First R.N.Z.A.F. women engineers

[Dave Homewood]

An article from The Press dated 15th of June 1979.



First R.N.Z.A.F. women engineers

The ninth course of 1978 graduated from the Trade Training School at the R.N.Z.A.F. base, Wigram, yesterday. Among the class of seven were two women, the first to qualify as basic tradesmen on an R.N.Z.A F. engineering course.

Aircraftwomen Fiona Smith, aged 19, a former pupil of Avonside Girls’ High School (left) and Elisabeth Le Grice, aged 21, a former pupil of Christchurch Girls’ High school, who are shown working on the magnetos of a Devon aircraft, graduated from the training school as avionic mechanics.

In civilian life, the girls would be called electronic technicians. Their job will be to work on air and ground radio, radar, and aircraft electrical and instrument systems. Both will now go to the R.N.Z.A.F. base at Auckland for up to two years for on-the-job practical training on aircraft electronic systems.

In the course at Wigram, Miss Le Grice who already held an Intermediate New Zealand Certificate of Electrical Engineering, was first equal. She joined the R N.Z.A.F., she said, because it was the only place where she could “get the trade.”

Since all but combat roles were opened to servicewomen, about two years ago, a number of women had trained in areas that had previously been “all-male domains” — firemen, cooks, and police — said the chief trade-training officer (Wing Commander G. St A. Murray).

Men were also gradually taking up jobs that had traditionally been held by women, including telephonists, accounting machine operators, and typists.

[Dave Homewood]

This is confusing to me. There were hundreds of women in technical trades during the war, although perhaps they were not fully trained tradespeople?

But these two girls were definitely not the first into an engineering trade postwar. My trade, Safety & Surface, had a mix of men and women from the very first formal course in 1949 and right the way through till now. Our trade is classed as a Technical Trade and as a result all S&S must undertake the Basic Engineering Course, as described above. Was that not the case prior to 1979? (I doubt it).

[tbf2504]

Perhaps the subtle difference between the wartime and post-war women trades persons was that during the war and up until integration women were members of the WAAF/WRNZAF. The other factor is that these were the first women
in the "Aircraft" trades as opposed to the support trades.

[Dave Homewood]

But S&S is an Aircraft trade, not a support trade. And women were in that trade from the start (and in all the trades that were merged in 1949 to create S&S).

[davidd]

Wartime NZ WAAFs were involved in electrical trades on aircraft as well as instruments, safety equipment, fabric work and furnishing, and painting, but NEVER in Group I trades (airframes, aero engines, armament), but they probably worked on wireless (radios) and radar, at least in servicing, and often as operators, but NOT as aircrew. However the British WAAFs seemed to have been involved with servicing of aircraft engines, but not so certain about work on actual airframes proper. Also in the RNZAF of the 1950s airwomen were heavily involved in the Air Defence units (Ground Radar) including operators (routine conversations with aircrew aboard aircraft during interception exercises). Women operators were definitely valued for their (generally) clearer voices and (often) superior enunciation in R/T work both then as well as earlier in WW2 although there were always male tradesmen in these trades. Women were also popular (sometimes essential) in any trades where smaller hands and dexterity mattered, and aircraft have always been notorious (some worse than others) for having many very hard to get at components or wiring, etc. An extreme example I witnessed at Wigram many years ago (1990s) was a very small Japanese women volunteer at the RNZAF Museum who was persuaded to get inside some part of a jet engine (in fact it was a very rare RR Derwent as fitted to very early Mk. III Meteors) to remove or check or tighten up something or other - she was very small! Her name was Kaori Taka-(something!) and she was also very keen!

[Dave Homewood]

Sept 4, 2022 10:15:33 GMT 12 davidd said:

Wartime NZ WAAFs were involved in electrical trades on aircraft as well as instruments, safety equipment, fabric work and furnishing, and painting, but NEVER in Group I trades (airframes, aero engines, armament), but they probably worked on wireless (radios) and radar, at least in servicing, and often as operators, but NOT as aircrew.

