nd everything necessary for a complete
aerial force. Further, when fighting in the air became all-important,
whole wings were made up of fighting squadrons, and these wings were
symmetrically paired with other wings made up of squadrons designed for
artillery co-operation, close reconnaissance, and photography. The wing
which carried out long reconnaissances and offensive patrols, bombing
the enemy, attacking him in the air, and, in effect, protecting the
machines which did their observation work above the lines, was called
the army wing, and worked for army headquarters. The wing which observed
and photographed for the corps command, reporting on the character of
the enemy defences, the movement of troops, and, above all, the effects
of our artillery fire, was called the corps wing, and worked for corps
headquarters.

This powerful organization of the later years of the war was achieved by
a natural and easy expansion of the system of wings. In the early days
of the war machines of various types were included in one squadron; then
uniform squadrons of various types were included in one wing; at last,
wings of various types were included in one brigade. The Flying Corps
grew and increased in close correspondence with the army to which it
lent essential aid. The institution of wings was a formal recognition of
the necessity of its services. This recognition had taken some little
time to achieve. Military aviation was a wholly new thing, quite
unfamiliar to many an old soldier. There was a certain shyness at first
between the army and the Flying Corps. The command of the army did not
always ask for help from the air, and the command of the Flying Corps
did not always offer it. When the squadrons got into touch with the
corps commands, and did work for the artillery and the infantry, their
value was proved beyond a doubt.

The commanding officer of a wing was given the rank of
lieutenant-colonel. To assist him he had an adjutant and an equipment
officer. The introduction of equipment officers into the Royal Flying
Corps involved a new departure. Up to this time the rule had been that
all officers in the Flying Corps, whether employed on the ground or in
the air, must learn to fly. But to apply this rule, in time of war, to
officers whose duties would never take them off the ground, and who
would have to learn at schools already more than fully occupied with
training pilots, seemed a waste of energy. There were, for instan