The 2018 RNZAF Avionics Reunion was held on Friday 23rd and Saturday 24th March 2018 at the Air Force Museum of New Zealand (located on the old RNZAF Base Wigram site in Christchurch).
It is intended to hold a reunion in 2026 to mark fifty years
since the RNZAF Electrical Fitters, Instrument Fitters, Ground Radio Fitters,
Air Radio Fitters and Radar Fitters were lumped together
as Avionics Mechanics and Technicians.
For more information, email: 2026reunion@avionicsreunion.com
The 2018 reunion celebrated the 80th anniversary of the formation of the Electrical and Wireless School at Wigram on the 4th January 1938.
This school evolved into the Avionics trade training of today.
BACKGROUND HISTORY TO TODAYS RNZAF AVIONICS TRADE TRAINING
Electrical and Wireless School
As
a result of the 1937 expansion of the RNZAF the first “Signals” persons
to be trained in New Zealand commenced Wireless Operation Course No.1
(W1) at the new Electrical and Wireless School at Wigram on 4 January
1938. The Total School staff numbered one – Sergeant R.J. Gibbs
who was Commanding Officer, Instructor, and Clerk. Three such
courses were conducted in an old hangar, long since demolished, and
formed a useful nucleus of Signals personnel for the RNZAF before WW2
broke out. Several RNZAF trained wireless operators and mechanics
were actually in England at the start of the war, having been sent to
collect the RNZAF’s new Wellington bombers.
Wigram could not
initially accommodate the large influx of recruits at the outbreak of
the war, so while a new school was being built, staff and trainees
moved to Canterbury College and were accommodated at Rolleston House
from October 1939 to January 1940. The new school expanded
rapidly with the war time demands for personnel. 5,290 airmen and
airwomen were trained on 288 courses through the war years.
Many
new Signals trades had been created – Wireless Operator, Telegraphist,
Direction-Finding (DF) Operators, Teleprinter Operator, Radar Operator,
Wireless Mechanic, Radar Mechanic, Electrician, Signals Clerk and
Cypher Clerk. The School also trained mechanics for the Army and
Navy.
Post-war, Signals trade training quickly reduced, but the
School facilities were put to good use for a variety of courses
including some aircrew training – Signallers, Navigator (Wireless), and
Morse and Wireless Manipulation courses for cadet pilots.
Rehabilitation courses were also provided for aircrew entering civil
aviation. The School was also used for several non-technical
trade courses – Cooking, Stewarding, General Service Training and
Physical Fitness.
Instrument Training School
A Technical
Training School had been in existence at Hobsonville from 1934,
initially providing Fitters and Riggers courses. In 1936 the
scope of training expanded to include the Instrument and Equipment
trades. The training of Fitters and Riggers moved to Rongotai in
1940 and in 1943 the Instrument Training School moved to Ebbetts Motors
premises in Hamilton. However, this move was short-lived, as it
moved back to Hobsonville in early 1945. An instructor in 1943
was Graham Gilmore (NZ42612), who had completed No 12
Instrument Course in 1942.
In January 1956 the School moved
again, this time to Wigram. The first course conducted at Wigram
was Instrument Assistant (IA) 1, with course members Murray Brown, Dave
Pellett, Perry Shephard, Rod Gates (all Boy Entrants) and a number of
Compulsory Military Trainees (CMTs). Senior Instructor was Flight
Sergeant Bob Lewis. At the completion of this 14-week course,
which had been hampered by a lack of training aids (still in their
packing cases from Hobsonville) the CMTs dispersed and the four Boy
Entrants were given the task of setting up the School. This they
found to be quite a challenge as they went through a very steep
learning curve, it being a case of ‘learn as you go’ as they unpacked
and set up the training aids. One of the more interesting tasks
was to set up a theaterette complete with screen projector sound system
and seating. Having set up the School, the four Boy Entrants
commenced IM1, a 26-week course with Sergeant Cleaver as Instructor.
No.2 Trade Training School
Due
to the variety of trades now being trained at the Electrical and
Wireless School, its name was changed to No. 2 Trade Training School on
4 August 1952. Over the following four years, with the
introduction of a large variety of new radio and radar equipment into
service, increased numbers of mechanics and fitters courses resulted in
many of the non-technical courses being displaced to other schools.
