or the age of aerial
navigation has arrived, and, as one writer says: "Every argument which
impelled us of old to fight for the dominion of the sea has apparently
been found valid in relation to the supremacy of the air."

From some points of view this race between nations for naval and aerial
supremacy may be unfortunate, but so long as the fighting instinct
of man continues in the human race, so long as rivalry exists between
nations, so long must we continue to strengthen our aerial position.

Britain is slow to start on any great venture where great change is
effected. Our practice is rather to wait and see what other nations are
doing; and there is something to be said for this method of procedure.

In the art of aviation, and in the construction of air-craft, our
French, German, and American rivals were very efficient pacemakers in
the aerial race for supremacy, and during the years 1909-12 we were in
grave peril of being left hopelessly behind. But in 1913 we realized the
vital importance to the State of capturing the first place in aviation,
particularly that of aerial supremacy at sea, for the Navy is our first
line of defence. So rapid has been our progress that we are quite the
equal of our French and German rivals in the production of aeroplanes,
and in sea-planes we are far ahead of them, both in design and
construction, and the war has proved that we are ahead in the art of
flight.

The Naval Air Service before the war had been establishing a chain
of air stations round the coast. These stations are at Calshot, on
Southampton Water, the Isle of Grain, off Sheerness, Leven, on the Firth
of Forth, Cromarty, Yarmouth, Blythe, and Cleethorpes.

But what is even more important is the fact that the Government is
encouraging sea-plane constructors to go ahead as fast as they can
in the production of efficient machines. Messrs. Short Brothers, the
Sopwith Aviation Company, and Messrs. Roe are building high-class
machines for sea work which can beat anything turned out abroad.
Our newest naval water-planes are fitted with British-built wireless
apparatus of great range of action, and Messrs. Short Brothers are at
the present time constructing for the Admiralty, at their works in the
Isle of Sheppey, a fleet of fighting water-planes capable of engaging
and destroying the biggest dirigible air-ships.

In 1913 aeroplanes took a very prominent part in our naval manoeuvres,
and the cry of the battleship captains w