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Aviation History
1950
1950 - 1316.PDF
FLIGHT, 6 July 1950 and maintained on a county or city basis by the Territorialand Auxiliary Forces Associations in the same way as are units of the Territorial Army, but they are under the commandof the A.O.C.s the appropriate Reserve or Fighter Groups. An R.Aux.A.F. unit is normall ' commanded by an Auxiliaryofficer, and is manned mainly by Auxiliaries, supported by a cadre of regular officers and airmen (and in some cases regularairwomen) who act as instructors and undertake certain administrative and other duties. Women Auxiliaries play animportant part in the Fighter Control and Reporting Units. Existing R.Aux.A.F. units are made up as follows: —(a) There are twenty Flying Squadrons equipped with fighter aircraft; these are now part of Fighter Command.There are Air Traffic Control Sections attached to most squadrons, and these are designed to give peisonnel trainingin the control of the immediate movement of fighters in and around airfields. (b) There are twenty-six Fighter Control Units, the pur-pose of which is to train all grades of personnel required to man the air defence organization of the I'.K They provideskilled Auxiliary units which will eventually employ a total of between twenty and thirty thousand men and women onduties ranging from that of officers controlling the operations of fighters, to radar mechanics, radar operators, teleprinteroperators and fighter plotters, etc. (c) There are twelve Light Anti-Aircraft Squadrons of theR.Aux.A.F. Regiment. (d) There are five Air Observation Post Squadron Head-quarters controlling 20 operational Flights. These Squadron Headquarters and Flights are located on R.A.F. airfieldsthroughout the U.K. and serve the Territorial Army. The pilots for the Operational Flights are drawn from Terri-torial Army Officers of the Royal Artillery, but aircraft maintenance is undertaken by R.Aux.A.F. personnel. The Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve.—Whilst NationalService men provide a valuable reserve, they cannot meet the whole requirements, particularly in the highly skilled trades,on account of the comparative short period of regular service which they have undertaken, and considerable volunteer effortsare also needed. Members of the R.A.F.V.R. are, in the main, trained officers, airmen and airwomen, who have hadconsiderable previous Service experience. They are supported by qualified personnel without previous service, but highlyskilled in a civilian trade of value to the R.A.F Training in the R.A.F.V.R. and the W R.A.F.V.R. isprimarily designed to maintain the efficiency of aircrew and tradesmen up to the standard they attained on full-time service. Flying training is given at some twenty Reserve FlyingSchools, and ground training at some twenty-two Reserve Centres, dotted throughout the country. In addition,R.A.F.V.R. personnel carry out fifteen days' training annually, at Reserve Flying Schools for ftying personnel, and at regularR.A.F flying stations for ground tradesmen. The essential difference between the R.A.F.V.R. and theR.Aux.A.F. is that, whereas the latter is organized in units which can be individually employed in fighting organizationsin war, the Reserve personnel will be allocated individually to duties in any unit which requires bringing up to wartimestrength, or is created under the general expansion. The University Air Squadrons.—The purpose of the Uni-versity Squadrons is to provide training during their university careers for men who wish to prepare themselves for com-missioned service in the regular or Auxiliary and Reserve forces, and are prepared to give time to this training. Alto-gether, there are now fourteen University Air Squadrons operating. The Air Training Corps.—The aims of the Aii Training Corpsare to foster in youth a sense of national pride, good citizenship and self-discipline; to encourage a practical interest in aviationby careful training, so as to prepare these cadets interested in joining the R.A.F. or one of its Auxiliary or Reserve forces;and to give others experience which will be valuable to them during their period of National Service. The present strength of the Corps is about 40,000 cadets.Those who obtain the Proficiency Certificate have special opportunities for entry into the R.A.F., including entry asofficers through the R.A.F. College, Cranwell, and entry by way of the aircraft apprenticeship training schemes. Proficientcadets who pass the requisite tests may also be given aircrew training during their period of National Service. A new scheme has recently been introduce.! for up to 200annual flying scholarships to be granted to specially selected proficient cadets, whereby they can obtain flying training up toPrivate Pilot's Licence standard. This scheme will afford an opportunity for young men to learn to fly who otherwise wouldbe denied the privilege. The Corps is organized in Wings, usually on a county basis,within existing Reserve Groups, and consists of varying num- bers of A.T.C. Squadrons formed in some instances by schoolsbut mainly by local committees. In many public schools the Combined Cadet Force is in operation, which is organized inseparate sections for each of the three Services. For all pur- poses of training the A.T.C. and the R.A.F. sections of theCombined Cadet Force are treated alike. WOMEN'S ROYAL AIR FORCE From Air Commandant N. M. Salmon, O.B.E., Director, Women's Royal Air Force THE Women's Royal Air Force is as yet young in history. As a^part of the regularRoyal Air Force it is but one and a half years old; nevertheless, the courage anddevotion to duty displayed by its predecessors (the W.R.A.F. of 1918-1920 and the W.A.A.F. of 10,39-1949) are sure and indisputable signs that the women of to-day, who are ready and willing to serve their King and Country as regular members of the Royal Air Force, will do so to their utmost in one great team with the men whose tasks they share. The women of the Royal Air Force are indeed proud to know that they are now consti- tuted as an integral part of that Force and that they are entrusted with the same degrees of responsibility and skill as their male counterparts. They will, I know, play their appointed part with courage and determination, keeping alive the spirit of the Royal Air Force, and sharing fully in the task of maintaining a strong and efficient Service and thus, in a wider sphere, make their own contribution toward? the preservation of world peace. THE Women's Royal Air Force was first formed onApril 1st, 1918 when the R.A.F. was constituted as aseparate service. Over 500 officers and nearly 32,000 airwomen served before the force was disbanded in 1920. In1938 the need was realized for a force of women to replace men in a limited number of trades against an emergency. In that year,the Auxiliary Territorial Service was formed, and a number of whose companies were earmarked for service with the R.A.F.Differences in the individual needs of the Army and R.A.F made it necessary for a separate force to be formed and theWomen's Auxiliary Air Force came into being in June, 1939 By the time the war broke out the strength of the force wasapproximately 2,000, with a sprinkling of administrative officers, and the trades were limited to six. From that smallnucleus, the W.A.A.F. expanded to a strength of 30,000 in 1941 when members of the Force became officially membersof th'- armed forces of the Crown and officers were authorized to hold His Majesty's Commission. The W.A.A.F. reachedits peak strength of 182,000 (including 5,800 officers) in 1943. Airwomen at that time were, serving in 83 different trades,including the most highly skilled. They proved that they could do the job under exacting-war-time conditions and madevaluable contributions to the operational success of the R.A.F. Many officers and airwomen were decorated for gallantry. From experience gained in two world wars, it was realizedthat, in order to build up quickly and efficiently a women's element of the Service in times of national emergency, itsadministrative structure should not be allowed to disappear
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