An Cosantóir

64 By Lt Jon O'Connell, 302 Squadron SERGEANT PILOTS In response to the German invasion of Po- land and the commencement of the Second World War, the Emergency Powers Act was passed by Eamon De Valera's Fianna Fail government in Dublin. Ireland, like most other countries at this time commenced a large recruiting and rearming campaign, hampered by years of neglect by a govern- ment strapped for resources. In September 1939, the Defence Forces mobilised at a strength of less than 20,000 personnel, rising to 41,000 by June 1943. Thousands of young Irish citizens, like my grandfather, Joe O'Connell, enlisted to serve in the Defence Forces for the duration of the Emergency period. In an effort to bolster the number of quali- fied Military Pilots, Irish authorities looked outside of Ireland for ideas. The concept of NCO pilots was well established in the RFC and later the RAF. In the summer of 1943, the Air Corps launched the Sergeant Pilot competition, open to both civilian applicants and those already serving in the Defence Forces. Rumours circulated that the deci- sion to run a Sergeant Pilot program came from the Department of Finance as NCO's were not paid as much as pilots from the commissioned ranks. There was a high level of interest and after a lengthy screening pro- cess and medical examination, thirty candi- dates were selected. On November 9th, 1943, the thirty candi- dates presented themselves at Baldonnel Aerodrome to commence their flying train- ing and were given the rank of Private. Like today, the flying course was fast paced and demanding of each student. The day was broken down into groundschool lessons and training sorties flown in the Miles Magister training aircraft. The Miles Magister was a low wing monoplane of all wood construc- tion, with tandem open cockpits and pow- ered by a single 130HP Gypsy-Major piston engine. The instructors and students wore large warm flight suits, gloves, helmets, and goggles to keep the notorious Irish weather at bay. Parachutes were worn for safety and doubled as a seat cushion. There was one fatality on the course when on May 15th, 1944, a student on a solo detail crashed as he flew over the Phoenix Park. Of the thirty candidates who started the course, twenty received their coveted military pilot's wings and were promoted to the rank of Sergeant. The qualified Sergeant pilots then moved on to their advanced training. During this phase of training, the new pilots moved into the Apprentice hostel, which still accom- modates students on the wings course to this day. The advanced course consisted of formation flying, basic fighter manoeuvres, combat tactics and aerial gunnery. This phase of the course was flown in the Miles Master Mk.2 aircraft. This type was first ac- quired by the Air Corps when Miles Master N8009 from No.307 Squadron, RAF, carried out a forced landing in Co. Louth. The RAF pilot attempted to take off again, but the aircraft was damaged in the process. This aircraft was brought to Baldonnel where it was repaired and purchased from the RAF. A further eleven aircraft were acquired from the RAF for use in No.1 Fighter Squadron and for the Intermediate Training Flight, Fly- ing Training School. A low wing monoplane powered by a single Bristol Mercury 870HP radial engine, with retractable landing gear and variable pitch propellers making it fully capable of aerobatics and speeds of up to 220kts. The Sergeant pilots were then streamed into their respective units based on the requirements of the Air Corps. They went on to fly in aircraft like the Hawker Hur- ricane, Avro Anson, Miles Martinet and later the de-navilised Supermarine Seafire's. After the end of the Second World War, the Irish Government started a program of dis- bandment to reduce the size of the Defence Forces to a peace time force. The Sergeant pilots realised there were little chances for further career prospects in the Air Corps and so, decided to acquire their civilian pilots' license. They organised a civilian ground- SERGEANT PILOTS

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