Britain: An official handbook > 1956

DEFENCE
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strategic reserves of both land and air forces. Orders have been placed for the
Comet II, for use as a high-speed jet transport. This aircraft will be put into regular
use on the service to the rocket range at Woomera, Australia. The first Beverley
heavy transports were expected to be cleared for squadron service during 1955.
Deliveries of helicopters, which have proved their value during operations in Malaya,
are increasing, and a joint Army/RAF Helicopter Evaluation Unit has been formed.
During the last few years there has been a great deal of airfield development in
the United Kingdom to provide for the operation of the V-bombers and the new
fighters, and a major programme of airfields, depots and technical facilities has also
been carried out for units of the United States Air Force stationed in Britain.
Recruitment and Training
The Royal Air Force College, Cranwell, Lincolnshire, trains cadets for per¬
manent commissions as pilots and navigators, while technical cadets are trained at
the Royal Air Force Technical College, Henlow, Bedfordshire. The training of
some technical cadets includes a three-year honours degree course at a university.
Royal Air Force Regiment cadets start at the Royal Air Force Regiment Depot at
Catterick, Yorkshire, and then spend 18 months at the Royal Military Academy,
Sandhurst (Camberley, Surrey).
It is the aim of the Air Council that all pilots and navigators shall be officers.
Most of them enter on direct commissions. Officers with direct commissions have
the choice of serving for eight or twelve years on the active list and going out with a
gratuity, or of staying in the Service until they qualify for pension. Flying training
lasts for up to 18 months. Most pilots are trained at the various flying schools in the
United Kingdom, but navigators are trained in Canada.
Officers in ground branches are usually found from people in civil life, some of
whom already hold professional qualifications, who enter the Royal Air Force on
short service commissions. Short service officers may be selected for permanent
commissions while in the Royal Air Force.
Airmen are recruited from the age of 17 J and may enlist for three, four, five, ten
or twelve years in a wide variety of trades, for most of which they will be given
training in the Service. After four years, they may apply for an engagement which
will last until they are 55 years of age and earn them a pension when they have
served for 22 years. Airmen may be promoted either as non-commissioned officers
or as technicians, and there are opportunities for them to obtain commissions. Boys
can come into the Service as apprentices or boy entrants and be trained in a trade.
Women’s Royal Air Force
Women play an important part in the work of the Royal Air Force and of its
reserve and auxiliary formations. The WRAF is a permanent and integral part of
the Royal Air Force and its members train with and work alongside airmen in the
same trades, serving not only in the United Kingdom but in Germany, the Middle
East, and the Far East. The maximum strength in 1955-56 is estimated at 7,500.
Auxiliary and Reserve Forces
The Royal Auxiliary Air Force consists of units raised and maintained by
Territorial and Auxiliary Forces Associations. It includes flying squadrons (fighter
and air observation post), regiment squadrons and fighter control and radar
reporting units. Each trains and operates as a self-contained unit. In addition,
each flying squadron is linked with a regular fighter squadron so that pilots with
the necessary experience shall have the opportunity to train on the latest high-
performance aircraft.