No. 2 Technical Training School
The
transfer of the Instrument School to Wigram prompted a further name
change for the Trade Training School, which became No. 2 Technical
Training School in January 1956. Training continued in the
operator trades of Telegraphist, Communications Operator (later
Telecommunications operator) together with the technical trades of
Electrical, Instrument, Radar, Communications Air and Communications
Ground. Communications Operators from the Civil Aviation Division of
the Ministry of Transport were also trained at the School from 1948 –
1976. Officers were trained on lengthy Junior Signals Officers
Courses and Junior Communications Officers Courses. In March 1975 a
Technical Assistant course was provided for six airwomen, and in July
of that year four airwomen joined the Electrical Mechanics
course. From 1976 airwomen were employed in all areas of the
Avionics trade.
The wholesale restructure of the RNZAF Technical
trades in September 1976 resulted in the five technical trades trained
at 2TTS to be merged into the single Avionics trade. As a
consequence, major training changes were required and the School was
reorganised to cope. Coincident with the start of Avionics trade
training in 1977, operator training moved to the new Navigation, Air
Electronics and Telecommunications Training Squadron at Flying Training
Wing, Wigram. In February 1980, Photographer training was
transferred to 2TTS from Ohakea.
As well as Avionics and
Photographer trade courses, the School also provided Avionics short
courses for Armourers and Flight Engineers, and post-graduate courses
in High Reliability Hand Soldering, Microprocessor Maintenance and
Navigation Principles.
Aeronautical Training Squadron
With
the closure of RNZAF Base Wigram in 1995, all trade training was
consolidated at the new Ground Training Wing at RNZAF Base
Woodbourne. The aircraft trades are now trained at the
Aeronautical Training Squadron, which consists of two flights: Electro
Technology Training Flight (ETF), and Aircraft Training Flight
(ATF). The ETF is responsible for the training of the Avionics,
Telecommunications and Armament trades. 2TTS closed on 28 July
1995, and those courses already underway transferred to
Woodbourne. The first course to start at ETF was 95/3 Avionics
Mechanics, on 13 November 1995.
Aircraft Training Squadron and Electro Technology Training Squadrons
In 2003, Electro Technology Training Flight became Electro Technology Training Squadron and Aircraft Training Flight became Aircraft Training Squadron.
Logistics Training Squadron
In October 2009, GTW was reorganised by the CO WGCDR Sainsbury and both ETS and ATS became flights again under the newly formed Logistics Training Squadron (LTS). LTS encompassed all Logistics training AV, ACFT, ARM, S&S, CIS, SUP, SECFOR. LTS became the largest Squadron in the RNZAF with over 200 personnel.
Technical Training Squadron
Because it was considered too big, in August 2021, Logistics Training Squadron was split in two. Technical Training Squadron (TTS) and Material Support Training Squadron (MSTS) were formed. TTS encompassed Avionics Training Flight, Aircraft Training Flight and Technical Training Flight (ARM, MACH, METAL and S&S) and this structure is still in place.
RAF/RAAF Apprentices
In
1951 the RNZAF sent five airmen (two Radio, one Instruments, one
Electrical) to join the 68th entry of RAF Apprentices. The
Electrical and Instruments tradesmen went to RAF Halton, with the Radio
trade training starting at RAF Cranwell, then moving to RAF
Locking. Over the next seven years a further 26 airmen attended
RAF Apprenticeship Courses, with the eighth and final intake graduating
in 1961.
The location of Apprenticeship training moved a bit
closer to home in 1960, with tradesmen being sent to Australia.
In that year two Radio tradesmen undertook training at the RAAF Radio
School at RAAF Point Cook, with one Instruments and one Electrical
tradesman going to the RAAF School of Technical Training at RAAF Wagga.
Altogether
61 RNZAF Electrical, Instruments and Radio tradesman attended
apprenticeship Courses with either the RAF or RAAF between 1951 and
1975.
In 1962 the RNZAF introduced the New Zealand Certificate
of Engineering (Telecommunications) or CET scheme as it became known
for Radio tradesmen, so from that point only Electrical and Instruments
tradesmen (and Armourers) undertook RAAF Apprentice training.
With the change from the single trades to the Avionics Trade in 1976,
all further apprenticeship training was discontinued.
Other Services and Civilians
Of
course, not all those who have served in some capacity in the Avionics
Trades and their predecessors were trained by the RNZAF. Over the
years many Commonwealth servicemen have joined the RNZAF either under
recruiting schemes or as individual immigrants to New Zealand.
They too have made a contribution that is worthy of recognition.
NOTE: Most of this material was originally made available on the RNZAF avionics reunion 2018 website. A few updates relating to the RNZAF trade structure have been included since then.