Some WAAF Wireless Operators did to aircrew training as part of their course, though within NZ only and with no intention to fly operationally. I think it was more to acquaint them with what the aircrew member they'd be communicating with did.


Air Force Museum of New Zealand MUS03130 - Informal group of WAAF Wireless Operators, holding parachute packs, standing in front of DeHavilland DH86 NZ553, at RNZAF Station Wigram. This is the first WAAF Wireless Operators course. January to August 1942.



I asked the same question about this 1979 claim versus the 1949 onwards of S&S with both sexes on the Safety And Surface group on Facebook. There are a lot of older ex-S&S there. So far the only suggestion offered is:
"Might be to do with WRNZAF/WAAF vs RNZAF Dave?"

Okay, perhaps, but that whole deal confuses me a little.

16th of January 1941 - The New Zealand Woman's Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF) was officially formed .

8th of October 1942 - The WAAF was officially incorporated into the regular RNZAF

29th of July 1977 - The Press reported, "R.N.Z.A.F. history made Twenty-two women who marched into an aircraft hangar at Wigram yesterday made Royal New Zealand Airforce (sic!) history. They and the 44 men who accompanied them were graduating from the first combined R.N.Z.A.F. male-female recruit training course in New Zealand."

So I am guessing that is the point that the WRNZAF ceased to be and everyone was just in the RNZAF. But The WAAF and RNZAF had been integrated way back in October 1942 as the same service. Were they split off again postwar?

[davidd]

NZ WAAFs in WW2 were in an auxiliary service (as indicated by title, like British WAAF, RAAF WAAAF, Canadian WD, Auxiliary Fire Brigades, etc.) In October 1942 the NZ WAAF was "kind of" merged into RNZAF as an emergency (Wartime only) measure, and adopted RNZAF-type ranks and also introduced NCOs, and they were also from this date onwards, permitted to wear the "Eagle" shoulder badges as worn by all airmen ("all eyes to the rear!) Although semi-integrated, and now finally fitting into the RNZAF trade structure to a large extent, it was still kept somewhat separate where possible, and largely operated in areas separate from most (but not all) men, such as Transport, Kitchens and Messes, Parachute and SE Sections, Typing Pools, phones and communications systems (Signals). Nevertheless, most wartime WAAFs from this date onwards were under the discipline of WAAF NCOs and officers, but some (especially those serving in HQ units, Cypher offices, etc.) remained under male NCOs. Interesting to read in the Post-War (all-male) Dress Committee that the WAAF/WRNZAFs often got exercised with this Committee's decisions with regard to their uniforms, and seemed to exert a lot more influence in these matters by the 1960s (or so it seemed to me reading through the minutes! The very senior male types decided it was much easier to keep out of their way and say not too much in these circumstances!) Generally all NZ WAAFs were administered somewhat separately from male personnel, and male officers and NCOs generally did not give orders directly to WAAFs except in small sections where WAAFs and airmen served together as in Marine Craft, Transport Pools, control towers, Medical, and Signal offices. To best of my knowledge, only one WAAF officer served in WW2 on the strength of a flying unit, and this was her appointment as Adjutant of No. 40 Transport Squadron at Whenuapai in latter part of war.

In about 1947 it was finally decided to retain this service in peacetime, but it shrank to a shadow of its former self, before gradually stabilizing in the 1950s. Renamed WRNZAF in 1954, probably in imitation of the WRAF in UK.

This posting all typed without recourse to any notes whatsoever, but think it is 80 - 90% correct (in a rough manner of speaking!), but I admit it is all pretty rough.

It is quite apparent that the NZ WAAF and the British WAAF had identical designations/titles, whereas the other British Commonwealth women's services all had distinctive, and unique, national titles. Amazingly it seems that this duplication in use of the WAAF designation seems not to have caused any confusion, probably because the two organizations were 12,000 miles apart!