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Aviation History
1943
1943 - 0952.PDF
386 FLIGHT APRIL 15TH, 1943 WATER-BORNE BALLOONS intent on attacking an outgoing or incoming convoy may try to clear a path through the balloon barrage off some estuary, attacking not only the balloons, but bombing and shooting-up the barges themselves ; such an attack is very well portrayed in the film produced with the help of Bal- loon Command, entitled "Operational Height," and is a far more frequent incident around our frontier coasts than many people realise. But the crews of the water-borne balloons have given a very good account of themselves against this kind of attack and many ent-my aircraft have been brought down by their K.A.F. gunners. But for the balloons, the enemy would be able to release mines at the low altitude of 500ft. to 1,oooft., and thus plate them with considerable accuracy. Forcing him to release them at much greater altitude impairs his accuracy. Every day a senior officer makes a tour of inspection of balloon barges under his command, but the most popular visitor, next to the ever-welcome ration boat, is the officer who visits them to hold the regular pay parade—weather permitting, of course. That life on a balloon barge can be quite pleasant,- in- cidentally, is shown by the fact that short periods of leave during fine summer weather are sometimes spent afloat, swimming, sunbathing on the deck, and fishing with the aid of the skipper's dinghy. W.A.A.F. personnel also play their part in helping to keep the water-borne balloon barrages aloft, though thev do not serve afloat. Their duties ashore, however, are hardly less important and include jobs connected with ser- vicing the barges and drifters, such as checking and packing supplies for the ration boats and in the control room. Training for a Career By L. C. J ARM AN, A.M.I.E.E.I N recent months there have been many articles written on training and technical education for industry ; some have dealt with the training establishments already in existence, both inside the industry and under the Board of Education, whilst others have discussed the academic and practical qualifications of an' engineer. These discus- sions, however, tend to relate to an engineer who has served his apprenticeship and is endeavouring to establish himself in industry. But what of the qualifications required by the prospective apprentice? Technical training is becoming more and more a "Compulsory part of apprenticeship, yet few lads deliberately prepare themselves for technical training between the time they leave school and enter in- dustry. Scondary-school lads are inclined to believe that their school-leaving certificate covers all the subjects they will require to earn a living—a blind faith in the educational system under which they study. Would that this were so! I should like, therefore, to give some guidance to the lad who contemplates entering the engineering industry and, perhaps more particularly, to his father. The aim of every apprentice should be to hold the Higher National Certificate in Engineering by the time he is 21. Theoretically, an apprenticeship commences at 16 years and terminates on the 21st birthday. Concurrent with this 5-years' apprenticeship is the National Certificate Course., consisting of five sessions, S.i, S.2, S.3, A.i and A..2. On passing the S.3 examination a student is awarded the Ordinary National Certificate, and the Higher National on completion of the course. This latter certificate is usually recognised by the various engineering institutions as exempting the holder from part of their own respective qualifying examinations. Some institutions include a language in their examinations, a point which is not generally realised by the elementary schoolboy until he makes application to the institution for entry. Pre-apprenticeship Study Experience has proved that the elementary schoolboy, leaving school at 14 years, is not capable of tackling the S.i course when he starts his apprenticeship unless he has been studying during those two years between the age of 14" and 16. There are, therefore, two preparatory senior technical courses (J.i and J.2) to enable boys to introduce themselves to technical engineering before starting in the industry proper. The subjects taken in the Junior Technical Course are: - Mathematics, Engineering Science and Engineering Draw- ing. Subjects for the- Ordinary National Certificate are : — G.i. Mathematics. Engineering Drawing. Engineering Science (General). S.2. Mathematics. Engineering Science (Mechanical/Electrical).Engineering Drawing. S.3. Mathematics.Two other subjects relating to the particular in- dustry in which the apprentice is working. Itshould be noted that Jig and Tool Drawing and Workshop Technology may be taken by theseStudents engaged on Production Engineering. It should be recognised that technical training in a firm'sinstructional school, as against that in a technical college, is related much more closely to actual manufacturingprocesses. If, of course, an apprentice Jias not attended the preparatory classes, he will attend these at the commence- ment of his apprenticeship, starting with J.i or J.2, accord- ing to his ability; he should then have his Ordinary National Certificate before he is 21. -Technical study does not ' automatically terminate with the completion of apprenticeship, and failure to make the grade on the tech- nical work does not necessarily terminate the apprenticeship agreement. Secondary-school Entrants A secondary-school lad sitting for his school certificate at 16 or early 17 years will be accepted as an apprentice up to 17 years 3 months. Lads in this category are able "to cope with the second senior year (S.2) mathematics and science, but it is usually found that they have done little or no engineering drawing. This will relegate them to the S.i class, since S.i engineering drawing must be taken in order to qualify for the National Certificate. Engineering Drawing is essentially the language of the engineer, and although finally it is simply a matter of putting lines on paper, knowing just where to put these- lines is the culmination of long hours of study in mathematics, applied mechanics, experience in machine- shop practice, and a general knowledge, derived from the study of the various technical periodicals, of the devices used in up-to-date engineering practice. It is an advantage, then, for the secondary-school lad to get hold of the funda- mentals of engineering drawing before he commences his apprenticeship. Mo^t lads from secondary schools state a preference for the Drawing Office when first interviewed. This is no doubt because (a) they hold certain academic qualifications which show that they are capable of appreciating technical theory; (b) they want (or perhaps their parents want it so as not to upset their own established routine) the shorter working hours which obtain for "staff" personnel; and (c) they do not wish to work in overalls on a job which, they are persuaded, is "below their station." It can 1" said without hesitation that to be successful a draughtsman/ designer must receive part of his initial training in the workshops in order to understand the machines and people for whom he will later be designing articles.
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