pilot and was commissioned in April 1933. His first posting was to No. 1 Squadron, flying Westland Wapitis; he transferred from the CAF to the Permanent Air Force in November. Promoted to flight lieutenant, from July 1935 to November 1937 Balmer was assigned to No. 1 Flying Training School, Point Cook, as an instructor. He gained a reputation as a hard taskmaster, and on one occasion—according to RAAF folklore—parachuted from a training aircraft to give his student the proper motivation to make a solo landing, though at least one newspaper at the time reported that he had in fact fallen out. On 15 August 1938, Balmer was forced to crash land an Avro Anson near Whitfield, Victoria, after its wings iced up—one of a series of accidents that befell the type following its introduction to Australian service. By mid-1939 he was instructing on Hawker Demon biplane fighters with No. 3 Squadron at RAAF Station Richmond, New South Wales. Parallel to his Air Force career, in the years leading up to the outbreak of World War II Balmer gained national attention as a long-distance motorist. Partnered by a fellow officer, he set a cross-country record of 65 hours and 10 minutes travelling from Perth, Western Australia, to Melbourne in December 1936. He and another driver followed this up with a record-breaking round-Australia journey in October–November 1938, completing their run in 23½ days, almost halving the previous best time. World War II South West Pacific When Australia declared war in September 1939, Flight Lieutenant Balmer was a member of No. 22 Squadron, which conducted coastal surveillance out of Richmond with Ansons and, later, CAC Wirraways. Promoted to squadron leader, he was posted to RAAF Station Darwin, Northern Territory, on 1 June 1940, becoming the inaugural commander of No. 13 Squadron, which had been "cannibalised" from the base's resident unit, No. 12 Squadron. Retaining its Wirraway flight, No. 12 Squadron gave up its two flights of Ansons to the new formation; these were replaced later that month by more capable Lockheed Hudsons. From August 1940 until February 1941, No. 13 Squadron was responsible for patrolling the sea lanes off Australia's north coast. On occasion, Balmer detected Japanese luggers that were illegally fishing in Australian waters and, according to Mark Johnston, overflew them at such a low altitude that "his Hudson's slipstream rocked the boats violently" and the crew "shook their fists" at him.