DCA Monthly Circulars were instituted in September 1940 as a means of communicating information throughout the by now far-flung branches of the Department. The Monthly Circulars were continued until December 1950 when they were replaced by Administrative Instructions.

These indexes list noteworthy entries only - minor administrative matters are not listed.

The danger of idle conversation - A.B. Corbett DGCA
Necessity for staff to be security conscious and the danger of spreading false rumours

Plastic Aircraft in the USA
Description of Clark F-46-A and Timm PT-160-K aircraft incorporation Plastic in their construction. Ease of Plastic moulding compared to riveted metal construction

Circular No.6 February 1941

Progress - A.B. Corbett DGCA
Progress In last 20 years of aviation in various fields. Exhortation to staff to Enhance progress.

Los Angeles Municipal Airport - Description

Aerodrome construction in Canada for British Commonwealth Air Training Plan
Survey, construction and establishment of Aerodromes for various types of training. 65 Schools established before the end of 1940. Co-operation between the Dept of Defence and Dept of Transport.

Airways Traffic - Services operated by Australian National Airways
Huge increases in Traffic and Freight in the last four months of 1940.

Aircraft landing facilities in Australia , New Guinea and Papua
Table of Civil Aerodromes and Flying boat bases

Circular No.7 March 1941

Service - A.B. Corbett DGCA
Exhortation to staff to go beyond the strict requirements of one’s job and freely give extra service and help, thus being a more rounded and successful officer.

Exemption from military service
Categories of staff classed as being reserved occupations.

The Aeroplane makes a town
Influence of Aircraft in the development of the gold reserves of the Bulolo Valley in New Guinea. Establishment of Wau airfield and the associated town. Difficulties of flying in the challenging environment.

Circular No.8 April 1941

Officers in Charge - Duties in relation to
Explanation of the chain of command and how difficulties relating to OIC’s giving instructions to technical staff, in conflict with their technical orders, are to be handled.

Officers seeking Parliamentary and other outside influence
Officers prohibited from seeking influence to gain advantage. Further examples will be severely punished.

Field tests to determine suitable Runway Materials
Rough on-site Methods of testing materials for suitability to construct runways. Mostly involving tactile subjective tests.

King Island - Past and Present
Short Description of King Is and the imminent establishment of an Aeradio station.

Circular No.9 May 1941

The War Effort - A.B. Corbett
Staff should support the war effort in their every action and attitude, discouraging waste and indolence.

Keeping of Signal Logs
Reasons for keeping signal logs. Details to be recorded and need to be alert to all aircraft in the operational area.

Circular No.10 June 1941

Factors to be considered in Airport planning
Type of air service envisaged, siting of airport to permit later expansion and the provision of supporting facilities and transport.

Table – Growth of Passenger traffic on Australian airlines

Aeradio calls Flying Doctor
Co-operation of Aeradio stations in outback saves lives.

Japanese Morse
Japanese Morse code – set out for interested Aeradio operators.

Circular No.11 July 1941

Factors influencing Airport size
Likely Aircraft size in the future, Performance, site elevation, topography, meteorology and character of surface.

Landplanes over the Ocean
Comparison of landplanes and flying boats for over water long-range operations.

UHF Radio Marker Beacons
Australian system of marker beacons to accurately determine overhead and intersection positions when using the Radio Range system for navigation

Circular No.12 August 1941

Radio Communication Services – National Security Regulations

Departmental Aeronautical Engineers give RAAF Amphibians new lease of life
Detailed description of the refurbishment of Seagull amphibians, using Australian timbers on Advice from the CSIRO.

Circular No.13 September 1941

Control of Termites, Cockroaches, Silverfish
3 Articles

Photo Lofting in the USA
New system of projecting Engineering drawings to full size on sensitised metal, enabling immediate manufacture from the template so produced. Also used to prepare blueprints.

Airscrew development for maximum speeds
No. of blades, gearing and aspect ratio to extract maximum propulsive efficiency with increasing engine power.

Development permitted on four engine American civil aircraft
Lockheed authorised to build the Constellation transport aircraft.

Circular No. 14 October 1941

Team Work - A.B. Corbett DGCA

Precipitation Static Interference
An explanation of causes of this phenomenon and methods of reducing the effects of it.

Lockheed Constellation
A short description. Click here for a photo.

Comparison of direct injection engines and carburettor equipped engines
Comparison of the Merlin and Jumo 211d engines and performance at altitude.

Terminal Velocity Dive
A Comparison of the TV of various bodies and Aircraft. Dive brakes required to control speed in a dive.

Progress
Improvement in construction and reliability of aircraft in the preceding 20 years.

Aviat Social Institute
Inaugural meeting of the Aviat Social Institute.

Circular No.15 November 1941

Reservations on Air Services
Dept of Civil Aviation assumes responsibility for the ordering of priorities for all Government travel by air.

Transport Traffic
Record number of International movements in the UK in one day. Statistics on Airmail.

A Canadian Crisis
Difficulties caused by the transfer of commercial transport aircraft to the UK for war duties.

Air Service Contracts
An explanation of the different categories of Air service contracts for the carriage of Mail.

Nickel Plated Wooden Airscrews
New process improves life and damage resistance of airscrews.

Accident Statistics
Table

Circular No.16 December 1941

Flying Boat Base Staffs – tests to qualify for advancement to Coxswain
Syllabus of tests to be passed

The Nose wheel Landing gear
A description of the many advantages and few disadvantages of the tri-cycle landing gear.

Maintenance of Boundary Lighting Equipment
A detailed description of preventative maintenance procedures, to reduce the high rate of failures.

Australian Aircraft Standards
The Standards Association of Australia issues standards to facilitate the manufacture of aircraft in Australia in view of the mixture of US and UK standards currently employed.

Camouflage
An explanation of the principles involved.

Index compiled by Brian Surtees, CAHS

Click here for the index of DCA Monthly Circulars for 1940, 1942

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