from the Navy or Army for three years. Short-service commission officers serve for four years on the active list and four years on the reserve. C.A.F. officers, whether volunteers or men liable under the Defence Act, serve for eight years, four of which may be on the reserve. Officers with permanent commissions are drawn from (a) regular officers of the Navy and Army who have transferred to the R.A.A.F. after secondment, (b) suitable short-service commission officers, (r) cadets from the Royal Military College who are nominated or have volunteered for the R.A.A.F. Sir John points out that a) is incon- venient to the parent service and nullifies the advantages of secondment ; (b) nullifies the advantages of the short-service commission system, and (c) is a partial waste of training as cadets for the Army. He proposes the formation of a R.A.A.F. Wing at the Royal Military- College, Duntroon, at which cadets would remain for three years, gradually specialising more and more on air force subjects. In the second and third years they would be taught to fly in the training flight of the proposed permanent army co-operation squadron at Canberra. It is expected that six entries per annum, in addition to the supply from other sources, will be sufficient for the immediate requirements of the force. Officers from Duntroon will also supply the units working with the fleet after a course of training, and at present it will not be necessary to make provision at the Royal Naval College, Jervis Bay. As the air force develops, Sir John says that it may be necessary to establish a separate R.A.A.F. cadet college. The continuance of the system of short service commissions is recommended. Sir John approves the period of four years on the active list for Citizen Air Force officers, but expects that under his proposed new training scheme candidates for commissions will not be limited to compulsory trainees from the 993
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