ROYAL AUSTRALIAN AIR FORCE ACADEMY
1. T h e R.A.A.F. Academy has evolved from the R.A.A.F. College which was established in 1948 as a tertiary training centre to provide a professional education for permanent officers of t h e Air Force.
2. T h e curriculum extended over four years and included subjects drawn from t h e p u r e sciences, humanities, and those applied sciences relevant to aeronautics.
Military studies and a full flying training course were part of the syllabus. T h e College graduated 12 courses of cadets who are now serving in various branches of t h e service.
3. In 1936 t h e R.A.A.F. set u p a committee, under the chairmanship of Air Vice Marshal I. D . McLachlan, C.B.E., D . F . C , composed of R.A.A.F. and Univer- sity representatives, to examine the College syllabus of training. T h e committee was impressed with t h e need for higher educational preparation for the Officer Corps, a n d recommended a course leading to a university degree. Various means of insti- tuting a degree course at the CoUege were being considered when Professor Sir Leslie Martin, then Professor of Physics of the University of Melboume, suggested t h e best solution was to adopt a University of Melboume Bachelor of Science course a n d to qualify for that University's degree. Negotiations between the R.A.A.F. and the University of Melbourne reached an agreement by which the R.A.A.F. College was reconstituted as the R.A.A.F. Academy for t h e purpose of awarding the degree of Bachelor of Science ( M e l b o u m e ) . A later revision of the University statute permits the Academy to present students for higher degrees in Science and the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.
4. Studies for the degree of Bachelor of Science occupy the bulk of the time in t h e first three years of the course. T h e fourth year is devoted to further studies in humanities, aeronautical science and military art.
5. T h e R.A.A.F. Academy is directed by a senior serving officer as Com- mandant. T h e military programme, sporting activities and domestic affairs of t h e Academy are managed by the Assistant Commandant. T h e university element of t h e syllabus is controlled b y a Dean of University Studies who is responsible to the Faculty of Science of the University of Melboume. T h e Dean and most of the staff engaged in t h e science degree studies hold appointments to the University of Melbourne (R.A.A.F. Academy). T h e W a r d e n of the Academy is responsible for the general academic administration of t h e Academy, t h e academic subjects outside the science degree, and for the general balance of the syllabus. Academy staff are actively engaged in fundamental research using facilities largely provided by the Air Force.
6. T h e directing staff of the Academy is:
C o m m a n d a n t — A I R COMMODORE J. F . L U S H . O.B.E.
Assistant C o m m a n d a n t — C R O U P C A P T A I N J. M. SUTHERLAND
W a r d e n — M R . W . D. HARDY, O.B.E., M.A., B . S c , B.Ed., A.Inst.P., M.A.C.E.
D e a n of University Studies—PROFESSOR V. D . H O P P E R , D . S c , F.A.Inst.P., F.Inst.P.
Professor of Mathematics—PROFESSOR N. M. BREARLEY, B.E. ( W . A . ) , B.Sc.
( S y d . ) , M.A. ( C a n t a b . ) , Ph.D. (Adel.)
7. Entry to the R.A.A.F. Academy is b y means of cadetships which are awarded annually, on a competitive basis, to students throughout Australia. T h e qualifications required for selection are set out in a brochure on the R.A.A.F.
Academy, available from t h e local Recmiting Centre. T h e y include t h e possession of a matriculation qualification prior to entry to the Academy, and the limitation on age that the applicant must not have reached his 20th birthday by 3 1 March of the year of entry.
8. T h e R.A.A.F. bears all the costs of the training, including accommodation and clothing. Cadets also receive pay and allowances throughout the course.
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