Navy Aviation Open Again for Volunteers

The Navy Air Corps has opened its gates for enlistment to both civilians and members of V-12 units, after refusing volunteers for its V-5 aviation training program for more than a year.

Seventeen year olds who will have finished their current college term by June 25 or who will have gained a high school diploma by that time are eligible as candidates and may appear before the Naval Aviation Cadet Selection Board at First Naval District headquarters, located at 150 Causeway Street in Boston.

Revoke ineligibility Ruling

Commenting on the announcement Elliot Perkins '23, director of the War Service Information Bureau, emphasized that the Navy Department has rescinded its regulation disqualifying men with more than two terms of college training already behind them. Several men previously rejected as candidates and now enrolled in the College, he asserted, will be directly affected by the new ruling.

Applicants who successfully pass the rigorous aviation physical examination and mental aptitude tests will be sent to V-12 units for college training. They will be given one, two, or three terms of four months each, beginning about July 1, with length of schooling depending on "academic background and needs of service."

Preflight Training

First leg in the 72 week pilot training program is the 26 week pre-flight training as aviation cadets, class V-5, at either Chapel Hill, North Carolina, or Athens, Georgia. The preliminary course completed, the cadets proceed to primary training at any one of a number of Navy fields, where they will be stationed for approximately 16 weeks.

Intermediate flight training at Pensacola, Florida, or Corpus Christi, Texas completes the pilot's education and culminates in a commission as ensign in the Naval Reserve. About ten weeks of operational training with a unit must follow, however, before the pilot officers are assigned to active combat overseas.

Applicants for places in the First Naval District's "limited quota" are cautioned by Lieutenant Commander Sussenguth, officer in charge of aviation enlistments, that they must commit themselves for a term of four years to start only when they become aviation cadets at pre-flight training