AVIATION IN
PEACE AND WAR

Major-General Sir F. H. SYKES

G.B.E., K.C.B., C.M.G.
Late Chief of the Air Staff
and
Controller-General of Civil Aviation

PAGE
Introduction	[7]
Chapter I. Pre-War	[9]
Early Thoughts on Flight. The Invention of the Balloon.First Experiments in Gliders and Aeroplanes. The WrightBrothers and their Successors in Europe. The FirstAirships. The Beginnings of Aviation in England. TheInception and Development of Aircraft as Part of theForces of the Crown: the Balloon Factory; the AirBattalion; the Royal Flying Corps, the Military Wing,the Naval Wing. Tactics and the Machine. Conclusions.	[9]
Chapter II. War	[44]
General Remarks on War Development. Co-operation withthe Army: Reconnaissance; Photography; Wireless;Bombing; Contact Patrol; Fighting. Co-operation withthe Navy: Coast Defence, Patrol and Convoy Work; FleetAssistance, Reconnaissance, Spotting for Ships' Guns;Bombing; Torpedo Attack. Home Defence: Night Flyingand Night Fighting. The Machine and Engine. Tacticsand the Strategic Air Offensive. Organization.	[44]
Chapter III. Peace	[96]
The Future of Aerial Defence. Civil Aviation: as aFactor in National Security; as an Instrument ofImperial Progress; Financial and Economic Problems;Weather Conditions and Night Flying; Organization; theMachine and Engine. Air Services: British, Continentaland Imperial.	[96]
Conclusion	[131]