War History of the Australian Meteorological Service
Foreword
Preface
Introduction
Chapter 1: D.Met.S.—Australia's Wartime Weather Service
Chapter 2: The Weather Factor in Warfare
Chapter 3: Met in the Retreat
Chapter 4: Met in the Advance
Chapter 5: Meteorology in Aviation
Chapter 6: Central Forecasting Services
Chapter 7: Met With the Army
Chapter 8: Research and Personnel Training
Radiosonde Personnel
Chemical Warfare Experiments
Training of Outside Personnel
Miscellaneous Training and Lectures
Civil Air Lines' Trainees
Compilation of Notes and Manuals
Meteorological and Climatic Reports
Coastal and Seaward Areas
Enemy Occupied Areas
Training Statistics
Chapter 9: Instrumental Development and Maintenance
Chapter 10: Scientific Developments in the RAAF Meteorological Service
Chapter 11: Divisional Bureaux and Their Work
Appendix 1: List of Reports Provided by D.Met.S. for Advances Operational Planning and Other Purposes
Appendix 2: List of Service Personnel RAAF Meteorological Service
Appendix 3: List of Civilian Personnel Who Worked Together with Service Personnel of the RAAF Meteorological Service
Appendix 4: List of Locations at which RAAF Meteorological Service Personnel Served
Index
Search
Help
Contact us
Training of Outside Personnel
Mention already has been made of the fact that many members of services outside the RAAF, together with others who belonged to the Air Force but not to D.Met.S., were trained in meteorological subjects by the Directorate at various stages of the war. There were, for instance, 20 RAAF education officers, who were given a month's instruction in weather science to assist them in training aircrew members in meteorology at ITS and EFTS where no weather staff were stationed. Three such courses were held in Melbourne, the first commencing in September 1943; the second in November and the third in January 1944. Respective numbers of trainees from these classes were six, seven and seven.Then there were the courses for selected RAAF wireless maintenance mechanics, who were brought to Melbourne in groups of three or four and given instruction in radiosonde technique in order to take over maintenance of these instruments at field stations from meteorological assistants and charters who at first had been charged with this task, in addition to that of the actual operation of the device. Such wireless maintenance mechanics were attached for courses of approximately three weeks to the instruments section at D.Met.S. headquarters, where the actual field apparatus was on hand for instructional purposes. There were four such courses, the last of them completed in July 1945.
So far as the Army was concerned, military personnel were given instruction from time to time in those aspects of meteorology which had bearing on their duties. In December 1940 members of the sound ranging unit, AIF, were trained in pilot balloon practice, the methods of taking weather observations and computing results; from June to September 1942 six Army engineer personnel were trained in meteorological assistant's duties on Course No 5 and in 1943 five members of the AWAS were instructed in the use of the pilot balloon slide rule in order that they might be able to compute upper winds from observations made at Williamstown (Vic) with Army gun-laying equipment. These girls subsequently carried out the work and furnished observations of upper winds, up to heights rarely attained by use of the pilot balloon theodolite, for a period of about twelve months.
Organisations in Australian Science at Work - Directorate of Meteorological Services (D.Met.S)
 |
Bureau of Meteorology |  |
© Online Edition Australian Science and Technology Heritage Centre and Bureau of Meteorology 2001
Published by Australian Science and Technology Heritage Centre, using the Web Academic Resource Publisher
http://www.austehc.unimelb.edu.au/fam/0696.html