Aircraft in War and Peace

In this short book the author has attempted to convey, in plain non-technical language, a general idea of the conditions under which aircraft is playing its part in the War, and also to indicate the chief directions in which it is developing. To the general public the War has revealed, in a startling manner, the wonderful potentialities which aircraft, and aeroplanes in particular, possess as weapons of war. But although there is at last plenty of enthusiasm for Aviation, there is still very little real knowledge of the vast possibilities which it offers. And, if we are to have an air force as proportionately powerful as our Navy is to-day-and it is absolutely essential that we should-a better and wider understanding will be most necessary. Today, for instance, people do not fully realise that aeroplanes, as well as airships, are still in their infancy, in spite of the extraordinary achievements which they have accomplished. Then, again, aircraft is at present regarded as being almost entirely for use in warfare, although, as a matter of fact, it will be of the utmost value for civil purposes in times of peace. The author does not pretend that book is in any way complete. Indeed, to attempt to be complete on the subject of Aviation is inevitably to be incomplete, so swiftly does it progress. His intention has been to make a brief survey of Aviation in its present-day position, and to show how important it is that in future it should receive a great deal more attention than hitherto.